Medieval Information

King Phillip of Spain was furious because England converted to Protestantism. And, aside from that; English pirates were seriously threatening economical benefits coming from America. With the pope's financial aid and blessing, Phillip planned an attack to England. His attack consisted of 17,000 soldiers and 131 ships which would go to France for an additional 15,000 soldiers.

After much preparation, the Spanish Armada set sail in early August of 1588. The English prepared six boats filled with firewood which towards the Spanish Armada. The Spanish saw the ships coming so, with fear, they set sail into the English Channel where they were being awaited by the British fleet.

The Spanish generals knew that they could easily defeat the British because of their advantage in numbers. Nevertheless, this plan wasn't successful at all because the English ships were much faster making the Spanish strategy, of getting close enough for engaging melee, unsuccessful. English ships were smaller and much better designed. They were so fast that getting anywhere near them resulted impossible for the Spanish.

Aside from this, British ships had several cannons incorporated which were very effective for destroying the Spanish Armada at a distance. This new strategy made the Spanish generals retreat into the North Sea in which they could supposedly attack elsewhere. The Spanish fleet was out of luck. The weather was so terrible that dozens of ships perished in the North Sea. When the Spanish returned, defeated; no more than 10,000 soldiers were alive.

The defeat of the Spanish Armada made England a much better country because of their pride. They could safely steal Spanish ships coming from America with gold. This battle is among the most important because it showed superiority when using gunpowder.