The defeat of the Spanish Armada.

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THE DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA

The Spanish Armada was a powerful navy that attempted to enter England by force in 1588. This navy had been called previously "The Invincible Armada", because the Spaniards thought that it could not be defeated (The History of...). Philip II of Spain had many reasons to want to get rid of Queen Elizabeth. For a long time, English ships had been attacking Spanish treasure ships and raiding Spanish settlements in the Americas. Queen Elizabeth declined punishing the privateers and would not return the treasures that they had acquired. Another reason was the making of England an uncomfortable country for Catholics, since they could be fined or kept captive for not attending the Protestant Church. As she encouraged Protestant ideas, she was willing to fight against Catholic Spain. English troops had been fighting together with the Dutch rebels in their war opposing their Spanish rulers (Shenkman). The mentioned fleet was made up of 130 ships and 30,000 men, the majority of which were soldiers. On the other hand, the English carried no army at all, and only 16,000 sailors, along with long-range cannons on low quick ships to get manoeuvrability.