Task 7 . Fill in the gaps in the summary of this subpart while watching the film and note how many ships there were in the Spanish Armada, and how many returned home

Fear of the sea-borne invasion is such a powerful part of British national psyche, and that fear was never stronger, nor was the threat more 1)…. than in the XVI- th century when 2) ….. Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne.

When Elizabeth ordered the execution of Mary* involved in a Catholic conspiracy (заговор) against her, she gave Philip of Spain* a perfect excuse to launch an invasion of England.

Elizabeth was expecting an almighty clash with Philip, so she was re-building the English 3)….. But Spain was the maritime (морская) super-power of the day. Philip wanted to stop England being Spain’s naval rival. He saw England as the land supporting 4) …… and buccaneers (пиратов) like Francis Drake*. Philip was going to rely on the mighty Spanish fleet, the Armada. The invasion plan was simple: first sail the Armada from Spain through Spanish Netherlands, then cross the Channel and invade England from the south.

The English ships were smaller and more maneuverable, and they also had guns that fired faster and had a longer range. But the English fleet was much 5)……. than the massive Spanish Armada. The battle took place in May 1588. The English fleet was trapped in Plymouth by incoming tide (прилив). Drake was playing balls and did not hurry. His courage became a legend, an example of English calmness in the face of adversity (несчастья, испытания).

The Armada finally anchored off Calais* to wait for the troops to invade England. Drake and the English seized their 6) ……. In the dead of night some less valuable ships packed with explosives were set alight and sent in the direction of the wooden Armada. This caused confusion among the Spanish and the ships were scattered among the English fleet.

But was it Drake who finally defeated the Spanish? The Armada sailed into a fiercest storm imaginable. Only around 67 ships eventually returned to Spain.

The crash and defeat of the Spanish Armada gave the English a new-found sense of confidence. It was also a victory of Protestantism over Catholicism. Sir Francis Drake and his little ships taking on massive Spanish galleons perfectly fitted in with the myth of plucky little England triumphing against all the odds. The 7) ……. over Armada gave England confidence to expand her naval reach and power. Sea became their closest ally, and oceanic trade made Britain rich.

* Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 – 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen regnant of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560. Mary, the only surviving legitimate child of King James V of Scotland, was 6 days old when her father died and she succeeded to the throne. She spent most of her childhood in France while Scotland was ruled by regents, and in 1558, she married theDauphin of France, Francis. He ascended the French throne as King Francis II in 1559, and Mary briefly became queen consort of France, until his death on 5 December 1560. Widowed, Mary returned toScotland, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561. On 24 July 1567, she was forced to abdicate in favour of James, her one-year-old son by Darnley. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, she fled southwards seeking the protection of her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Mary had previously claimed Elizabeth's throne as her own and was considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English Catholics, including participants in a rebellion known as the Rising of the North. Perceiving her as a threat, Elizabeth had her confined in a number of castles and manor houses in the interior of England. After eighteen and a half years in custody, Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth, and was executed.

*Philip II of Spain (1527 – 1598) was King of Spain and Portugal. During his marriage to Queen Mary I, he was King of England and Ireland and pretender to the kingdom of France. Philip was born in Valladolid, the son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, and his wife, Isabella of Portugal. Under his rule, Spain reached the height of its influence and power, directing explorations all around the world and settling the colonisation of territories on all the known continents including his namesake Philippine Islands. Philip coined the expression "The empire on which the sun never sets".

*Sir Francis Drake,Vice Admiral (1540 – 27 January 1596) was an English sea captain, navigator, slaver (работорговец), and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the second circumnavigation (кругосветное плавание)of the world, from 1577 to 1580. His exploits (подвиги) were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards to whom he was known as El Draque. King Philip II was said to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, about £4 million (US$6.5M) by modern standards, for his life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Drake

* Callais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km (21 mi) wide here, and is the closest French town to England. TheWhite Cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day from Calais. Calais is a major port for ferries between France and England, and since 1994, the Channel Tunnel has linked nearby Coquelles to Folkestone by rail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callais