The Last Armada

November 9, 2015
In 1601, 13 years after the failure of the Great Armada’s attempt to invade the British Isles, the Spanish tried again, this time through Ireland. Irish journalist Ekin (The Stolen Village) effectively brings to life this fateful but largely forgotten second effort to claim England for Catholicism and the Spanish Hapsburgs. It’s a detailed narrative filled with heroism, treachery, dynastic politics, and adultery—the makings of a soap opera, except that all of it actually happened. Ekin wrings nearly everything he can from various archives; when details threaten to overwhelm the narrative, the voices of the participants—whether monarchs or lowly soldiers—revive the reader from fatigue. Where the archives are silent, Ekin offers prudent judgments about what might have occurred while reporting fairly on earlier participants’ and historians’ differing conclusions. And if Ekin sometimes goes a bit far, arguing, for example, that the 1601 siege of Kinsale “altered the balance of world power and changed history,” he’s no doubt correct that it deeply and permanently divided Ireland in ways that still endure. Ekin’s work is a nice contribution to the historical literature, and one very well told. Illus. Agent: Pamela Malpas, Harold Ober Associates.