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69. This friendly attitude of the Dutch to the English was due to a
variety of causes. Both nations represented the new religion in its
struggle against the established church. In consequence of the
terrible atrocities of the Duke of Alva, the Dutch had an
inextinguishable hatred for the Spaniards, and were ready to do
anything to thwart their plans and diminish their power. Then, too,
the Dutch remembered how the ships of Elizabeth, laden with
provisions, had brought succor to their beleaguered cities and saved
the lives of their famished people. So, animated by enmity on the one
side and by gratitude on the other, the Dutch for a time forgot their
struggle for maritime supremacy with the English, and brought all
their force to bear to support the English cause in its hour of
greatest need.
70. The Spaniards seem never to have anticipated this energetic action
on the part of the Dutch. The Duke of Medina Sidonia now found that he
could get no direct sea communication with the Spanish land-forces;
and the Duke of Parma found himself in a situation where his
invincible army was powerless, and his soldierly experience and
talents were of no avail. The plans of the Spanish admiral to make use
of the small vessels of Parma had been thwarted by the Dutch, and the
dispersion of the Dutch vessels had been prevented by the fierce
attack of Howard and Drake upon the Armada.
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