Allhie bey beschreibung der natürlichen Macht und Stärke…unüberwindliche Schiff-Armada/so König Philippus II in Hispanien Anno 1588.

Title

Allhie bey beschreibung der natürlichen Macht und Stärke…unüberwindliche Schiff-Armada/so König Philippus II in Hispanien Anno 1588.

View of the spanish Armada at the coast of England.

ca. 1550

Artist

Münster (1489-1552)

Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) was a leading Renaissance cosmographer. His most famous work, the Cosmographia (1544), was a comprehensive description of the world with 24 maps, based on research dating back to 1528. Continuously revised, the 1550 edition already included many new maps. It was the first scientific yet accessible world description published in German, illustrated with numerous woodcuts by artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger. Between 1544 and 1650, the Cosmographia appeared in 46 editions (27 in German) and was translated into several languages. Münster’s work combined the knowledge of scholars, artists, and travelers and remained influential long after his death.

Historical Description

The Armada sailed under the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588 to overthrow Elizabeth I against England. Consisting of 130 ships, it set sail from A Coruña in August 1588 under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia to escort an army from Flanders to England. The strategic aim was to overthrow the English Queen Elizabeth I and introduce Protestantism in England through the Tudors, in the expectation that this would stop English interference in the Spanish Netherlands and the damage to Spanish interests caused by English and Dutch privateering.