Islands Voyage

Islands Voyage
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years' War
Date June – August 1597 Location Plymouth, Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, Cantabrian Sea, Ferrol and Azores Islands Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
England United Provinces	Spain Portugal
Commanders and leaders
Robert Devereux Thomas Howard Walter Raleigh Jacob Duivenvoorde	Martín de Padilla Alonso de Bazán Juan de Garibay
Strength
120–150 ships 17,000 to 20,000 men (6,000 soldiers)	Unknown
Casualties and losses
High	Low

The Islands Voyage, also known as the Essex-Raleigh Expedition, was an ambitious, but unsuccessful naval campaign sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England, and supported by the United Provinces, against the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire of Philip II from the House of Habsburg during the Anglo–Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years' War.

Campaign

The campaign took place between June and late August 1597, and the objectives were to destroy the Spanish fleet of the Adelantado of Castile, Martín de Padilla y Manrique, Count of Santa Gadea, at the port of Ferrol, occupy and destroy the Spanish possessions in the Azores Islands, and intercept the Spanish treasure fleet coming from America as it passed through the Azores. The result of the campaign was a great failure for England. It was led by Sir Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, as Admiral and General-in-chief, Sir Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, as Vice-Admiral, and Sir Walter Raleigh as Rear-Admiral. The Dutch squadron was commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Duivenvoorde. Other notable participants were Sir Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton (who commanded the galleon Garland), the Baron Jacob Astley of Reading, Sir Edward Michelborne aboard the Moon, Sir Robert Mansell, Roger Manners 5th Earl of Rutland, and the English poet John Donne.

The Anglo-Dutch fleet returned to England with great losses and a war of recriminations between Essex and Raleigh. The Spanish fleets were led by Martín de Padilla, Alonso de Bazán, Diego Brochero and Pedro de Zubiaur. The treasure fleet was commanded by Admiral Juan Gutiérrez de Garibay.

The expedition was the last major naval campaign of Elizabeth I of England. Essex's failure to capture the silver of the Spanish treasure fleet, and his failure to occupy the Portuguese Azores Islands (Iberian Union), contributed to his decline in the queen's favour.

See also

• Adelantado
• Master-General of the Ordnance
• Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598)

References

• Edwards, Edward. The Life of Sir Walter Ralegh: Life. Vol. I. MacMillan & Co. London. 1868.
• Hanes, Laura. The Career of the Earl of Essex from the Islands Voyage in 1597 to His Execution in 1610. University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. 1923.
• Heywood, Thomas. The Fair Maid of the West: Parts I and II. University of Nebraska Press. 1967.
• Jowitt, Claire. The Culture of Piracy, 1580–1630: Literature and Seaborne Crime. Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-0044-8
• Rowse, A.L.. The Expansion of Elizabethan England. First published in 1955. ISBN 0-299-18824-8
• Thomas M McCoog, S.J. The Society of Jesus in Ireland, Scotland, and England, 1589–1597. Printed in Great Britain by the MPG Books Group. ISBN 978-1-4094-3772-7
• Wagner, John A. Encyclopedia of Tudor England. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. ISBN 978-1-59884-298-2
• Whittemore, Hank. The Monument: By Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. London. 1609. ISBN 0-9665564-5-3

External links

• Hanes, Laura. The Career of the Earl of Essex from the Islands Voyage in 1597 to His Execution in 1610. University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. 1923. Archived 12 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine