What was the Spanish armada and what was its purpose?

Answer 1

The Spanish Armada was an ill-fated invasion force sent by Spain against England in 1588. King Philip II of Spain launched the attack because of the Protestant rule of Elizabeth I and piracies by British ships against the Spanish trade with the New World. The Armada was defeated in three battles by the English fleet, and half of the surviving ships wrecked on the coasts of western Scotland and Ireland as they tried to return to Spain. More than 60 ships were lost and more than 20,000 Spaniards died. The period of undeclared warfare from 1585 to 1604 is called the Anglo-Spanish War.

El Grande y Felicísima Armada

The Armada consisted of more than 130 ships and 19,000 soldiers, with another 30,000 in an army from the Spanish Netherlands, who were to wait in Calais on the French coast. Under the command of the Duke of Medina Sedonia, the fleet sailed from Lisbon on May 28, 1588. Negotiations between the English and Spanish in Flanders did not reach a settlement.

After encountering a storm, the Armada sailed again from Corunna to the English Channel, arriving on July 19, 1588. They were confronted by 55 smaller but faster ships of the English fleet at Plymouth, and failed to attack the anchored English ships, intent on gathering the invasion force. The English attacked at Eddystone Rocks on July 21 and at Portland on July 23. When the fleet anchored at Calais on July 27, a delay in the expected arrival of the Duke of Parma's troops left them vulnerable to attack. On July 28, Sir Francis Drake sent fiery ships into their midst at night. The majority of the armada left anchor and fled, and in the Battle of Gravelines on July 29, five Spanish warships were sunk. The English, low on ammunition, pursued the fleet north but eventually returned to port.

The greatest destruction for the Armada was yet to come, as they entered the September gales of the North Sea to loop west around Scotland and Ireland. Storms and winds from the northwest wrecked half a dozen ships along the west coast of Scotland, and still more while sailing past Ireland. Contrary to their expectations, the Irish would not assist them, and many of the crews died of starvation and disease before the surviving 67 ships could limp back to Spain.

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Reason for the Armada

The armada was a Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England and putting an end to her involvement in the Spanish Netherlands and in privateering in the Atlantic and Pacific.

Elizabeth had Mary, Queen of Scots (who was catholic), imprisoned, and finally executed in 1587. In addition Elizabeth, who sought to advance the cause of Protestantism where possible, had supported the Dutch Revolt against Spain.

Answer 2

There was a lots of fighting and killing. Then the Spanish got confused with English ships, meanwhile the English had set fire to some ships and sent them hurling towards them. Then... the Spanish lost

Answer 3

The Spanish Armada was the Spanish Navy as it operated in the 14th through 19th centuries (at which point it modernized). The Armada's primary function was to protect merchant ships in the Caribbean and Atlantic that were bringing gold and silver from the colonies to Spain. They were also part of the failed attempt to force the United Kingdom to accept Catholicism by force.

Answer 4

The spanish attacked England using 130 galleons and got defeated because the English outwitted them using their 55 tallships.

Answer 5

the spanish armada was a Spain's navy. the most powerful navy at that time period.

Answer 6

The Spanish Armada was sent to attack and invade England in the year of 1588.