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.

Evidence

The ‘Providential’ Collapse of the Spanish Armada against England in 1588 (History is Now Magazine)

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; 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 affecting morale. — 17. Drake’s raid on Cadiz, 1587 Flashcards

Related

• 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 0.90)
• Even after the delay, many of the Armada’s barrels were made of green, half-seasoned wood, which split, cracked, and leaked. (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 0.89)
• A shortage of seasoned wood for barrel staves — caused by Drake’s raiding — meant that supplies of food and water went off. (similarity 0.86)
• 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 0.86)
• 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 0.86)
• 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 0.85)
• 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 0.83)
• 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 0.80)
• 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 0.80)
• Drake’s destruction of seasoned timber caused the Armada’s provisions to rot prematurely (similarity 0.79)
• Ships lost their anchors, and drifted out to sea to avoid catching fire, causing the Spanish ships’ formation to be completely broken. (similarity 0.79)
• Drake’s Cape St Vincent strike doomed the Armada through water loss (similarity 0.78)
• It was bad luck, bad tactics and bad weather that defeated the Spanish Armada—not the derring-do displayed by Elizabeth’s intrepid sea dogs. (similarity 0.78)