Defeat of the Spanish Armada
King Philip II's Conquest of England
In 1588 King Philip II launched an attempt to conquer England. King Philip was married to Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII of England. After her death, the rule of England fell to Mary's half-sister, the Protestant Elizabeth I. King Philip felt that he was the rightful ruler of England and wanted to bring the country back under Catholic control. He believed that his powerful navy, the Spanish Armada, could defeat the English at sea and pave the way for a land invasion. King Philip's armada was known as the “invincible armada” because it was made up of 130 ships and had won many victories in the past.
The Armada Sets Sail
The Armada first set sail from Lisbon, Portugal in May of 1588. The goal was for the armada to secure the English Channel, the stretch of water located between England and France. It was very hard for an armada of this size to go unnoticed, so the English were ready and waiting for their arrival.
The English and Spanish first met off the coast of Plymouth, England on July 31, 1588. The fighting intensified on August 2 and 3rd. The goal was for the Spanish Armada to get close enough to the British so that they could board their ships and fight hand-to-hand. The English were no match for the Spanish in hand-to-hand combat. However, the British stayed far away from the Spanish Armada and pounded them with long-range cannons causing heavy losses.
The End of the Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada eventually reached the ports of Calais, France. The goal here was to load up a Spanish army from nearby Flanders for passage to England. This proved to be impossible because the English still largely controlled the channel between England and France. To make matters worse, the British set several of their own ships on fire and sent them toward the armada. The gamble paid off and several ships of the armada were burned.
The Spanish Armada, already badly hurt, headed north. On August 8th, the English once again met the Spanish and beat them at the Battle of Gravelines. This sent the Spanish Armada fleeing north to escape the English fleet. The fleet rounded the northern coast of Scotland only to be caught in a terrible storm, which sank many more ships. The remaining ships were forced back to Santander, Spain. This marked the end of the Spanish Armada.