How did a condemned Spanish Armada captain survive shipwreck, betrayal, and war to leave behind one of the most extraordinary first-person accounts of the 16th century?

Francisco de Cuéllar was a career officer shaped by the harsh realities of early modern warfare, surviving looting, imprisonment, betrayal, and a brutal overland escape through a hostile landscape. Cuéllar's journey became one of the most gripping survival stories to emerge from the Spanish Armada shipwrecks.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Cuéllar's biographer Francis Kelly to explore a story of survival, imperial warfare, and one man’s determination not to be erased by history.

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When the Spanish Armada Reached Ireland

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The Spanish Armada

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

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