A Great Name Commands Automatic Respect

The [Spanish] Armada’s new Captain General was Don Alonso Perez de Guzman el Bueno, the seventh Duke of Medina Sidonia. He was a country aristocrat of 38, short in stature, broad-shouldered, with brown hair and beard, and a melancholy countenance. His name was one of Spain’s oldest, and his fortune was considerable: He owned orange groves in Andalusia and controlled the revenues of the local tuna industry. In his role as a provincial overlord, he was known for diligence and tact. But his talents as a military leader were largely untested; when Francis Drake had raided Cadiz harbor the year before, the Duke had hurried in with troops to defend the town—but the town had never come under attack. And nothing seemed to mark him for naval leadership. He had never captained a fleet of ships. He had never seen a battle at sea.

The last thing Medina Sidonia wanted was to conduct the Armada to England. While [the Marquis of] Santa Cruz still tossed with fever on his deathbed, [King] Philip wrote Medina Sidonia a letter that hinted at the forthcoming command; the Duke’s response was prompt and plaintive. “I wish I possessed the talents and strength necessary for such a great task,” he wrote. “But, Sir, my health is too poor, for I know by my small experience afloat that I soon become seasick, and always catch cold. I am deeply in debt. My family owes 900,000 ducats, and I have not a single real to spend on the expedition.”

Medina Sidonia’s letter did no good, for Philip had made up his mind. “If you fail, you fail,” the King wrote back, “but the cause being the cause of God, you will not fail. Take heart and sail as soon as possible.” Undoubtedly the King placed special importance on Medina Sidonia’s possession of a great name. In an age when ancestry counted for much, the Duke would command automatic respect from the proud and jealous sea captains at Lisbon. No lesser nobleman could quiet the squabbles over honor and precedence that were bound to develop after the death of the Marquis of Santa Cruz. And no doubt the King reasoned further that, despite his cries of poverty, the Duke would contribute handsomely to the Enterprise. In that the King would prove correct….

— The Armada, pp. 63-64