Even after the delay, many of the Armada’s barrels were made of green, half-seasoned wood, which split, cracked, and leaked.

Evidence

Sir Francis Drake and the Barrel Staves (English Historical Fiction Authors)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Drake’s destruction of seasoned timber caused the Armada’s provisions to rot prematurely — John Sugden, Sir Francis Drake, 876; Drake reported burning 16-17 hundred hoops and pipe-staves that would have made 25-30 thousand tons of casks, forcing Spain a year later to supply the Armada’s food under that loss. — Drake’s Raid on Cadiz; More than 13,500 Armada sailors and soldiers did not come home, the vast majority victims not of English cannon fire but of lack of food and water, virulent disease and incompetent organisation. — How the Spanish Armada Was Really Defeated (+1 more)

Related

• New barrels acquired for the fleet’s food-stores were still quite damp from being made, and these damp barrels quickly rotted out the food and water for the entirety of the Spanish fleet. (similarity 0.89)
• Because Drake captured more than 1,000 tons of seasoned wood, the Spanish had to make their barrels from unseasoned wood, which couldn’t preserve food and water, causing supply problems and… (similarity 0.88)
• Drake sailed into Cadiz destroying Spanish ships, and a huge stock of barrels was burned that were intended to transport stores, whose loss would affect essential food and water supplies for the… (similarity 0.88)
• A shortage of seasoned wood for barrel staves — caused by Drake’s raiding — meant that supplies of food and water went off. (similarity 0.87)
• Drake reported burning 16-17 hundred hoops and pipe-staves that would have made 25-30 thousand tons of casks, forcing Spain a year later to supply the Armada’s food under that loss. (similarity 0.87)
• Drake’s 1587 raid destroyed thousands of barrel staves essential for storage barrels, which would later affect the Spanish Armada of 1588 due to a shortage of food and drink. (similarity 0.87)
• More than 13,500 Armada sailors and soldiers did not come home, the vast majority victims not of English cannon fire but of lack of food and water, virulent disease and incompetent organisation. (similarity 0.86)
• Drake’s raid postponed the invasion from winter 1587 to 1588, and the resulting shortage of seasoned wood for barrel staves meant supplies of food and water went off. (similarity 0.84)
• Drake’s Cape St Vincent strike doomed the Armada through water loss (similarity 0.84)
• Much of the Spanish fleet assembling in the Bay of Cádiz was destroyed and substantial supplies destroyed or captured, delaying Armada preparations by a year. (similarity 0.83)
• Drake’s destruction of seasoned timber caused the Armada’s provisions to rot prematurely (similarity 0.81)
• Drake’s raid on Cádiz in April 1587 destroyed roughly 30 ships and large quantities of supplies, setting Spanish Armada preparations back by a year. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Drake’s Cape St Vincent strike doomed the Armada through water loss #complicates (0.65) — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 821