234

i S 88.

J588.

Camden,

Speed.

Strype.

Sir WilliamMonson'iTraitsPurchas,Vol. IV. p.1898.Hackluyt,

P. I.p. 591.Appendix toHarristfCol.MS. ;»Bibl.Regia, 14B. XIII.MS. Par. mBibl.Cotton.Spec. Julius,F. X. 17.

EliZ. Naval Expeditions, &c. of the English, BookO*

" bly prostrate at Her Majesty’s Feet,

" desiring the Almighty long to conti-<f nue Her Reign among Us; For at" this Day site is the most famous and" most victorious of Princes, &c.

Such a Harmony there was, in this

CHAP. XXV.

A Particular and Impartial Relation of the remarkable Sea-Fight with, andCompleat Viblory obtained over the Spanish Fleet, vainly called the InvincibleArmada, in the Tear 1588,

Golden Age, between the Sovereign and 15881the Subject, The one oftered his all,and the other accepted of no more thanthe absolute Exigences of the State re^quired.

A S this Action is one of the mostconsiderable, as well as themost glorious, for the EnglijhNation, which our Historyfurnishes us with, I am persuaded it willbe agreable to the Reader, that I givethe most circumstantial Account of it Iam able. The learned Camden, in hisAnnals of Queen Elizabeth, is allowedto have given the best Relation of thisAction of any we have yet extant; Mr.Secretary Burcbett has given us an Ex-tract of Camden, keeping only to themost material Circumstances, and omit-ting others which he thought Superflui-ties. 1 , for my Hart, am lo far fromthinking there is any Thing superfluousin Camden, that I rather believe theremay be a great deal added to his Rela-tion. I mall therefore confine myselfto no one Author in particular; But,consulting the best Historians I havebeen able to procure, both printed andManuscript, shall collect, from themall, the most circumstantial Account Ican of this glorious Action.

Ai,tho’ Sir Francis Drake, in hislate Expedition, of which the Readerhas had a particular Account in thetwenty-third Chapter, had done theKing of Spain very great Damage, yetso universal and vast a Preparation, asHe was making against England, wasnot so easily defeated. Three wholeYears had been employed in makingthese Preparations; And, at Length, hehad got together a Fleet called by theArrogant Name of the Invincible Ar-mada. This Fleet consisted of OneHundred and thirty-two large Ships, be-ing together of nine and fifty Thousand,one Hundred and twenty Tuns, Burden,exclusive of the Galleasses, Gallions,and some few Pinnaces,who se Burdens I

do not find any where mentioned. These 1588.Ships carried one and twenty Thousand Fol- III- yeight Hundred and fifty five Soldiers;eight Thousand seven Hundred and six- ppifx. Fty-six Mariners, two Thousand eighty Otho, L-H'eight Gally-Slaves; And three Thou-sand, one Hundred, and sixty-fiyePieces of Brass and Iron-Ordnance. , and al's'This Fleet was got together in For-tugal, at Naples 3 and in Sicily ; and themore to advance the Glory of it, and Hollarsto terrify their Enemies, the Spaniards cu ™ al ‘ lShad published an Account of it in Spa-nijh, Latin, French and Dutch . TheSpanijh Book soon came into the Handsof the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, in di-vers Places whereof Strype law Notesadded by that Lord, soon after the De-feat. From this Book, he has inserted abrief Account of the Spanijh Armada,in his Appendix of Original Papers, An,

Vol. III. N. 51, The Sum whereof isthis, That there were in all One Hun-dred and thirty Ships of seven and FiftyThousand, eight Hundred sixty eightTuns; Nineteen Thousand, two Hun-dred ninety five Soldiers, and eightThousand Four Hundred and fifty, Ma-riners ; TwoThousand and eighty-eightSlaves, and Two Thousand, six Hun-dred and thirty great Brass Pieces ofall Sorts; Besides twenty Caravels forthe Service of the Army,and ten Salves,with six Oars a piece. This generalAccount, which is chiefly from SrypeandSpeed, reconciles Raping Account ofone Hundred and fifty Ships. Theyall, however, differ from the generalAccount I have given above; But theReader will fee the Reason of it, in theList and more particular Account, Ishall give of this Fleet below. TheseShips had on Board prodigious Quantitiesof Bullets, Powder Field-pieces, Mus-kets,