Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History; Naval art and science; Sea-power
J. R. Green, in his 'History of the English People,' states that:
'While England was thrilling with the triumph over the Armada, its
Queen was coolly grumbling over the cost and making her profit
out of the spoiled provisions she had ordered for the fleet that
had saved her.'
The object of each subsequent historian was to surpass the originator
of the calumnies against Elizabeth. In his sketch of her life in
the 'Dictionary of National Biography,' Dr. Augustus Jessopp
asserts that the Queen's ships 'were notoriously and scandalously
ill-furnished with stores and provisions for the sailors, and
it is impossible to lay the blame on anyone but the Queen.' He
had previously remarked that the merchant vessels which came to
the assistance of the men-of-war from London and the smaller
ports 'were as a rule far better furnished than the Queen's ships,'
which were 'without the barest necessaries.' After these extracts
one from Dr. S. R. Gardiner's 'Student's History of England'
will appear moderate. Here it is: 'Elizabeth having with her
usual economy kept the ships short of powder, they were forced
to come back' from the chase of the Armada.
The above allegations constitute a heavy indictment of the Queen.
No heavier could well be brought against any sovereign or government.
Probably the first thing that occurs to anyone who, knowing what
Elizabeth's position was, reads the tremendous charges made against
her will be, that--if they are true--she must have been without a
rival in stupidity as well as in turpitude. There was no person
in the world who had as much cause to desire the defeat of the
Armada as she had. If the Duke of Medina Sidonia's expedition
had been successful she would have lost both her throne and her
life. She herself and her father had shown that there could be a
short way with Queens--consort or regnant--whom you had in your
power, and whose existence might be inconvenient to you. Yet,
if we are to believe her accusers, she did her best to ensure
her own dethronement and decapitation. 'The country saved itself
and its cause in spite of its Queen.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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