Both fleets had cannon, so differences in carriage design and firing speed matter more than a claim of decisive English weapons. Neither side possessed the concentrated firepower associated with the mature age of sail, and later rated warships would have overmatched both fleets. Race-built galleons lay near the beginning of the design path toward those ships because they reduced the fighting positions reserved for soldiers. High forecastles and aftercastles still helped archers and musketeers fight from protected positions during boarding actions. A playful thought experiment about rapid-fire longbows explains why English ships preferred gunfire at range when they had no weapon able to suppress the soldiers massed for close combat.
Notable Point · 34:01-37:23
An early stage in the age of sail
Armada-era ships carried cannon, but their fighting methods still reflected an earlier world of soldiers, castles, and close combat.