"OF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY"
-283-
NOVEMBER
On Monday, August 1st, Lord Howard aboard "The Ark" was
in pursuit of the galleons, but on Tuesday, when the Armada lay off St.
Albans Head, the wind shifted to the north-east forcing the English
ships to sail seaward. By Wednesday, Lord Howard and the "Ark" were
again in pursuit, and on Thursday, the Spanish fleet lay off the Isle of
Wight. They engaged in fight with ship after ship, but were unable to
board the ever-attacking, ever-fleeing "heretics." Admiral Oquendo
sailed under the bow of the "Ark" and rendered Lord Howard rudderless,
but when six galleons closed in to board her, her own boars towed her to
safety. The saintly names of the Spanish ships offered no protection,
nor victory, and the Armada sailed toward Calais. The English receiving
men and munitions from shore were waiting to be joined by Lord Seymour
and his squadron of 16 ships before pursuing.
On Saturday, August 6th, they found the Armada off
Calais, lying at anchor in formation of a crescent. The Spanish too were
waiting --waiting to be joined by Parma and his forces before inflicting
a fatal blow upon the English. But Parma had written repeatedly to
Philip and to Medina Sidonia that the Dutch fleet had sealed off all
Spanish ports in the Netherlands, and had urged Sidonia to use the
Armada to cut a path and give escort to his forces. The English decided
on Sunday that the time had come to attack. In the dead of night eight
ships were chosen, their masts smeared with pitch, their holds filled
with gunpowder and any other combustibles, and were sent drifting amidst
the Armada. Because the night was overcast, and the winds rising, they
were hardly discerned before they emerged from the darkness and burst
into flames. The terrified invaders cut their cables and put to sea away
from the shallows of Calais and the quicksands of Flanders. Monday's
dawn revealed the Armada was disabled. Some ships were seen sailing for
the Netherlands and the English pursued overtaking them at Gravelines.
They attacked before the Spanish could reform. They sailed through the
vanguard shredding sails and rigging. Four vessels ran afoul and three
sank. Several more were left to drift helplessly toward the sandbanks of
Holland. The Spanish had already lost 16 of its best ships, and between
4000 and 5000 soldiers, while the English had not lost a single ship and
had suffered no more than 100 fatalities. The English being short of
munitions sailed for the Thames. Drake pursued for a day though his
ammunition was spent.
The Armada was seen fleeing into storm clouds and
waters made treacherous by rock, shallows, currents, and whirlpools. The
winds dashed several ships on the Shetlands; then swept by currents,
many more were left as wrecks on the Orkneys. They rounded Cape Wrath
and found themselves amid the treacherous Hebrides. Their crews were too
weak from lack of food and water to swim. They were driven along the
coasts of Scotland and Ireland. In desperation, they sent boats ashore
begging food and water. Then a storm rose that lasted 11 days.
Thirty-eight ships were left on the Irish coast including Admiral
Oquendo's great galleon.
Few vessels survived to return to Spain. When news of
the Armada's failure reached Rome, a satire was posted in which the Pope
was made to offer 1000 years indulgence to anyone telling the
whereabouts of the fleet --whether it had been taken to Heaven, or had
descended to Hell; or was hanging in mid-air! The Pope refused to pay
the million crowns he promised to Philip, and lost his power against the
Protestant church. Spain bore the loss estimated at 6 million ducats,
and though Sidonia survived, he was nearly the only nobleman to do so. A
cry rose to Heaven from the families of Spain. Queen Elizabeth and in
the United Provinces, the States-General, set aside this date, November
29, 1588 as a day to repair to churches and by fasting and prayer to
render thanksgiving to God "for the recent, wonderful dispersion of the
Spanish fleet which had descended upon the coast of England with the
object of conquering the Kingdom and bringing it under the tyranny of
the Pope."
29, 1683 --England. Thomas De Laune has written a book entitled, Plea
for the Non-Conformists: Shewing the True State of Their Case, and How
Far the Conformists Separation from the Church of Rome for Their Popish
Superstitutions, Introduced Into the Service of God, Justifies the
Non-Conformists' Separation From Them. Late this evening he will be
seized in his home and turned into prison with two bricks for his pillow
and a bench for his bed. Daniel Defoe, the celebrated writer of Robinson
Crusoe writes, "The expensive prosecution depriving him of his
livelihood had made him not only unable to pay this fine but unable to
subsist himself and his family. He continued in close confinement in
Newgate Prison about fifteen months and suffered there terrible
hardships by extreme poverty: being so entirely reduced by this disaster
that he had no subsistence, but what was contributed by such friends as
came to visit him ... He had a wife and two small children all with him
in the prison, for they had no subsistence elsewhere: the closeness and
inconveniences of the place first affected them, and all three by
lingering sorrows and sickness died in the prison . . .. At last, this
excellent person sunk under the burden and died there also."
29, 1860 --Louisiana. This Thursday, at New Orleans, Rev. Benjamin
Morgan Palmer preaches his Thanksgiving sermon at the First Presbyterian
Church: " ...Let people in all the Southern states, in solemn council
assemble, reclaim the powers they have delegated ... Let them pledge
each other in sacred covenant to uphold and perpetuate what they cannot
resign without dishonor and palpable ruin. Let them further, take all
the necessary steps looking to separate an independent existence, and
initiate measures for framing a new and homogeneous confederacy. Thus
prepared for every contingency, let the crisis come." He argues the
South has a providential trust "to conserve and to perpetuate the
institution of domestic slavery as now existing." And, that should the
crisis come, "we defend the cause of God and religion" since "the
abolition spirit is undeniably atheistic."
29, 1945 --Yugoslavia. The country of Yugoslavia becomes a federated
republic under Marshal Tito. The monarchy is abolished and King Peter II
is deprived of his rights as king.
In May 1946, Church and State will be separated:
financial support will be withdrawn, church property will be
confiscated, and compulsory civil marriage will be introduced. With most
seminaries closed due to lack of financial support, the need for new
pastors will not be met. Stepinac, Archbishop of Zagreb will be arrested
and will be sentenced to sixteen years hard labor. Education will be
taken over by the state. Printing presses will be confiscated and
ministers will be imprisoned or assassinated. Archbishop Stepinac will
charge that some two hundred and sixty pastors have been put to death.
Patriarch Gavrilo will protest against Marshall Tito's
religious policies of jailing and murdering church leaders, Metropolitan
Josip being numbered among them. For this reason, Tito refuses Patriarch
Gavrilo of Czechoslovakia to return. As a result he will fly to Moscow,
and there make submission to Patriarch Alexius and Stalin. He will
return to Belgrade under Russian escort, and will continue his protests
against the Communist dictator.