History of the United Netherlands, 1588c | Page 3

conducive to the advancement of the expedition than it was to
the health of the captain-general. Early in January the Cardinal
Archduke was sent to Lisbon to lecture him, with instructions to turn a
deaf ear to all his remonstrances, to deal with him peremptorily, to
forbid his writing letters on the subject to his Majesty, and to order him
to accept his post or to decline it without conditions, in which latter
contingency he was to be informed that his successor was already
decided upon.
This was not the most eligible way perhaps for bringing the captain-
general into a cheerful mood; particularly as he was expected to be
ready in January to sail to the Flemish coast. Nevertheless the Marquis
expressed a hope to accomplish his sovereign's wishes; and great had
been the bustle in all the dockyards of Naples, Sicily, and Spain;
particularly in the provinces of Guipuzcoa, Biscay, and Andalusia, and
in the four great cities of the coast. War-ships of all dimensions, tenders,
transports, soldiers, sailors, sutlers, munitions of war, provisions, were
all rapidly concentrating in Lisbon as the great place of rendezvous;
and Philip confidently believed, and as confidently informed the Duke
of Parma, that he, might be expecting the Armada at any time after the
end of January.
Perhaps in the history of mankind there has never been a vast project of
conquest conceived and matured in so protracted and yet so desultory a
manner, as was this famous Spanish invasion. There was something
almost puerile in the whims rather than schemes of Philip for carrying
out his purpose. It was probable that some resistance would be offered,
at least by the navy of England, to the subjugation of that country, and
the King had enjoyed an opportunity, the preceding summer, of seeing
the way in which English sailors did their work. He had also appeared
to understand the necessity of covering the passage of Farnese from the
Flemish ports into the Thames, by means of the great Spanish fleet
from Lisbon. Nevertheless he never seemed to be aware that Farnese
could not invade England quite by himself, and was perpetually
expecting to hear that he had done so.
"Holland and Zeeland," wrote Alexander to Philip, "have been arming
with their accustomed promptness; England has made great
preparations. I have done my best to make the impossible possible; but

your letter told me to wait for Santa Cruz, and to expect him very
shortly. If, on the contrary, you had told me to make the passage
without him, I would have made the attempt, although we had every
one of us perished. Four ships of war could sink every one of my boats.
Nevertheless I beg to be informed of your Majesty's final order. If I am
seriously expected to make the passage without Santa Cruz, I am ready
to do it, although I should go all alone in a cock-boat."
But Santa Cruz at least was not destined to assist in the conquest of
England; for, worn out with fatigue and vexation, goaded by the
reproaches and insults of Philip, Santa Cruz was dead. He was replaced
in the chief command of the fleet by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a
grandee of vast wealth, but with little capacity and less experience. To
the iron marquis it was said that a golden duke had succeeded; but the
duke of gold did not find it easier to accomplish impossibilities than his
predecessor had done. Day after day, throughout the months of winter
and spring, the King had been writing that the fleet was just on the
point of sailing, and as frequently he had been renewing to Alexander
Farnese the intimation that perhaps, after all, he might find an
opportunity of crossing to England, without waiting for its arrival. And
Alexander, with the same regularity, had been informing his master that
the troops in the Netherlands had been daily dwindling from sickness
and other causes, till at last, instead of the 30,000 effective infantry,
with which it had been originally intended to make the enterprise, he
had not more than 17,000 in the month of April. The 6000 Spaniards,
whom he was to receive from the fleet of Medina Sidonia, would
therefore be the very mainspring of his army. After leaving no more
soldiers in the Netherlands than were absolutely necessary for the
defence of the obedient Provinces against the rebels, he could only take
with him to England 23,000 men, even after the reinforcements from
Medina. "When we talked of taking England by surprise," said
Alexander, "we never thought of less than 30,000. Now that she is alert
and ready for us, and that it is certain we must fight by sea and by land,
50,000 would be few." He almost ridiculed the