nd the space between
decks]." The advantages of the first were that she was speedy and
"a fast ship by the wind" so as to avoid boarding by the enemy,
and could run in close and fire effective broadsides between wind
and water without being touched; whereas the big ship was more
terrifying, more commodious, stronger, and could carry more and
heavier guns. Monson, like many a later expert, suspended judgment
regarding the two types; but Sir Walter Raleigh came out strongly
for the smaller design. "The greatest ships," he writes, "are the
least serviceable...., less nimble, less maniable; 'Grande navi
grande fatiga,' saith the Spaniard. A ship of 600 tons will carry
as good ordnance as a ship of 1200 tons; and though the greater
have double her number, the lesser will turn her broadsides twice
before the greater can wind once." And elsewhere: "The high charging
of ships makes them extreme leeward, makes them sink deep in the
water, makes them labor, and makes them overset. Men may not expect
the ease of many cabins and safety at once in sea-service."[1]

[Footnote 1: WORKS, Oxford ed. 1829, Vol. VIII, p. 338.]

These statements were made after the Armada; but the trend of English
naval construction away from unwieldy ships such as used by the Spanish
in the Armada, is clearly seen in vessels dating from 1570-1580--the
_Foresight, Bull,_ and _Tiger_ (rebuilt from galleasses), the
_Swiftsure, Dreadnought, Revenge,_ and others of names renowned
in naval annals. These were all of about the dimensions of the
_Revenge,_ which was of 440 tons, 92 feet over all, 32 feet beam,
and 15 feet from deck to keel. That is to say, their length was
not more than three times their beam, and their beam was about
twice their depth in the hold--the characteristic proportions of
the galleon type.

The progressiveness of English ship construction is highly significant,
for to it may be attributed in large measure the Armada victory.
Spain had made no such advances; in fact, until the decade of the
Armada, she hardly had such a thing as a royal navy. The superiority
of the English ships was generally recognized. An English naval
writer in 1570 declared the ships of his nation so fine "none of
any other region may seem comparable to them"; and a Spaniard some
years later testified that his people regarded "one English ship
worth four of theirs."

Though not larger than frigates of Nelson's time, these ships were
crowded with an even heavier