The last fight of the Revenge, which took place during the last two days of August 1591, was one of the most famous of all sea fights in English history. The courage of Sir Richard Grenville, as one ship stood against an armada of 53, has been an inspiration to generations of seafarers as well as to Tennyson for his evocative poem The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet. The incident gives an insight into an heroic age and the war raging between the world power of Spain and the growing confidence of Elizabethan England. This account aims to evoke life at sea at the end of the 16th century, and in particular life aboard one of the most beautiful galleons in the world, captained by the most arrogant man in the world. The author's other books include The Wreck of the Almiranta, The World of Defoe and The Making of the English Middle Class.