To: 
From: "Vern Humphrey" 
Reply-To: r_catholic-l{at}yahoogroups.com

To: seanmbrook{at}aol.com [mailto:seanmbrook{at}aol.com]
> >
>  In strict fairness, one historian I read said Medina-
>  Sidonia WAS a competent man.  As a diplomat?
>  But he wasn't the right choice to be an admiral.

Since that happened to be his job at the moment, the comment about
incompetence holds.  He was also no manager -- hence the sad state of the
Armada's preparation and armament.
>
> > VH> To his credit, he KNEW he was incompetent, and told the
> King so -- but
> > the
> > King insisted.
> >
>  I know.  But wasn't Philip II often constrained by politics
>  over what he could DO?  E.g., appointments to military
>  commands.

That's my point -- no one but someone of Medina-Sidona's rank would be
politically acceptable.
>
>  I know!  A determined ruler should ignore political
>  considerations sometimes and appoint strictly by
>  a man's ability.

In his place, I would simply have appointed low-ranking subordinates, and
then made Medina-Sidona  a figurehead to whom the real commander could come
when he needed political clout.
>
>  And not all of OUR generals and admirals have
>  been competent.
>
True -- and, by and large, it was politics that caused that.


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