Customer Reviews

Elizabethan Sea Dogs 1560-1605 (Elite)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellently well-written and brilliantly illustrated volume. The colour plates show the highlights of almost fifty years of the struggle with the Spanish with excellently composed and rendered scenes. The author is an expert historian of the age of the wooden ship, and the artist is at the height of his powers.

From the Author's Introduction -

"The phrase `Sea Dogs' summons up[ images of swashbucklers, plunder on the high seas and England's sailors standing up against the overwhelming might of Spain..."

"The Sea Dogs... were not always as successful as the writers of Victorian histories would have us believe, and their actions were often influenced by profit rather than by any feeling of patriotic duty. The emphasis on English naval heroes has almost obscured the fact that the Dutch and the French were also actively engaged in the often undeclared war against the Spanish empire, and many of the greatest successes of the Elizabethan heroes were brought about through co-operation with these Protestant allies. The much maligned Spanish could also boast of a number of successes against their adversaries, and the actions of commanders such as Juan Martinez de Recalde and Pedro Menendez de Aviles have almost gone unnoticed outside Spain."

The Contents are -

P03: Introduction

P04: The Elizabethan Sea Dogs

P09: The Spanish Main and its Defences

P13: The Elizabethan Art of War

.Arms and Armour; Amphibious Tactics; Naval Gunnery; Naval Warfare; Naval Ordnance

P24: The Sea Dogs in Action

.The French Huguenot Scourge; The first English interlopers; Francis Drake's first raids; The Dutch Sea Beggars; Singeing the King of Spain's Beard; The Spanish Armada Campaign; The post-Armada raids

P51: The Ships of the Sea-Dogs

.The English Fleet during the Spanish Armada campaign, 1588

P59: Bibliography

P60: Plate Commentaries

P64: Index

The Colour Plates - Pages 33-42

A: Jacques de Sores Plundering Havana, 1555

This shows 6 variously-armed Huguenot figures behaving in a menacing fashion, with two civilians looking very worried, as flames engulf the buildings in the background.

B: Pedro de Menendez attacking Fort Caroline, c.1565

This shows 6 Spanish figures wading towards the stockade of the fort as two Huguenots look down on them with muskets at the ready.

C: John Hawkins' fight at An Juan de Ullua, 1568

This shows Hawkins standing on the prow of his moored ship, looking to the shore where a line of his men are facing advancing Spanish forces, with the town walls in the background.

D: Francis Drake's Attempt to Ambush the Panama Silver Train, 1573

This shows a drunken Englishman being grabbed by 3 of his fellows as a suspicious Spanish cavalryman rides past on the forest path in front of their ambush position.

E: The Sea-Beggars' `Hell-Raisers' attacking the Schelde Pontoon Bridge, 1585

This shows 7 Spanish figures in various stages of alarm on the bridge, as the blazing fireships loom in the background.

F: Martin Frobisher's fight with the Spanish Armada off Portland, 1588

In this 2-page spread, we are behind two English guns and their crew, who are firing on the beautiful Spanish Galeasses in the distance, while further off we can see the Armada under sail.

G: Francis Drake's Raid on St. Augustine, 1586

This shows Drake and four variously-armed and dressed figures firing on an Indian moonlight attack, with ships at sea in the distance.

H: Sir Richard Grenville and the Last Fight of the Revenge, 1591

This shows four Spanish figures looking down on the devastated deck of the Revenge from one side, while another Spanish ship looms above the other side of the deck.

I: Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the Capture of Cadiz, 1596

In the Great Cabin of the Ark Royal (formerly the Ark Raleigh), we see Howard, Raleigh, the Earl of Essex, Sir Francis Vere and Sir William Monson discussing, rather heatedly, the attack planned for the next morning.

Angus Konstam is a renowned naval history scholar and he isn't influenced at all by the usual imbecilic propaganda shown by movies since the thirties. Although he is British, he analyses the era without the usual anti-Spanish biases and with academic eyes.

Reading this book you will find the beginnings of the attacks on the Spanish Main, the voyages of commerce and "persuasion" of Hawkings, Drakes interesting career, the constant attacks sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth on Spanish territory and fleets , the Armada campaign and the English post-armada raids. The author describes the different types of ships, their strengths and weaknesses; the organization of an expedition of plunder as a commercial venue where crown, private companies and individuals were involved hoping for profit in plunder; the differences between letters of Reprisal, letters of Marque and Piracy and how easy was to abuse sanctioned reprisal attacks (some English ships were still using as excuse letters de Reprisal issued 9 years before!!!).

Also very interesting are the different tactical doctrines that influenced English and Spanish naval warfare; the former investing in speed, agility and firepower (with fast reloading systems like the four wheeled carriage) and the latter in boarding actions and short ranged firepower.

The Angus McBride plates are quite good: Jacques de Sores plundering Havana - 1555; Pedro de Menendez attacking Fort Caroline - 1565; John Hawkins fight at San Juan de Ulúa - 1568; Francis Drake attempt to ambush the Panama silver train - 1573; The sea-beggars "Hell-raisers"attacking the Schelde Pontoon Bridge - 1585; Martin Frobisher's fight with the Spanish Armada off Portland - 1588; Francis Drake's raid on St Augustine - 1586; Sir Richard Grenville and the last fight of the "Revenge" - 1591; Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Walter aleigh and the capture of Cadiz -1596.

This book has a big weakness - it should be about "Elizabethan Sea Dogs", not a generic history of corsairs and pirates against Spain. We get little information about weapons, training, hierarchies and clothing. The author could invest less space in describing French, Dutch and Spanish or so many details about the expeditions and concentrate on the focus of the book. The author has dozens of published books on naval history! Several about Pirates in general; here I believe he should concentrate on the Elizabethan Sea Dog.

This is a very worthy and impartial introduction to the subject. Recommended.