Rise+of+British+Empire+-+Spanish+Armada

**The Attempted Invasion of Britain by The Spanish Armada [August 8, 1588]** Ø  ** Spanish King Phillip wanted to take over Netherlands, however the English were a big threat ** 
 *   Both Netherland (revolted to be) + England were Protestant
 *   If Spain attacked Netherlands directly, the English could easily re-supply them
 *   Thus, it was a both political and religious war
 *   Consequently, the Spanish decided to take England out: dethroning Queen Elizabeth, and converting England to Catholicism

 Ø ** The Plan ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Led by Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, duke of Medina-Sidonia
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Consisted of an army from Netherlands and a fleet from Spain (130 ships)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> However, in 1587, the English attacked Cádiz, Spain, and delayed the attack for a year

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(255, 12, 0);"> Ø<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> ** English sights the fleet (the first raids) ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> By July 1588, the armada had sailed
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> However, a larger English fleet (commanded by Lord Charles Howard) intercepted the armada near Plymouth
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> The English ships (being much faster, maneuverable, and smaller) attacked several times 1, but were unable to break the formation of the armada

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(255, 12, 0);"> Ø<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> ** The Armada begins to collapse ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> The Spanish ships rested in Calais, France (which was Catholic), and were hoping to meet up with the troops, who were supposed to sail from Netherlands
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> However, Howard set ships on fire and sent them towards the armada - this would effectively break the armada’s formation through panic and fear
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> During this attack, the wind drove the armada into shallow water
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> However, luckily, the wind changed, and the Spanish were able to escape to the north-east

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(255, 12, 0);"> Ø<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> ** Final Defeat ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(255, 12, 0);"> **<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-- Footnotes:** <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-- 1: Several attacks were launched in Plymouth, Isle of Wight, and Portland Bill <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 200%; text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(188, 21, 21);"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28); text-align: left; display: block; font-size: 50%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 72, 255); text-align: center; display: block;"><span style="color: rgb(65, 230, 86);">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Nevertheless, when the Spanish escaped to the north-east, they trapped themselves in the North Sea
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(28, 146, 28);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Thus, they were forced them to return to Spain by sailing around the north coast of Scotland – which resulted in most of their losses

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 * References**
 * 1 -** "Spanish Armada." // Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]//. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.