The Armada Of The Spanish Armada - 1200 Words

THE SPANISH ARMADA Armada Portrait Queen Elizabeth I The Armada Portrait Buy at Allposters.com The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most famous events in English history. It was arguably Queen Elizabeth s finest hour. For years she had been hailed as the English Deborah, the saviour of the English people, and now it seemed that this is what she had really become. She was now Bellona, the goddess of war, and in triumph she had led her people to glory, defeating the greatest power in the 16th century world. Spain was the most powerful country in the world. Philip II ruled vast territories of land, and had unparalleled wealth from the New World. England was a small country, with little wealth, few friends, and many enemies.†¦show more content†¦This had angered Philip immensely, especially as the stolen treasure was used to help fund those people rebelling against his rule in the Netherlands. As early as 1585, Philip had begun to prepare a great fleet that, under the Spanish commander Santa Cruz, would invade England. At first the aim of the Armada was to liberate the captive Queen of Scots, but when Mary was executed for conspiring Elizabeth s death in 1587, Philip planned to invade England in the name of his daughter, the Infanta Isabella. Philip believed he had a genuine claim to the English throne, both by descent from John of Gaunt, and as Queen Mary I s husband. The purpose of the mission was to depose Elizabeth, put Mary/Isabella on the throne, and make England Roman Catholic once again. It was perhaps an omen, however, that from the start, the Spanish faced problems. Santa Cruz died, and his successor, the Duke of Medina Sedonia, was not at all suited to the post. He had little faith in the enterprise and little experience. He begged Philip to release him from the charge, but the King was adamant. The enterprise had received another set back when Francis Drake and his men had sailed to the coast of Spain and destroyed many of the Spanish ships at Cadiz. Queen Elizabeth had heard mutterings of the intended invasion of England by