Strategic Success - Katelyn

No strategy has previously been perfect. Surprises and unexpected scenarios occur and destroy what was once considered the perfect plan. Ideas, people, and civilizations contain their strengths and weaknesses. Failure, however, does not always result. Success is often the outcome of well devised strategies, as exemplified by the English and Spanish colonies of the New World.

Of all the colonization in the New World, the Spanish and the English were by far the most successful due to their militaries’ strength, their attractiveness to newcomers, and their protectiveness. In order to be certain that supplies would reach their settlements, the Spanish and the English both had navies. Strong militaries were also at their disposal. Strength was not a lone positive attribute to the English and Spanish strategies. Living in the New World seemed very attractive to nercomers. Settlers would receive portions of land on arrival. The Spanish settlers would own everything and everyone on their land, including any Indians that might dwell there. England and Spain’s successes in luring settlers to their territories were also caused by their well-built fortifications. Forts were built to ward off Indians and protect themselves from attack. England’s and Spain’s immensely strong militaries were also helpful in protecting the settlers.

The English and Spanish settlements in the Americas are examples of how carefully devised and well thought out strategies can often lead to success. Strategic success has been found by many through precise and careful planning. A plan can never be carried out without at least a small amount of risk or a slight possibility of failure, but a carefully formed strategy has a much higher likelihood of triumph.

Katelyn (grade 8)

The Legendary Navigator - Mark

Many men throughout history have left their mark on the world. Their discoveries, inventions and scientific findings have helped us better understand the world around us. Sir Francis Drake is just one of those men. His life work for England included sailing around the world, disrupting Spanish colonies in the New World and defeating the Spanish Armada.

The year was 1577. Queen Elizabeth had just allowed Sir Francis Drake, along with John Winter and Thomas Doughty, to attempt a voyage that would take him and his six ship fleet around the world. They left Plymouth, England on December 13, 1577 and headed southwest. Their first stop was at Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America where the natives gave them fresh food and water. As they headed up the western coast of South America, Drake captured a few Spanish ships loaded with gold, pesos and treasures. Historians are not certain how far he went up North Americas Pacific Coast but he is believed to have gone as far as Vancouver Island, Canada. Drake and his crew then crossed the Pacific Ocean, passed through the Indian Ocean, sailed around Africa, and finally headed north back to Plymouth where they had left three year earlier. Upon his arrive in England Sir Francis Drake became a celebrity. The Queen also knighted him and gave him £10,000.

Drake was still hungry for adventure, so he left for the New World soon after his return to England. He headed for the Gulf of Mexico where he sacked the Spanish ports of Santo Domingo and Cartagena. On the return trip his fleet went up north and captured the Spanish fort San Augustín on the east coast of northern Florida. His path took him further up the East Coast to the little island of Roanoke; he became the savior of a few dozen starving colonists whom he took back to England.

Sir Francis’s crew returned to learn that their sacking of Spanish ports in the Gulf had angered Phillip II of Spain. War was coming. Drake was elected vice-admiral under Lord Howard. The winds and currents were against the Spanish, giving the English more time to launch their fleet. England was successful in driving the Spanish out of the English Channel and into the open sea where the climax, The Battle of Gravelines, occurred. Sir Francis Drake played a major part in the battle due to his strategy that ultimately broke the Spanish’s formation.

For these reasons Sir Francis Drake is an English hero, though villain and pirate to the Spanish. Folklore has it that if England ever comes in need they are to beat on Drake’s Drum, a snare drum Drake took on his voyage around the world, and he will return to defend his beloved homeland. Sir Francis Drake’s acts of courage and valor are remembered to this day; he certainly did leave his mark on England and the world.

- Mark (grade 10)

Pilgrims and Puritans - Danny

There has always been a desire in man’s heart to search for and explore new lands, and there are many different reasons why. Some men go for riches and wealth, others for the expansion of their countries and some for religious freedom. This desire for religious freedom is what brought the Separatists, also called Pilgrims, to Holland and eventually to America.

In 1607 a group of English Separatists migrated to Holland because of their desire to practice their religion without persecution. They stayed in Holland for ten years but they chose to leave when they realized that their children were picking up the Dutch language and culture, which not only threatened their English heritage, but more importantly, their religious faith. The Separatists obtained a land grant from the Virginia Company to settle in America. In 1620 they set out for the Virginia, but during bad weather the ship was blown to Massachusetts. They tried once more to go south to Virginia but were again blown back, so they decided to stay in Massachusetts. Because of their being outside the authority of the Virginia Company, they created their own system of government called the Mayflower Compact. This system was very important because that kind of self-government was not common, and it was the first document like it in America.

The Mayflower Compact has a big effect on us today because it opened up the path for the democratic government of the United States. The ideas found in the Mayflower Compact are similar to those that we follow today. The United States might not exist today if it weren’t for the storm which sent the Pilgrims to Massachusetts, where they were able to set up their own government. This shows that God is sovereign over all nations and kings, and will bring about whatever purpose he desires.

Danny (grade 9)