Armada

Colin Martin was reader in maritime archaeology at St Andrews University and has directed excavations on three Armada shipwrecks. Geoffrey Parker teaches history at The Ohio State University and has published forty books. Both served as historical consultants on the BBC documentary Armada.

“Will surely become the definitive account. . . . Distinguished by incisive analysis, Armada fuses the complementary skills of the historian and the underwater archaeologist, exploiting the latest discoveries from the archives and seabed alike.”—Stephen Brumwell, Wall Street Journal“Its extensive updates, drawing on international archive research and marine archaeology, mean it should remain the definitive English study of the Armada for at least another generation.”—Dan Jones, Times (UK)“Martin and Parker have been working together on the Armada since its quatercentenary in 1988. This is their most comprehensive work, the profit of decades of tricky deep-sea archaeology and archive-trawling. It is this archaeological focus that makes their writing stand out among many competent histories. The remains of musical instruments and medical tools tell a human tale, balancing out detailed analysis of the innovations that provided the English with a military edge.”—Daniel Brooks, Sunday TelegraphOn Wall Street Journal’s list of “10 Books to Read: The Best Reviews of January 2023”“The most authoritative account of the Armada yet published. . . . A window onto the early modern world and a complete analysis of an event that continues to intrigue and enlighten.”—Margarette Lincoln, Times Literary Supplement”Martin and Parker have created not merely a very vivid and uniquely detailed retelling of a familiar story—which they reconstruct with consummate skill—but also a passage to the sixteenth-century maritime world. . . . This Armada deserves to sail home in triumph.”—Elliot Jordan, International Journal of Maritime History“It’s hard to imagine a more exhaustive or authoritative work on this battle.”—Rich Lowry, National Review“Martin and Parker relish all the technical detail and their enthusiasm is infectious.”—Jessie Childs, London Review of Books“The most comprehensive and authoritative book on the subject to date. It is also lucidly written and beautifully illustrated—altogether a superb work of historical narrative and analysis.”—Sean McGlynn, The Spectator“This work of scholarship, percipient judgement and lively style, illustrated beautifully and in astounding forensic and archaeological detail, is a pearl of great price.”—Allan Mallinson, Country Life“This is a magisterial study bringing together 40 years of archival and archaeological research. It has no rivals as a comprehensive and authoritative account of the Spanish Armada.”—David Childs, Naval Review“In 1988, [The Spanish Armada] made its mark with an unusual blending of two historical disciplines: underwater archaeology and archival research. [This] new volume brings that blend to a virtuoso level.”—John B. Hattendorf, Naval War College Review“Those who claim you cannot improve on perfection need to explain this book. Parker and Martin’s original account of the Armada campaign was the work from which all subsequent scholars took their lead; this one, with 30 years’ worth of extra research and thought, sets a new benchmark. Magisterial.”—Dan Snow, author of On This Day in History“An elegant marriage between archival research and marine archaeology yields new light on the Armada and its benighted crews in a compelling account of the 1588 campaign. After reading this absorbing book, who can now still believe that history is static, carved in stone?”—Robert Hutchinson, author of The Spanish Armada“A gripping, scholarly and masterful appraisal of the events of 1588. Piecing together a wealth of original sources, from letters and papers in the archives of England, Spain and the USA to evidence from the shipwrecks, Parker and Martin have constructed a narrative that is as vivid as it is dramatic. This brilliant book will rapidly take its place as the definitive work on the Armada.”—Tracy Borman, author of The Private Lives of the Tudors“Martin and Parker’s Armada is the best explanation of the defeat of the attempted Spanish Invasion of England in 1588. Skilfully combining archaeological and historical research, these great scholars provide here the authoritative edition of their lifetimes’ work on the subject.”—Hiram Morgan, University College Cork  “This is a magisterial study of some 50 years in the making. Bringing together for the first time the latest insights from archaeological research with important new manuscript discoveries, Martin and Parker have written the authoritative book on the Spanish Armada of 1588, which is as comprehensive as it is compelling.”—James Daybell, University of Plymouth