The Spanish and English hadn’t been getting along very well. The English had privateers who fought and plundered the Spanish in the New World, had made a peace with the French enemies of Spain—and to make matters worse, their new queen, Elizabeth I, wasn’t even a Catholic! Because of all this, and hoping to capture more resources, the Spanish king Phillip II made plans for an invasion by sea.
They started preparing an invasion fleet, which they called the “Invincible Armada”, but were set back after the English privateer (in this case “privateer” meant that they weren’t treated as pirates by the English, so long as they targeted Spanish ships and paid a portion of the loot to the crown) Francis Drake burnt 10,000 tons of supplies in Cadiz—an act which he called, “singeing the King of Spain’s beard.” In the spring of 1588, the Armada was at last ready to sail. It consisted of 133 ships, 8,766 sailors, and 21,855 soldiers. The English were much less well equipped, but had more experienced sailors. The Armada was under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia who neither wanted, nor was suited to the great task before him.
As the Spanish sailed to link up with their dutch allies, and the English’s comparatively light ships under Lord Howard harrowed the enemy, eventually they had their first battle, which was a small one. Unfortunately for the Duke of Medina Sidonia, his allies in the Netherlands weren’t able to come. On August 6, the Spanish docked at Calais in France to rest and resupply. On the night of August 7, the English sent fireships among them, causing the ships to scatter. The next day a fierce battle started, and in the madness that followed led to Spanish ships accidentally smashed on each other and on the French coast. After the four day long, intense, and chaotic battle, the Spanish fled.
The Spanish sailed up around Scotland and down past Ireland. All the way, their ships got wrecked on foreign shores. Eventually the bedraggled survivors arrived back in Spain, to tell of the failure of the “Invincible Armada”.
Sources:
“The Spanish Armada, 1588” by John Pine
“A History of England” by Charles Oman
“Armada: The Spanish Enterprise and England’s Deliverance in 1588” by Colin Martin & Geoffrey Parker