The Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada was a great Spanish fleet sent by King Philip II of Spain in 1588 to invade England. It was ironically called "Invincible." During the late 1500's, Spain was the major international power over much of the known world (Goldman 1). Spain's leader, King Philip II, wanted to conquer the Protestants from England and convert them to the Church of Rome. King Philip II also had hatred against Queen Elizabeth I, and wanted revenge because she had executed Mary Queen of Scotland in 1587 (Goldman 1). King Philip II of Spain began the assembling and formation on the Spanish Armada. The Armada left Libson on the 20th of May 1588. The Armada consisted of about 130 ships. Mediterranean and Atlantic fleets had up to 8,000 sailors and around 19,000 soldiers (Collier's Encyclopedia 559). They joined another 30,000 soldiers from Spain totaling 50,000 men. The commanders of the fleet were Duke of Madina Sidonia, Francis Drake, Duck of Parma, an admiral named Don Alvaro de Bazon, and Marquis of Santa Cruz, who had organized the Armada (Collier's Encyclopedia 559). The English and Dutch knew that King Philip would attack, and sent small squadrons under Sir William Wynter and Lord Henry Seymour to patrol the Netherlands Co
Blockade and destroy the Armada before it left the Spanish Coast. On July 29, 1588, after the bad weather had passed, the Armada was spotted off the Sicily Isles near southwestern England (Goldman 1). The battle between Spain and the English had begun when they first spotted each other. The two opposite sides first met off of Plymouth, near Eddystone Rocks on July 31, when three of the Spanish ships were lost (Collier's Encyclopedia 660). The larger part of the English fleet was at Plymouth. The English fleet harassed the Spanish fleet but were unable seriously damage the Spanish formation. Thanks to new tactics, the English fleet pounded the Spaniards form beyond the range of Spanish guns (The Encyclopedia American 327). The Armada reached the Strait of Dover on August 6, and secured in an unprotected position off Calais. The English also secured in a position but were forced to retreat to guard the narrow seas (Collier's Encyclopedia 660). As the Armada began their invasion, they no longer had a safe port. The Dutch and English warships cruised to intercept the Armada fleet. This defect in Spanish strategy was to prove disastrous (The Encyclopedia Britannica). Around midnight on August 7, Lord Howard sent three merchantmen to burn the Spanish fleet. The merchantmen only had time to b
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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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