When the English fleet opposed the Armada it consisted of 197 vessels made up as follows: 34 of Elizabeth’s own royal ships, 34 merchant vessels, 30 ships and barks paid by the City of London, 33 ships and barks (with 15 victuallers not reckoned in the total number), 23 coasters varying from 160 to 35 tons, 20 other coasters and 23 voluntary ships. Of the merchant ships the _Galleon Leicester_ and the _Merchant Royal_ are each given as of 400 tons and carrying 160 men. The smallest was the small caravel of 30 tons with 20 men. But we have spoken at some length of the English ships. Let us now turn to consider the ships of other nations of this period. The Armada consisted of 130 vessels if we add up the list given in Hakluyt. This number was made up of the following types: galleons, patasses or pataches, galleasses, zabras, galleys and hulks. Besides these there were 20 “caravels rowed with oares, being appointed to Performe necessary services unto the greater ships,” making a total of 150. The tonnage of the fleet came to 60,000. There were 64 galleons “of an huge bignesse” and “so high that they resembled great castles,” but in attacking ability “farre inferiour unto the English and Dutch ships, which can with great dexteritie weild and turne themselves at all assayes.” It was this “bignesse” and the high castles at bow and stern that caused the prevailing fallacy to arise that the Armada ships were far larger than ours. The former were very high but very short on the keel, and in consequence equally unseaworthy. Ours were, as we pointed out above, long on the keel and not highly “charged” with castles. The Hakluyt account says the upperworks of the galleons were so thick and strong as to resist musket shot. The lower part of the hull and its timbers also were “out of measure strong, being framed of plankes and ribs foure or five foote in thicknesse, insomuch that no bullets could pierce them, but such as were discharged hard at hand: which afterward prooved true, for a great number of bullets were founde to sticke fast within the massie substance of those thicke plankes. Great and well-pitched cables were twined about the masts of their shippes, to strengthen them against the battery of shot.”