document_title: Price of oil

question_text: when did the oil and gas downturn start

question_tokens: when did the oil and gas downturn start

root

text: Price of oil

text: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)[edit]

text: In 1960 the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq by its first five members —Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela—,[4][5][6] with Qatar and Libya joining immediately, followed by United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador and Gabon after a decade. The goal of these countries was to increase its influence in the world oil market, then dominated by a cartel known as the "Seven Sisters", five of which were headquartered in the United States.[5] These companies had been controlling posted prices since the so-called 1927 Red Line Agreement and 1928 Achnacarry Agreement, and had achieved a high level of price stability until 1972.[5] Angola joined the OPEC in 2007 and Equatorial Guinea in 2017.

tag: p

text: History[edit]

text: Price history from 2003 onwards[edit]

text:
From 1999 til mid 2008, the price of oil rose significantly. It was explained by the rising oil demand in countries like China and India.[7]
In the middle of the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the price of oil underwent a significant decrease after the record peak of US$147.27 it reached on July 11, 2008. On December 23, 2008, WTI crude oil spot price fell to US$30.28 a barrel, the lowest since the financial crisis of 2007–2010 began. The price sharply rebounded after the crisis and rose to US$82 a barrel in 2009.[8] In July 2008 oil reached a record peak of US$147.27 but by February 2009 it sank beneath $40 a barrel.[9] On 31 January 2011, the Brent price hit $100 a barrel for the first time since October 2008, on concerns about the political unrest in Egypt.[10] For about three and half years the price largely remained in the $90–$120 range. In the middle of 2014, price started declining due to a significant increase in oil production in USA, and declining demand in the emerging countries.[11] The oil glut—caused by multiple factors—spurred a sharp downward spiral in the price of oil that continued through February 2016.[12] By February 3, 2016 oil was below $30—[13] a drop of "almost 75 percent since mid-2014 as competing producers pumped 1–2 million barrels of crude daily exceeding demand, just as China's economy hit lowest growth in a generation."[14] Some analysts speculate that it may continue to drop further, perhaps as low as $18[15]

text: According to a report released on February 15, 2016 by Deloitte LLP—the audit and consulting firm—with global crude oil at near ten-year low prices, 35% of listed E&P oil and gas companies are at a high risk of bankruptcy worldwide.[16][17] Indeed, bankruptcies "in the oil and gas industry could surpass levels seen in the Great Recession."[16][18]

text: The causes of oil price fluctuations[edit]

text: There are two views dominating the oil market discourse. There are those who strongly believe that the market has undergone structural changes and that low oil prices are here to stay for a prolonged period. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who think that this is yet another cycle and oil prices will recover sooner rather than later.[19]

text: A 2016 survey of the academic literature finds that "most major oil price fluctuations dating back to 1973 are largely explained by shifts in the demand for crude oil".[20] As the global economy expands, so does demand for crude oil.[20] The authors note that the price of oil has also increased at times due to greater "demand for stocks (or inventories) of crude oil... to guard against future shortages in the oil market. Historically, inventory demand has been high in times of geopolitical tension in the Middle East, low spare capacity in oil production, and strong expected global economic growth."[20] In particular, political events can have a strong influence on the oil price. Historical examples include OPEC’s 1973 embargo in reaction to the Yom Kippur War and the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Financial analysts and academics have had very few tools to study such political events compared to what is available on economic aspects of oil price formation.[21] The PRIX index was developed in attempt to fill this gap with a metric on political developments and corresponding export trends from world’s 20 largest oil exporters.[21][22]

text: The supply of oil is dependent on geological discovery, the legal and tax framework for oil extraction, the cost of extraction, the availability and cost of technology for extraction, and the political situation in oil-producing countries. Both domestic political instability in oil producing countries and conflicts with other countries can destabilise the oil price. In 2008 the New York Times reported, for example, in the 1940s the price of oil was about $17 rising to just over $20 during the Korean War (1951–1953). During the Vietnam War (1950s – 1970s) the price of oil slowly declined to under $20. During the Arab oil embargo of 1973—the first oil shock—the price of oil rapidly rose to double in price. During the 1979 Iranian Revolution the price of oil rose. During the second oil shock the price of oil peaked in April 1980 at $103.76. During the 1980s there was a period of "conservation and insulation efforts" and the price of oil dropped slowly to c. $22. It again reached a peak of c. $65 during the 1990 Persian Gulf crisis and war. Following that, there was a period of global recessions and the price of oil hit a low of c. $15 before it peaked at a high of $45 on September 11, 2001[23] only to drop again to a low of $26 on May 8, 2003.[14] The price rose to $80 with the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. By March 3, 2008 the price of oil reached $103.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.[23]

text: Although the oil price is largely determined by the balance between supply and demand—as with all commodities—some commentators including Business Week, the Financial Times and the Washington Post, argued that the rise in oil prices prior to the financial crisis of 2007–2008 was due to speculation in futures markets.[24][25][26][27][28]

text: For a dissenting view of oil prices being determined by demand, see Forbes, "Global Oil Demand is Always Rising – and Not Related to Price".[29]

text: Benchmark pricing[edit]

text: In North America this generally refers to the WTI Cushing Crude Oil Spot Price West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also known as Texas Light Sweet, a type of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing and the underlying commodity of New York Mercantile Exchange's oil futures contracts. WTI is a light crude oil, lighter than Brent Crude oil. It contains about 0.24% sulfur, rating it a sweet crude, sweeter than Brent. Its properties and production site make it ideal for being refined in the United States, mostly in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions. WTI has an API gravity of around 39.6 (specific gravity approx. 0.827) per barrel (159 liters) of either WTI/light crude as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma. Cushing, Oklahoma, a major oil supply hub connecting oil suppliers to the Gulf Coast, has become the most significant trading hub for crude oil in North America.

text: In Europe and some other parts of the world, the oil price benchmark is Brent as traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, into which the International Petroleum Exchange has been incorporated) for delivery at Sullom Voe.

text: Other important benchmarks include Dubai, Tapis, and the OPEC basket. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) uses the imported refiner acquisition cost, the weighted average cost of all oil imported into the US, as its "world oil price".

text: In Robert Mabro's 2006 book on challenges and opportunities in oil in the 21st century, after the collapse of the OPEC-administered pricing system in 1985, and a short lived experiment with netback pricing, oil-exporting countries adopted a market-linked pricing mechanism.[30] First adopted by PEMEX in 1986, market-linked pricing received wide acceptance and by 1988 became and still is the main method for pricing crude oil in international trade.[30]  The current reference, or pricing markers, are Brent, WTI, and Dubai/Oman.[30]

text: Market listings[edit]

text: Oil is marketed among other products in commodity markets. By 2008 widely traded oil futures, and related natural gas futures, included with most of these oil futures having delivery dates every month:[31][32]

text:
Petroleum
Nymex Crude Future
Dated Brent Spot
WTI Cushing Spot
Nymex Heating Oil Future
Nymex RBOB (Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending) Gasoline Future
Natural gas
Nymex Henry Hub Future
Henry Hub Spot
New York City Gate Spot

tag: ul

text: Speculation during the 2008 crisis[edit]

text: In June 2008 Business Week reported that the surge in oil prices prior to 2008 had led some commentators to argue that at least some of the rise was due to speculation in the futures markets.[24] However, although speculation can greatly raise the oil price in the short run, in the long run fundamental market conditions will determine the oil price. Storing oil is expensive, and all speculators must ultimately, and generally within a few months, sell the oil they purchase.

text: According to a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) May 29, 2008 report the "Multiple Energy Market Initiatives" was launched in partnership with the United Kingdom Financial Services Authority and ICE Futures Europe in order to expand surveillance and information sharing of various futures contracts.  Part 1 is "Expanded International Surveillance Information for Crude Oil Trading."[28]  This announcement has received wide coverage in the financial press, with speculation about oil futures price manipulation.[25][26][27]

text: The interim report by the Interagency Task Force, released in July, found that speculation had not caused significant changes in oil prices and that fundamental supply and demand factors provide the best explanation for the crude oil price increases. The report found that the primary reason for the price increases was that the world economy had expanded at its fastest pace in decades, resulting in substantial increases in the demand for oil, while the oil production grew sluggishly, compounded by production shortfalls in oil-exporting countries.

text: The report stated that as a result of the imbalance and low price elasticity, very large price increases occurred as the market attempted to balance scarce supply against growing demand, particularly in the last three years. The report forecast that this imbalance would persist in the future, leading to continued upward pressure on oil prices, and that large or rapid movements in oil prices are likely to occur even in the absence of activity by speculators. The task force continues to analyze commodity markets and intends to issue further findings later in the year.

text: Oil-storage trade (contango)[edit]

text: The strategy works because oil prices for delivery in the future are trading at a premium to those in the spot market – a market structure known in the industry as contango – with investors expecting prices to eventually recover from the near 60 percent slide in oil in the last seven months.

text: The oil-storage trade, also referred to as contango, a market strategy in which large, often vertically-integrated oil companies purchase oil for immediate delivery and storage—when the price of oil is low— and hold it in storage until the price of oil increases. Investors bet on the future of oil prices through a financial instrument, oil futures in which they agree on a contract basis, to buy or sell oil at a set date in the future. Crude oil is stored in salt mines, tanks and oil tankers.[33]

text: Investors can choose to take profits or losses prior to the oil-delivery date arrives. Or they can leave the contract in place and physical oil is "delivered on the set date" to an "officially designated delivery point", in the United States, that is usually Cushing, Oklahoma. When delivery dates approach, they close out existing contracts and sell new ones for future delivery of the same oil. The oil never moves out of storage. If the forward market is in "contango"—the forward price is higher than the current spot price—the strategy is very successful.

text: Scandinavian Tank Storage AB and its founder Lars Jacobsson introduced the concept on the market in early 1990.[34] But it was in 2007 through 2009 the oil storage trade expanded,[35] with many participants—including Wall Street giants, such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Citicorp—turning sizeable profits simply by sitting on tanks of oil.[36] By May, 2007 Cushing's inventory fell by nearly 35% as the oil-storage trade heated up.[36]

text: "The trend follows a spike in oil futures prices that has created incentives for traders to buy crude oil and oil products at current rates, sell them on futures markets and store them until delivery."

text: By the end of October 2009 one in twelve of the largest oil tankers was being used more for temporary storage of oil, rather than transportation.[37]

text: From June 2014 to January 2015, as the price of oil dropped 60 percent and the supply of oil remained high, the world's largest traders in crude oil purchased at least 25 million barrels to store in supertankers to make a profit in the future when prices rise. Trafigura, Vitol, Gunvor, Koch, Shell and other major energy companies began to book booking oil storage supertankers for up to 12 months. By 13 January 2015 At least 11 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) and Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCC)" have been reported as booked with storage options, rising from around five vessels at the end of last week. Each VLCC can hold 2 million barrels."[38]

text: In 2015 as global capacity for oil storage was out-paced by global oil production, and an oil glut occurred. Crude oil storage space became a tradable commodity with CME Group— which owns NYMEX— offering oil-storage futures contracts in March 2015.[33] Traders and producers can buy and sell the right to store certain types of oil.[33]

text: By 5 March 2015, as oil production outpaces oil demand by 1.5 million barrels a day, storage capacity globally is dwindling.[33] In the United States alone, according to data from the Energy Information Administration, U.S. crude-oil supplies are at almost 70% of the U. S. storage capacity, the highest to capacity ratio since 1935.[33]

text: Comparative cost of production[edit]

text:
Oil and gas barrel production Cost, March 2016[39]

Country
Grosstaxes
Capitalspending
Productioncosts
Admintransport
Total

UK
$0
$22.67
$17.36
$4.30
$44.33

Brazil
$6.66
$16.09
$9.45
$2.80
$34.99

Nigeria
$4.11
$13.10
$8.81
$2.97
$28.99

Venezuela
$10.48
$6.66
$7.94
$2.54
$27.62

Canada
$2.48
$9.69
$11.56
$2.92
$26.64

U.S. Shale
$6.42
$7.56
$5.85
$3.52
$23.35

Norway
$0.19
$13.76
$4.24
$3.12
$21.31

U.S. non-shale
$5.03
$7.70
$5.15
$3.11
$20.99

Indonesia
$1.55
$7.65
$6.87
$3.63
$19.71

Russia
$8.44
$5.10
$2.98
$2.69
$19.21

Iraq
$0.91
$5.03
$2.16
$2.47
$10.57

Iran
$0
$4.48
$1.94
$2.67
$9.08

Saudi Arabia
$0
$3.50
$3.00
$2.49
$8.98

tag: table

text: Future projections[edit]

text: Peak oil is the period when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. It relates to a long-term decline in the available supply of petroleum.  This, combined with increasing demand, will significantly increase the worldwide prices of petroleum derived products.  Most significant will be the availability and price of liquid fuel for transportation.

text: The US Department of Energy in the Hirsch report indicates that "The problems associated with world oil production peaking will not be temporary, and past "energy crisis" experience will provide relatively little guidance."[40] The 2014 United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects report notes that "Oil prices were on a downward trend in the first half of 2013 (after a spike in January and February caused by geopolitical tensions with Iran), as global demand for oil weakened along with the deceleration in world economic growth overall." [41]

text: According to the United Nations, world oil demand is projected to reach over 99 million barrels per day in 2018.[42]

text: Impact of declining oil price[edit]

text: A major rise or decline in oil price can have both economic and political impacts. The decline on oil price during 1985–1986 is considered to have contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union.[43] Low oil prices could alleviate some of the negative effects associated with the resource curse, such as authoritarian rule[44][45][46][47][48] and gender inequality.[49][50] Lower oil prices could however also lead to domestic turmoil and diversionary war. The reduction in food prices that follows lower oil prices could have positive impacts on violence globally.[51]

text: Research shows that declining oil prices make oil-rich states less bellicose.[52] Low oil prices could also make oil-rich states engage more in international cooperation, as they become more dependent on foreign investments.[53] The influence of the United States reportedly increases as oil prices decline, at least judging by the fact that "both oil importers and exporters vote more often with the United States in the United Nations General Assembly" during oil slumps.[51]

text:
The macroeconomics impact on lower oil prices is lower inflation. A lower inflation rate is good for the consumers. This means that the general price of a basket of goods would increase at a bare minimum on a year to year basis. Consumer can benefit as they would have a better purchasing power, which may improve real gdp [54]. However, in recent countries like Japan, the decrease in oil prices may cause deflation and it shows that consumers are not willing to spend even though the prices of goods are decreasing yearly, which indirectly increases the real debt burden.[54]
Declining oil prices may boost consumer oriented stocks but may hurt oil-based stocks.[55][56] It is estimated that 17–18% of S&P would decline with declining oil prices.

text: The oil importing economies like EU, Japan, China or India would benefit, however the oil producing countries would lose.[57][58][59] A Bloomberg article presents results of an analysis by Oxford Economics on the GDP growth of countries as a result of a drop from $84 to $40. It shows the GDP increase between 0.5% to 1.0% for India, USA and China, and a decline of greater than 3.5% from Saudi Arabia and Russia. A stable price of $60 would add 0.5 percentage point to global gross domestic product.

text: Katina Stefanova has argued that falling oil prices do not imply a recession and a decline in stock prices.[60] Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab, had earlier written that  that  positive impact on consumers and businesses outside of the energy sector, which is a larger portion of the US economy will outweigh the negatives.[61] Taking cues from a legendary oil investor, Harold Hamm, ranked as one of the richest men in the world by Forbes, Shawn Baldwin, Chairman of alternative investment firm The AIA Group, speculates that oil prices will rise by year-end 2016 from current levels.[62]

text: Oil glut[edit]

text: Economists have observed that the 2015–2016 oil glut also known as 2010s oil glut started with a considerable time-lag, more than six years after the beginning of the Great Recession: "the price of oil [had] stabilized at a relatively high level (around $100 a barrel) unlike all  previous recessionary cycles since 1980 (start of First Persian Gulf War). But nothing guarantee[d] such price levels in perpetuity".[63]

text: During 2014–2015, OPEC members consistently exceeded their production ceiling, and China experienced a marked slowdown in economic growth. At the same time, U.S. oil production nearly doubled from 2008 levels, due to substantial improvements in shale "fracking" technology in response to record oil prices. A combination of factors led a plunge in U.S. oil import requirements and a record high volume of worldwide oil inventories in storage, and a collapse in oil prices that continues into 2016.[64][65][66]

text: It has also been argued that the collapse in oil prices in 2015 should be very beneficial for developed western economies, who are generally oil importers and aren't over exposed to declining demand from China.[67] In the Asia-Pacific region, exports and economic growth were at significant risk across economies reliant on commodity exports as an engine of growth. The most vulnerable economies were those with a high dependence on fuel and mineral exports to China, such as: Korea DPR, Mongolia and Turkmenistan – where primary commodity exports account for 59–99% of total exports and more than 50% of total exports are destined to China. The decline in China’s demand for commodities also adversely affected the growth of exports and GDP of large commodity-exporting economies such as Australia (minerals) and the Russian Federation (fuel). On the other hand, lower commodity prices led to an improvement in the trade balance – through lower the cost of raw materials and fuels – across commodity importing economies, particularly Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and other remote island nations (Kiribati, Maldives, Micronesia (F.S), Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu) which are highly dependent on fuel and agricultural imports [68]

text: The North Sea oil and gas industry was financially stressed by the reduced oil prices, and called for government support in May 2016.[69]

text: Hedging as risk management[edit]

text: The use of hedging using commodity derivatives as a risk management tool on price exposure to liquidity and earnings, has been long established in North America. Chief Financial Officers (CFOS) use derivatives to dampen, remove or mitigate price uncertainty.[70] Bankers also use hedge funds to more "safely increase leverage to smaller oil and gas companies."[70] However, when not properly used, "derivatives can multiply losses"[70] particularly in North America where investors are more comfortable with higher levels of risk than in other countries.[70]

text: With the large number of bankruptcies as reported by Deloitte[18] "funding [for upstream oil industry] is shrinking and hedges are unwinding."[16] "Some oil producers are also choosing to liquidate hedges for a quick infusion of cash, a risky bet."[17]

text: "Access to capital markets, bankers' support and derivatives protection, which helped smooth an otherwise rocky road, are fast waning...The roughly 175 companies at risk of bankruptcy have more than $150 billion in debt, with the slipping value of secondary stock offerings and asset sales further hindering their ability to generate cash."

text: To finance exploration and production of the unconventional shale oil industry in the United States, "hundreds of billions of dollars of capital came from non-bank participants [non-bank buyers of bank energy credits] in leveraged loans] that were thought at the time to be low risk.[71] However, with the oil glut that continued into 2016, about a third of oil companies are facing bankruptcy.[18] While investors were aware that there was a risk that the operator might declare bankruptcy, they felt protected because "they had come in at the 'bank' level, where there was a senior claim on the assets [and] they could get their capital returned."[70]

text: By 2012,[70]

text: "... in recent years the combination of the development of large resource plays in the US and the emergence of business models designed to ensure consistent dividend payouts to investors has led to the development of more aggressive hedging policies in companies and less restrictive covenants in bank loans."

text: A classic example of taking on too much risk through hedging is the 1982 collapse of Penn Square Bank caused by plummeting of the price of oil in 1981.[71] Penn Square Bank had lent too much to Exploration and Production E&P operators. Penn Square Bank caused the failure of Seafirst in 1982 and then Continental Illinois.[71] When they failed and were liquidated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) the non-bank buyers or participants of bank energy credits of these leveraged loans participants were considered to be 'unsecured claims,' not 'true sales' and they were not able to collect any capital.[71]

text: At the 5th annual World Pensions Forum in 2015, Jeffrey Sachs advised institutional investors to divest from carbon-reliant oil industry firms in their pension fund's portfolio.[72]

text: 2015–16 prices: The lows of January 2016[73][edit]

text: Because of oversupply and lack of agreements between oil-producing countries members of the OPEC (Saudi Arabia in particular, which pumped at world's records) and also because of lack of coordinated efforts between OPEC and Non-OPEC countries (Russian being a big player, refusing to reduce production) the price of oil fell rapidly in 2015 and continued to slide in 2016 causing the cost of WTI crude to fall to a 10-year low of $26.55 on January 20. The average price of oil in January 2016 was well below $35. Oil did not recover until April 2016, when oil went above the $45 mark.

text: By 20 January 2016, the OPEC Reference Basket was down to US$22.48/bbl—less than one-fourth of its high from June 2014 ($110.48), less than one-sixth of its record from July 2008 ($147.27), and back below the April 2003 starting point ($23.27) of its historic run-up.[66] According to the United Nations, growth prospects of the oil exporters are predicted to remain subdued past 2018.[74]


document_title: Spanish Armada

question_text: how many english ships fought the spanish armada

text: Spanish Armada

text: Etymology

text: The word armada is from the Spanish armada, which is a cognate with English army. Originally from the Latin armāta, the past participle of armāre (to arm), used in Romance languages as a noun, for armed force, army, navy, fleet.[27] Armada Española is still the Spanish term for the modern Spanish Navy. Armada (originally from its armadas) was also the Portuguese traditional term (now alternative, but in common use) of the Portuguese Navy.

text: History

text: Background

text: Henry VIII began the English Reformation as a political exercise over his desire to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Over time it became increasingly aligned with the Protestant reformation taking place in Europe, especially during the reign of Henry's son, Edward VI. Edward's death without an heir led to Henry's daughter Mary I taking the throne. A devout Catholic, Mary (with her co-monarch and husband, Philip II of Spain) began to reassert Roman influence over church affairs. Her attempts led to over 260 people being burned at the stake, earning her the nickname 'Bloody Mary'.[28]

text: Mary's death in 1558 led to her half-sister, Elizabeth I, taking the throne. Unlike Mary, Elizabeth was firmly in the reformist camp, and quickly reimplemented many of Edward's reforms. Philip, no longer co-monarch, deemed Elizabeth a heretic and illegitimate ruler of England. Under Roman law, Henry had never officially divorced Catherine, making Elizabeth illegitimate. It is alleged that Phillip supported plots to have Elizabeth overthrown in favour of her Catholic cousin and heir presumptive, Mary, Queen of Scots; however, these were thwarted when Elizabeth had the Queen of Scots imprisoned and finally executed in 1587. Elizabeth retaliated against Philip by supporting the Dutch revolt against Spain, as well as funding privateers to raid Spanish ships across the Atlantic.

text: In retaliation, Philip planned an expedition to invade England in order to overthrow Elizabeth and reinstate Catholicism.[29] Through this, it would end the English material support for the United Provinces – the part of the Low Countries that had successfully seceded from Spanish rule – and cut off English attacks on Spanish trade and settlements[30] in the New World. The King was supported by Pope Sixtus V, who treated the invasion as a crusade, with the promise of a subsidy should the Armada make land.[31]

text: A raid on Cádiz, led by Francis Drake in April 1587, had captured or destroyed some thirty ships and great quantities of supplies, setting preparations back by a year.[32] Philip initially favoured a triple attack, starting with a diversionary raid on Scotland, while the main Armada would capture the Isle of Wight, or Southampton, to establish a safe anchorage in the Solent. The Duke of Parma would then follow with a large army from the Low Countries crossing the English Channel. Parma was uneasy about mounting such an invasion without any possibility of surprise. He was also alarmed by the costs that would be incurred and advised Philip to postpone or abandon it.[citation needed] The appointed commander of the Armada was the highly experienced Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz, but he died in February 1588, and the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a high-born courtier, took his place. While a competent soldier and distinguished administrator, Medina Sidonia had no naval experience. He wrote to Philip expressing grave doubts about the planned campaign, but this was prevented from reaching the King by courtiers on the grounds that God would ensure the Armada's success.[33]

text: Planned invasion of England

text: Prior to the undertaking, Pope Sixtus V allowed Philip II of Spain to collect crusade taxes and granted his men indulgences. The blessing of the Armada's banner on 25 April 1588, was similar to the ceremony used prior to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. On 28 May 1588, the Armada set sail from Lisbon and headed for the English Channel. The fleet was composed of 130 ships, 8,000 sailors and 18,000 soldiers, and bore 1,500 brass guns and 1,000 iron guns. The full body of the fleet took two days to leave port. It included twenty eight purpose-built warships, of which twenty were galleons, four galleys and four (Neapolitan) galleasses. The remainder of the heavy vessels were mostly armed carracks and hulks together with thirty-four light ships.[34]

text: In the Spanish Netherlands, 30,000 soldiers[35] awaited the arrival of the Armada, the plan being to use the cover of the warships to convey the army on barges to a place near London. All told, 55,000 men were to have been mustered, a huge army for that time. On the day the Armada set sail, Elizabeth's ambassador in the Netherlands, Valentine Dale, met Parma's representatives in peace negotiations. The English made a vain effort to intercept the Armada in the Bay of Biscay. On 6 July negotiations were abandoned, and the English fleet stood prepared, if ill-supplied, at Plymouth, awaiting news of Spanish movements. The English fleet outnumbered the Spanish, 200 ships to 130,[36] while the Spanish fleet outgunned the English – its available firepower was 50% more than that of the English.[37] The English fleet consisted of the 34 ships of the Royal Fleet (21 of which were galleons of 200 to 400 tons) and 163 other ships (30 of which were of 200 to 400 tons and carried up to 42 guns each), 12 of these were privateers owned by Lord Howard of Effingham, Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake.[11]

text: The Armada was delayed by bad weather. Storms in the Bay of Biscay forced four galleys and one galleon to turn back, and other ships had to put in for repairs, so only about 123 or 124 ships actually made it to the English Channel. Nearly half the fleet were not built as warships and were used for duties such as scouting and dispatch work, or for carrying supplies, animals, and troops.[34]

text: The fleet was not sighted in England until 19 July, when it appeared off The Lizard in Cornwall. The news was conveyed to London by a system of beacons that had been constructed all the way along the south coast. On that evening, the English fleet was trapped in Plymouth Harbour by the incoming tide. The Spanish convened a council of war, where it was proposed to ride into the harbour on the tide and incapacitate the defending ships at anchor and from there to attack England; but Medina Sidonia declined to act because this had been explicitly forbidden by Philip, and decided to sail on to the east and towards the Isle of Wight. As the tide turned, 55 English ships set out to confront them from Plymouth under the command of Lord Howard of Effingham, with Sir Francis Drake as Vice Admiral. Howard ceded some control to Drake, given his experience in battle. The rear admiral was Sir John Hawkins.

text: First actions (1588)

text: On 20 July the English fleet was off Eddystone Rocks, with the Armada upwind to the west. That night, in order to execute their attack, the English tacked upwind of the Armada, thus gaining the weather gage, a significant advantage. At daybreak on 21 July the English fleet engaged the Armada off Plymouth near the Eddystone rocks. The Armada was in a crescent-shaped defensive formation, convex towards the east. The galleons and great ships were concentrated in the centre and at the tips of the crescent's horns, giving cover to the transports and supply ships in between. Opposing them the English were in two sections, Drake to the north in Revenge with 11 ships, and Howard to the south in Ark Royal with the bulk of the fleet.

text: Given the Spanish advantage in close-quarter fighting, the English ships used their superior speed and manoeuvrability to keep beyond grappling range and bombarded the Spanish ships from a distance with cannon fire. The distance was too great for this to be effective, however, and at the end of the first day's fighting neither fleet had lost a ship in action, although the Spanish carrack Rosario and galleon San Salvador were abandoned after they collided. When night fell, Francis Drake turned his ship back to loot the abandoned Spanish ships, capturing supplies of much-needed gunpowder, and gold. However, Drake had been guiding the English fleet by means of a lantern. As a result of him snuffing out the lantern to slip away from the Spanish ships, the rest of his fleet became scattered and was in complete disarray by dawn. It took an entire day for the English fleet to regroup and the Armada gained a day's grace.[38] The English ships again used their superior speed and manoeuvrability to catch up with the Spanish fleet after a day of sailing.

text: The English fleet and the Armada engaged once more on 23 July, off Portland. This time a change of wind gave the Spanish the weather-gage, and they sought to close with the English, but were foiled by the smaller ships' greater manoeuvrability. At one point Howard formed his ships into a line of battle, to attack at close range bringing all his guns to bear, but this was not followed through and little was achieved.

text: If the Armada could create a temporary base in the protected waters of the Solent (a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the English mainland), they could wait there for word from Parma's army. However, in a full-scale attack, the English fleet broke into four groups – Martin Frobisher of Aid now also being given command over a squadron – with Drake coming in with a large force from the south. At the critical moment Medina Sidonia sent reinforcements south and ordered the Armada back to open sea to avoid The Owers shoals.[39] There were no other secure harbours further east along England's south coast, so the Armada was compelled to make for Calais, without being able to wait for word of Parma's army.

text: On 27 July, the Armada anchored off Calais in a tightly-packed defensive crescent formation, not far from Dunkirk, where Parma's army, reduced by disease to 16,000, was expected to be waiting, ready to join the fleet in barges sent from ports along the Flemish coast. Communication had proven to be far more difficult than anticipated, and it only now became known that this army had yet to be equipped with sufficient transport or assembled in the port, a process which would take at least six days, while Medina Sidonia waited at anchor; and that Dunkirk was blockaded by a Dutch fleet of thirty flyboats under Lieutenant-Admiral Justinus of Nassau.[40] Parma wanted the Armada to send its light pataches to drive away the Dutch, but Medina Sidonia could not do this because he feared that he might need these ships for his own protection. There was no deep-water port where the fleet might shelter – always acknowledged as a major difficulty for the expedition – and the Spanish found themselves vulnerable as night drew on.

text: The Dutch flyboats mainly operated in the shallow waters off Zeeland and Flanders that larger warships with a deeper draught, like the Spanish and English galleons, could not safely enter. The Dutch therefore enjoyed an unchallenged naval advantage in these waters, even though their navy was inferior in naval armament. An essential element of the plan of invasion, as it was eventually implemented, was the transportation of a large part of Parma's Army of Flanders as the main invasion force in unarmed barges across the English Channel. These barges would be protected by the large ships of the Armada. However, to get to the Armada, they would have to cross the zone dominated by the Dutch navy, where the Armada could not go. This problem seems to have been overlooked by the Spanish planners, but it was insurmountable. Because of this obstacle, England never was in any real danger, at least from the Duke of Parma and the Army of Flanders. Because of the eventual English victory at sea, the Army of Flanders escaped the drowning death Justinus and his men had in mind for them, ready to fight another day.[41][42]

text: At midnight on 28 July, the English set alight eight fireships, sacrificing regular warships by filling them with pitch, brimstone, some gunpowder and tar, and cast them downwind among the closely anchored vessels of the Armada. The Spanish feared that these uncommonly large fireships were "hellburners",[43] specialised fireships filled with large gunpowder charges, which had been used to deadly effect at the Siege of Antwerp. Two were intercepted and towed away, but the remainder bore down on the fleet. Medina Sidonia's flagship and the principal warships held their positions, but the rest of the fleet cut their anchor cables and scattered in confusion. No Spanish ships were burnt, but the crescent formation had been broken, and the fleet now found itself too far to leeward of Calais in the rising southwesterly wind to recover its position. The English closed in for battle.

text: Battle of Gravelines

text: The small port of Gravelines was then part of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, close to the border with France and the closest Spanish territory to England. Medina Sidonia tried to re-form his fleet there and was reluctant to sail further east knowing the danger from the shoals off Flanders, from which his Dutch enemies had removed the sea marks. The English had learned more of the Armada's strengths and weaknesses during the skirmishes in the English Channel and had concluded it was necessary to close within 100 yards (91 m) to penetrate the oak hulls of the Spanish ships. They had spent most of their gunpowder in the first engagements and had, after the Isle of Wight, been forced to conserve their heavy shot and powder for a final attack near Gravelines. During all the engagements, the Spanish heavy guns could not easily be run in for reloading because of their close spacing and the quantities of supplies stowed between decks, as Francis Drake had discovered on capturing the damaged Rosario in the Channel.[44] Instead the gunners fired once and then jumped to the rigging to attend to their main task as marines ready to board enemy ships, as had been the practice in naval warfare at the time. In fact, evidence from Armada wrecks in Ireland shows that much of the fleet's ammunition was never spent.[45] Their determination to fight by boarding, rather than cannon fire at a distance, proved a weakness for the Spanish; it had been effective on occasions such as the battles of Lepanto and Ponta Delgada (1582), but the English were aware of this strength and sought to avoid it by keeping their distance.

text: With its superior manoeuvrability, the English fleet provoked Spanish fire while staying out of range. The English then closed, firing repeated and damaging broadsides into the enemy ships. This also enabled them to maintain a position to windward so that the heeling Armada hulls were exposed to damage below the water line. Many of the Spanish gunners were killed or wounded by the English broadsides, and the task of manning the cannon often fell to the regular foot soldiers on board, who did not know how to operate the guns. The ships were close enough for sailors on the upper decks of the English and Spanish ships to exchange musket fire. After eight hours, the English ships began to run out of ammunition, and some gunners began loading objects such as chains into cannons. Around 4:00 pm, the English fired their last shots and were forced to pull back.[46]

text: Five Spanish ships were lost. The galleass San Lorenzo, flagship of Don Hugo de Moncada, ran aground at Calais and was taken by Howard after murderous fighting between the crew, the galley slaves, the English who eventually killed all Spanish and slaves, and the French, who ultimately took possession of the wreck. The galleons San Mateo and San Felipe drifted away in a sinking condition, ran aground on the island of Walcheren the next day, and were taken by the Dutch. One carrack ran aground near Blankenberge; another foundered. Many other Spanish ships were severely damaged, especially the Portuguese and some Spanish Atlantic-class galleons (including some Neapolitan galleys) which had to bear the brunt of the fighting during the early hours of the battle in desperate individual actions against groups of English ships. The Spanish plan to join with Parma's army had been defeated and the English had gained some breathing space, but the Armada's presence in northern waters still posed a great threat to England.

text: Elizabeth's Tilbury battle address

text: On the day after the battle of Gravelines, the wind had backed southerly, enabling Medina Sidonia to move his fleet northward away from the French coast. Although their shot lockers were almost empty, the English pursued in an attempt to prevent the enemy from returning to escort Parma. On 2 August Old Style (12 August New Style) Howard called a halt to the pursuit in the latitude of the Firth of Forth off Scotland. By that point, the Spanish were suffering from thirst and exhaustion, and the only option left to Medina Sidonia was to chart a course home to Spain, by a very hazardous route.

text: The threat of invasion from the Netherlands had not yet been discounted by the English, and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester maintained a force of 4,000 soldiers at West Tilbury, Essex, to defend the Thames Estuary against any incursion up-river towards London.

text: On 8 August (18 August New Style) Elizabeth went to Tilbury to encourage her forces, and the next day, per legend, arrived on horseback in her own personal battle armour (and thus showing to the assembled warriors that she was prepared to fight with them in the ensuing battle to her own death). She gave to them her Royal address, which is probably her most famous speech. It survives in six different versions, each vying to be the authentic report of her words on that day.[47] One version is as follows:

text: My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but, I do assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself, that under God I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come amongst you as you see at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of battle, to live or die amongst you all – to lay down for my God, and for my kingdoms, and for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust. I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king – and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself will take up arms – I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness, you have deserved rewards and crowns, and, we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.[48]

text: After the victory, typhus swept the fleet, killing off thousands of English mariners. Elizabeth failed in her promise to pay the sailors, and of the few who did survive, even of the crew of the royal warship, Elizabeth, most expired destitute in the gutters of Margate.[49]

text: Return to Spain

text: In September 1588 the Armada sailed around Scotland and Ireland into the North Atlantic. The ships were beginning to show wear from the long voyage and some were kept together by having their hulls bundled up with cables. Supplies of food and water ran short. The intention would have been to keep well to the west of the coast of Scotland and Ireland, in the relative safety of the open sea. There being no way of accurately measuring longitude, the Spanish were not aware that the Gulf Stream was carrying them north and east as they tried to move west and they eventually turned south much further to the east than planned, a devastating navigational error. Off the coasts of Scotland and Ireland the fleet ran into a series of powerful westerly winds, which drove many of the damaged ships further towards the lee shore. Because so many anchors had been abandoned during the escape from the English fireships off Calais, many of the ships were incapable of securing shelter as they reached the coast of Ireland and were driven onto the rocks and local inhabitants looted the ships. The late 16th century and especially 1588, was marked by unusually strong North Atlantic storms, perhaps associated with a high accumulation of polar ice off the coast of Greenland, a characteristic phenomenon of the "Little Ice Age".[50] More ships and sailors were lost to cold and stormy weather than in direct combat.

text: Following the gales it is reckoned that 5,000 men died by drowning, starvation and slaughter at the hands of English forces after they were driven ashore in Ireland.[51] Reports of the passage of the remnants of the Spanish Armada around Ireland abound with onerous accounts of hardships and survival.[52] In the end, 67 ships and fewer than 10,000 men survived.[53] Many of the men were near death from disease, as the conditions were very cramped and most of the ships ran out of food and water. Many more later died in Spain, or on hospital ships in Spanish harbours, from diseases contracted during the voyage. It was reported that when Philip II learned of the result of the expedition, he declared, "I sent the Armada against men, not God's winds and waves".[54]

text: English Armada

text: The English fleet was still cautious of the remaining Armada after the Battle of Gravelines, requiring it to remain on duty even as some of its sailors died. The following year Elizabeth I launched the Counter Armada, under Sir Francis Drake, but it was unsuccessful in its goals, resulting in Spain retaining naval superiority.

text: The Spanish failed to gain control of the Channel from the English, nor stop their intervention in the region of Flanders or their privateer transatlantic raids; however, for the sixteen years that the war continued, the English ultimately failed to disrupt the various fleets of the Indies, despite the great number of military personnel mobilised every year. The English were also unsuccessful in plots to support Portuguese separation from the Spanish crown. Spanish naval power not only continued its hegemony in the key trade routes but also in the creation of the Armada de Barlovento. An important fortification effort ensued in different fortifications at both sides of the Atlantic, notably in Cartagena or Portobelo. Despite the efforts by the English and Dutch, Spain remained the predominant power in Europe for several decades, thanks to sufficient financing and organisation as well as superior technology to enhance its naval strength.[55]

text: Technological revolution

text: The result vindicated the English strategy and caused in a revolution in naval tactics – using weather gage advantage and line-to-line cannon battle from windward (revealing the opponent ship's hull and rudder as targets) – with the promotion of heavier, more numerous naval cannon, which until then had played a supporting role to the principal tactics of ramming and crew boarding.

text: Most military historians hold that the battle of Gravelines reflected a lasting shift in the balance of naval power in favour of the English, in part because of the gap in naval technology and cannon armament it confirmed between the two nations, which continued into the next century.[56] In the words of Geoffrey Parker, by 1588 "the capital ships of the Elizabethan navy constituted the most powerful battlefleet afloat anywhere in the world".[57] The English navy yards were leaders in technical innovation and the captains devised new battle formations and tactics. Parker argues that the sleeker full-rigged ship, amply cannoned, was one of the greatest technological advances of the century and permanently transformed naval warfare.

text: English shipwrights introduced designs in 1573, first demonstrated in Dreadnought, that allowed the ships to sail faster, manoeuvre better and carry heavier guns.[58] Whereas before warships had tried to grapple with each other so that soldiers could board the enemy ship, now they more often stood off and fired broadsides that could sink the vessel. Superior English ships and seamanship had foiled the invasion. The English also took advantage of Spain's overly complex strategy that required coordination between the invasion fleet and the Spanish army on shore. The poor design of the Spanish cannon meant they were much slower in reloading in a close-range battle, allowing the English to take control. Spain still had numerically larger fleets but England was catching up.[59]

text: Legacy

text: In England, the boost to national pride from the defeat of the Spanish invasion attempt lasted for years and Elizabeth's legend persisted and grew long after her death. Repulsing the Spanish naval force may have given heart to the Protestant cause across Europe and the belief that God was behind the Protestants.[60] This was shown by the striking of commemorative medals that bore variations on the inscription, "1588. Flavit Jehovah et Dissipati Sunt" – with "Jehovah" in Hebrew letters ("God blew, and they are scattered"), or He blew with His winds, and they were scattered. There were also more lighthearted medals struck, such as the one with the play on the words of Julius Caesar: Venit, Vidit, Fugit (he came, he saw, he fled). The victory was acclaimed by the English as their greatest since Agincourt.[citation needed]

text: The English attempted to press home their advantage the following year, when the Drake–Norris Expedition, with a comparable fleet of English privateers, sailed to establish a base in the Azores, attack Spain and raise a revolt in Portugal.[30] This expedition, led by Sir Francis Drake and John Norreys[60] were defeated in Corunna but withdrew from Lisbon after failing to coordinate its strategy effectively with the Portuguese.[61] Two more armadas were sent by Spain, in 1596 and 1597 but both were once more scattered by storms.[62]

text: The Spanish Navy underwent a major organizational reform that helped it to maintain control over its trans-Atlantic routes. High-seas buccaneering and the supply of troops to Philip II's enemies in the Netherlands and France continued but brought few tangible rewards for England.[60] The memory of the victory over the Armada was evoked during both the Napoleonic Wars and the Second World War, when Britain again faced a substantial danger of foreign invasion. The Armada Memorial in Plymouth was constructed in 1888 to celebrate the tercentenary of the defeat of the Spanish Armada.[63]

text: Historiography

text: Knerr (1989) has reviewed the main trends in historiography over five centuries.[64] For 150 years writers relied heavily on Petruccio Ubaldini's A Discourse Concernye the Spanish Fleete Invadinye Englande (1590), which argued that God decisively favoured the Protestant cause. William Camden (1551–1623) pointed in addition to elements of English nationalism and the private enterprise of the sea dogs. He also emphasized that the Duke of Medina Sidonia was an incompetent seaman. David Hume (1711–1776) praised the leadership of Queen Elizabeth. However the Whig historians, led by James A. Froude (1818–1894), rejected Hume's interpretation and argued that Elizabeth was vacillating and almost lost the conflict by her unwillingness to previously spend enough to maintain and supply the Royal Navy's fleet of ships. Scientific modern historiography came of age with the publication of two volumes of primary documents by John K. Laughton in 1894. This enabled the leading naval scholar of the day Julian Corbett (1854–1922) to reject the Whig views and turn attention to the professionalization of the Royal Navy as a critical factor. Twentieth-century historians have focused on technical issues, such as the comparative power of English and Spanish naval guns and the degree of naval battle tactics credit due Francis Drake and Charles Howard. Inclement weather in the English Channel and on the oceans at the time has always been cited as a major factor to the outcome.

text: Panorama

text: In popular culture

text: This article appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances; add references to reliable sources if possible. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2017)

text:
The Armada is vividly described in Ken Follett's third novel of the Kingsbridge series, Column of Fire (2017).
The preparations of the Armada and the Battle of Gravelines form the backdrop of two graphic novels in Bob de Moors Cori, de Scheepsjongen ("Cori le Moussaillon" in French, "Cori, the Cabin Boy" in English) (Les Espions de la Reine and Le Dragon des Mers'). In them, Cori the cabin boy works as a spy in the Armada for the English.
The Armada and intrigues surrounding its threat to England form the backdrop of the films Fire Over England (1937), with Laurence Olivier and Flora Robson, and The Sea Hawk with Errol Flynn.
The Battle of Gravelines and the subsequent chase around the northern coast of Scotland form the climax of Charles Kingsley's 1855 novel Westward Ho!, which in 1925 became the first novel to be adapted into a radio drama by BBC.[68]
In golf, Spaniard pros Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal, who had a Ryder Cup record of 11–2–2 as a team – the best record for a pairing in the history of the competition – came to be called the "Spanish Armada".[69]
The Battle of Gravelines is the climax of the 2007 film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age starring Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen.
In the twentieth season of The Simpsons, an episode depicts the reason for the Armada's attack as Queen Elizabeth's rebuff of the King of Spain. Homer Simpson (as Walter Raleigh) accidentally sets the only English ship on fire; then collides with the Armada, setting all their ships on fire, creating victory for England.
Winston Graham wrote a history of "The Spanish Armadas" and a historical novel, The Grove of Eagles, based on it – the plural "Armadas" referring to a lesser-known second attempt by Philip II of Spain to conquer England during 1598, which Graham argued was better planned and organized than the famous one of 1588 but was foiled by a fierce storm scattering the Spanish ships and sinking many of them.
Bertolt Brecht's 1935 poem Questions From a Worker Who Reads, written to emphasize the role played by the lower classes in history, includes the lines: "Philip of Spain wept when his armada went down. Was he the only one to weep?" ([1]).
Several alternate history writers have published variant descriptions of how history might have proceeded had the Spanish Armada won, including John Brunner (Times Without Number, 1962), Keith Roberts (Pavane, 1969) and Harry Turtledove (Ruled Britannia 2002).


document_title: Kristen Schaal

question_text: who plays the voice of mabel in gravity falls

text: Kristen Schaal

text: Early life[edit]

text: Schaal was born in Longmont, Colorado, to a Lutheran family of Dutch ancestry.[4] She was raised on her family's cattle ranch, in a rural area near Boulder.[4] Her father is a construction worker and her mother is a secretary.[5] She has a brother, David, who is three years older.[5] She graduated from Northwestern University and then moved to New York in 2000 to pursue a comedy career. In 2005, she had her first break when she was included in New York magazine's article "The Ten Funniest New Yorkers You've Never Heard Of".[6]

text: Career[edit]

text: Live comedy[edit]

text: In 2006, Schaal performed at the 2006 HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, where she won the award for "Best Alternative Comedian". She was also the winner of the second annual Andy Kaufman Award (hosted by the New York Comedy Festival), Best Female Stand-up at the 2006 Nightlife Awards in New York City, and "Best Female Stand Up Comedian" at the 2007 ECNY Awards.[7] At the 2008 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, she won the Barry Award for her show Kristen Schaal As You Have Probably Never Seen Her Before, tying with Nina Conti.[8] Also in 2006, Schaal appeared on the first season of the Comedy Central show Live at Gotham.[9] She co-hosts the weekly variety show Hot Tub in Los Angeles, which was voted “Best Variety Show of 2005” by Time-Out New York’s readers poll. She also performs at the Peoples Improv Theater on the improv team, "Big Black Car", which was awarded best improv troupe of 2005 at the Emerging Comics of New York awards. She is a founding member of the theatre company The Striking Viking Story Pirates, which adapts stories by children into sketches and songs.

text: Schaal performed live at the Edinburgh Fringe 2007 in Scotland, where she was one of six acts (chosen from over two hundred American productions at the Fringe) requested to perform at the US Consul General-sponsored "Fringe USA" Showcase.

text: On her return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2008, Schaal was nominated for the If.comedy award for Kristen Schaal And Kurt Braunohler: Double Down Hearts.[10]

text: Schaal has also performed at the Royal Albert Hall, London, as part of The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008 in aid of Amnesty International, and at the Bonnaroo 2009 music festival. In 2010, Schaal appeared as a stand-up comic on John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show and at the Solid Sound Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

text: Film, TV and radio[edit]

text: Schaal appeared on HBO's Flight of the Conchords as the stalker-fan Mel, a role which earned her an EWwy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. She was also a credited consultant and writer for Season 11 of South Park, appeared on the BBC's Never Mind the Buzzcocks and played the boss in Fuse's mockumentary The Intern. She made her first appearance as a "special commentator" on Comedy Central's The Daily Show on March 13, 2008, often presented in recurring appearances as its news team's "Senior Women's Issues Correspondent". On April 13, 2008, she made an appearance on Good News Week during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and in October 2008 she appeared in Amnesty International's The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008.

text: Her other film and television credits include Kate and Leopold, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Snake 'n' Bacon, Norbit, Get Him to the Greek, Conviction, Cheap Seats, Freak Show, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, Adam and Steve, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, Delirious, Australian show Good News Week, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Education of Max Bickford, Comedy Central's Contest Searchlight, Ugly Betty, How I Met Your Mother, MTV's Human Giant and Mad Men. She was also a contributor to the sketch/music series The Nighttime Clap on the Fuse music network. She also appeared on Fuse's original comedy series The P.A. Schaal appeared in two TV pilots written and directed by Jersey City comedian Dan McNamara -- The Calderons[11] and Redeeming Rainbow,[12] both of which were screened as official selections at the 2006 and 2007 New York Television Festivals. She was also in television commercials for Wendy's, RadioShack, and Starburst. She made an appearance, in April 2008, on the IFC sketch comedy show The Whitest Kids U' Know. On April 3, 2009 she taped an episode of Comedy Central Presents.[13] In 2010, she added her voice to the PBS Kids GO! series WordGirl as Victoria Best, a child prodigy whose parents taught her to be the best at everything that she does.[14] Schaal voiced 13-year-old Mabel Pines on Disney Channel's hit TV series Gravity Falls. She currently voices the character Louise on the FOX Network series Bob's Burgers.

text: She also stars in A. D. Miles' MyDamnChannel.com series Horrible People. In October 2008, Schaal appeared in an episode of Spicks and Specks. On June 10, 2009, Schaal broadcast her first radio show, High Five!!, on Sirius XM Radio's 'RawDog' channel with co-host Kurt Braunohler.[15] She played Gertha Teeth in the 2009 movie The Vampire's Assistant. Schaal stars in her own web series, Penelope Princess of Pets, one episode of which doubled as the video for the New Pornographers' "Mutiny, I Promise You".[16] She voiced Trixie the Triceratops in Toy Story 3 and Pumpkin Witch and Palace Witch in Shrek Forever After.[17] She was also in the music video for Joey Ramone's "New York City". She also guest starred in the Modern Family episode "Fifteen Percent", as well as the music video for "Conversation 16" by The National. Schaal guest starred on the MC Frontalot album Solved. She was featured with Kurt Braunohler on the Radiolab episode "Loops".[18] Schaal was in a commercial for the Xperia Play version of Minecraft.

text: Schaal guest starred on The Simpsons May 8, 2011 episode "Homer Scissorhands" in which she plays Taffy, a love interest of Milhouse. She is incorrectly listed in the credits as "Kristen Schall". This prompted Simpsons writers to issue her a unique apology on the next week's episode in which Bart's chalkboard joke in the intro to the show states "It’s Kristen Schaal, not Kristen Schall." Schaal also appeared in a music video for Weird Al Yankovic's 2014 song "Tacky", a parody of Pharrell Williams's "Happy".

text: In 2013, Schaal guest starred in the two part episode "Sea Tunt" of Archer, lending her voice to a character named Tiffy.[19][20]

text: In 2014, Schaal co-starred alongside Casey Wilson, Danielle Schneider, Tymberlee Hill, Andrea Savage, and Angela Kinsey in the first season of the Hulu original series The Hotwives of Orlando. She is currently co-starring alongside Will Forte in the FOX comedy The Last Man on Earth, which premiered on March 1, 2015.

text: Schaal also voices the character Sarah Lynn in the Netflix original animated series BoJack Horseman.[21] In 2017, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her performance as Sarah Lynn.

text: Schaal appears in A Walk in the Woods (2015) as hiker Mary Ellen.

text: Books[edit]

text: Schaal wrote a book of humor, The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex, with her husband, former Daily Show writer Rich Blomquist. It was published in July 2010 by Chronicle Books.[1] She originally intended for them to write the book under pseudonyms, "because I don't want anyone to imagine me doing those things,"[22] but realized it would be harder to promote the book without using their real names.

text: Personal life[edit]

text: Schaal has been married to Daily Show staff writer Rich Blomquist since 2012.[1][2]

text: Filmography[edit]

text:
Film

Year
Title
Role
Notes

2001
Kate & Leopold
Miss Tree
Film debut

2004
Poster Boy
Bookstore Lady #14

2005
Adam & Steve
Ruth

2006
Delirious
Joelle

2007
Norbit
Event Organizer

2009
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
Stewardess Stacey

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Gertha Teeth

2010
When in Rome
Ilona

Valentine's Day
Ms. Gilroy

Shrek Forever After
Pumpkin/Palace Witch
Voice

Get Him to the Greek
Today Show Production Assistant

Toy Story 3
Trixie
Voice

Dinner for Schmucks
Susana

Going the Distance
Female Bartender

2011
Butter
Carol Ann

Hawaiian Vacation
Trixie
Voice, short film

The Muppets
Moderator

2012
Sleepwalk with Me
Cynthia

2013
Despicable Me 2
Shannon
Voice

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Barb

Welcome to the Jungle
Brenda

2015
A Walk in the Woods
Mary Ellen

2016
Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie
Gloria/Deborah
Voice

The Boss
Sandy

2017
All Nighter
Roberta

Literally, Right Before Aaron
Talula

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Edith
Voice

Austin Found
Nancy

Boundaries

In post-production

2019
Toy Story 4
Trixie
Voice, in production

text:
Television

Year
Title
Role
Notes

2001–02
The Education of Max Bickford
Valerie Holmes
3 episodes

2004
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Abby
Episode: "Brotherhood"

2005
Cheap Seats: Without Ron Parker
Emily
Episode: "Dog Show/World Beard and Mustache Championship"

2006
Conviction
Allie Rubinoff
Episode: "Madness"

Ugly Betty
Nancy
Episode: "Pilot"

Six Degrees
Gail
2 episodes

Freak Show
Various
Voice, 7 episodes

2007
Scott Bateman Presents
Earth's New Robot Overlord
Trixie Tangway
Voice, 2 episodes

Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Alana Binder
Episode: "30"

Human Giant
Girl in Doritos Commercial
Episode: "Lil 9-11"

Mad Men
Nannette
Episode: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"

How I Met Your Mother
Laura Girard
Episode: "The Platinum Rule"

2007–09
Flight of the Conchords
Mel
21 episodes

2008
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Tammy Tangerine (voice)
As Frannie Hood, Episode: "Bible Fruit"

The Whitest Kids U'Know
Homeless Woman
Episode: "2.9"

Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Herself
Series 21, Episode 4

2008–16
The Daily Show
herself
recurring role

2009
Xavier: Renegade Angel
Frantic Spectator / Old Ryan's Wife (voice)
Episode: "Going Normal"

Comedy Central Presents
Herself
Season 13, Episode 24

Snake 'n' Bacon
The Green Fairy
TV movie

Comedy Showcase
Tourist
Episode: "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret"

2010
Modern Family
Whitney
Episode: "Fifteen Percent"

Comedy Lab
Penelope
Episode: "Penelope Princess of Pets"

Fact Checkers Unit
Paula
Episode: "One Groundhog Day Dog"

Scared Shrekless
Sugar the Gingerbread Girl
Voice

2010–15
WordGirl
Victoria Best (voice)
Episodes: "Victoria Best", "Cherish is the Word", "Crime in the Key of V", "Don't Mess
with the Best", "Victoria Is the Best ... WordGirl?", "There is no V in Team", "World's Best Dad", and "The Best of the Bests"

2011
The Simpsons
Taffy
Voice, Episode: "Homer Scissorhands"; credited as "Kristen Schall"[23]

The Penguins of Madagascar
Muffy, Bluffy, and Fluffy the bunny rabbits
Voice, Episode: "Operation: Neighbor Swap"

Soul Quest Overdrive
Tammy
Voice

The Heart, She Holler
Hershe Heartshe
6 episodes

2011–12
American Dad!
Librarian / Girl
Voice, 2 episodes

2011–present
Bob's Burgers
Louise Belcher
Voice, Lead role

2012–13
30 Rock
Hazel Wassername
11 episodes

2012–14
Adventure Time
Jake Jr.
Voice, 4 episodes

2012–16
Gravity Falls
Mabel Pines
Voice, Lead role

2013
Archer
Tiffy
Voice, 2 episodes

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Herself
Series 27, Episode 5

Wilfred
Anne
4 episodes

NTSF:SD:SUV::
Deborah
Episode: "Trading Faces"

Toy Story of Terror
Trixie
Voice

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year
Herself
Panelist

2013–14
@midnight
Herself
2 episodes

2013–16
Comedy Bang! Bang!
Herself / Gina Guppies
2 episodes

2014
The Hotwives of Orlando
Amanda Simmons
Series regular

Glee
Mary Halloran
Episode: "The Untitled Rachel Berry Project"

Toy Story That Time Forgot
Trixie
Voice

2014–16
BoJack Horseman
Sarah Lynn / Various
Voice; 10 episodes
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance

2015
Axe Cop
God
Voice; episode: "Axe Cop Saves God"

The Hotwives of Las Vegas
Amanda Simmons
Episode: "Old Friends, New Enemies"

2015–present
The Last Man on Earth
Carol Pilbasian
Main role (47 episodes)

2016
Wander Over Yonder
Mavis
Voice; episode: "The Cartoon"

Not Safe with Nikki Glaser
Herself
Episodes: "Get Her a Glass of Water" and "I Miss David Bowie"

The Big Fat Quiz of Everything
Herself
Panelist

Brad Neely's Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio

Voice; episode: "For Sarandon"

Great Minds with Dan Harmon
Amelia Earhart
Episode: "Amelia Earhart"

Transformers: Rescue Bots
Chickadee
Voice; episode: "Camp Cody"