History Dispatches

The Glorious Defeat of the Revenge - The 1591 Battle of Flores

September 11, 2026·20 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

On August 30, 1591, the British fleet was surprised off the Azores by a superior Spanish force. The English quickly fled - except for one ship - the Revenge. The captain, Richard Grenville, refused to abandon the British sailors who were on shore at the time the Spanish arrived on the scene. Grenville would thus stand and fight - alone - against the entire 55-ship Spanish fleet. This is the story of the Battle of Flores - or the Glorious Defeat of the Revenge. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flores_(1591) “The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet” by Lord Alfred Tennyson - https://www.online-literature.com/tennyson/726/ “Last Fight of the Revenge” by Sir Walter Raleigh https://webhispania.info/this-is-how-spain-crushed-the-royal-navy-in-1591-the-feat-england-wants-us-to-forget/ Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Edward_Dixon_The_Revenge_1591_Battle_of_Flores_Azores_(cropped).jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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