Definition of Invincible Spanish Armada

Towards the middle of the seventeenth century Spain and England maintained good relations, proof of this is the marriage between King Philip II and the English Queen Mary in 1554. With her accession to her throne the Catholic Queen had the purpose to fight the reform Anglican started by Enrique Vlll.

However, the marriage did not work out and after the death of Mary Elizabeth l acceded to the crown.

In the following years, the Spanish and English maintained divergent positions on the religious question in the European context, since Spain defended the Catholicism and England was still betting on the protestant reformation.

In the 1560s, there were several naval confrontations between the two powers, as English corsairs attacked Spanish ships, especially in the Caribbean.

Another circumstance that exacerbated the weather from tension it was the fact that Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth of England.

At the same time, the English supported the Flemings who were trying to free themselves from the Spanish yoke. In 1587 Captain Drake's fleet attacked a fleet of the Spanish navy that was in the Bay of Cádiz.

The term invincible was an idea of ​​the English to ridicule the image of Spain

In the historical documents of the Spanish there is no reference to the army proclaiming itself invincible. This name comes from the English historians, who thus referred to the enemy fleet with a double objective: to discredit the Spanish naval power and enhance the English victory.

In the summer of 1588 the Spanish ships were heading to the English shores

Philip II ordered a plan of attack on England and set about March the Invincible Armada, The Spanish monarch did not have the purpose of conquering England, but the main objective was to overthrow Elizabeth l in order to stop Protestantism and the growing force English naval.

The Spanish navy consisted of more than 130 units and some 1,500 artillery pieces of different calibers. Knowing that the invasion was imminent, the English built fortifications, tuned their warships and organized militias.

The Spanish warships sailed from Lisbon, but during the crossing they had to face intense storms that caused all kinds of difficulties.

The squad managed to regroup and at the end of July reached the shores of the English Channel

The first battles with the English fleet did not have decisive results, but at the beginning of August English ships attacked the Spanish Armada, which was forced to abandon the attack plan initial. Thus, the Spanish ships headed north with the aim of encircling Great Britain through northern Scotland.

During this route the Navy again encountered great storms that caused the sinking of many ships. In this way the Spanish army had to back down and renounce its plans.

It is estimated that half of the squad was lost and 20,000 soldiers and sailors lost their lives.

Photo: Fotolia - hodag

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