Defeat of the Spanish Armada

Philip II was a very devout Catholic while Queen Elizabeth of England was one of the most Protestant monarchs in Europe. Philip was hoping that Elizabeth would renounce her Protestant faith and become a Catholic like himself, he even hoped for a possible marriage as he had been married to her sister, Mary Tudor. But in 1585 Elizabeth openly supported the Dutch rebels fighting against Philip. This made Philip furious and in 1587, after spending much money and time, Philip sends the whole Spanish armada to England. When the large, heavily armed ships arrived in England they were torn apart by the much more maneuverable English ships that made up England’s navy. On the way back to Spain in defeat the rest of the armada was destroyed by a great storm. Queen Elizabeth called it “The Protestant Wind.” Later Philip sent even larger armadas to England in 1596 and in 1597 (this goes to show the vast wealth of Spain at that time) only to have them also destroyed by storms. These events were a great blow to Philip and marked the eventual decline of Spain as a world superpower.