The Spanish Armada1988

The "defeat" of the Spanish Armada by the Royal Navy in 1588 is a story every schoolchild knows. Linked in British history with the beginning of England's naval supremacy, it has been presented for years as a David-and-Goliath showdown in which the Armada, then the uncontested ruler of the seas, was roundly defeated by a British force that was roughly a third the size of the Armada.

The Spanish Armada challenges that view. On the 400th anniversary of the famous sea battle, it offers a more balanced account of the confrontation between the Spanish and British naval powers than has previously been presented. According to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, the British did not "defeat" the Spaniards; rather, the event should be seen as a "failure" of the Armada to invade British territory. Miles from...