England defeated the Spanish Armada near the end of the 16th century. Spain was the largest international ruler of the world. It ruled, colonized or tried to over much of the world. Spanish power has at it's height at this time. Also at this time King Phillip II pledge to conquer the heretics in England and convert them to the Church of Rome. He also had other reasons for conquering England. He disliked Queen Elizabeth I and vowed to kill her.
To accomplish the conquest of England, King Phillip planned a part attach.
He would send his Invincible Armada of 125 ships into the English Channel where it would link up with the Duke of Parma in the Spanish Netherlands at Calais. The Armada would then take the Duke of Parma's soldiers across the straight of Dover and then the troops would march on London, seize the Queen, and proceed to conquer the rest of the country.
Route taken by the Spanish Armada
Elizabeth I of England, the Armada Portrait, Wobur...
English: Sir Francis Drake wearing the Drake Jewel...The Spanish Armada, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sedonia,
sailed from Portugal in late May of 1588 heading for the British Isles. It reached the South West coast of England on July 19 and was then challenged by the English fleet commanded by Lord Howard and Francis Drake. The English vessels, avoiding close combat, they stayed in the English Channel as long as possible. The English vessels bothered and harassed doing a lot of damage until the Armada anchored at Calais. Here the Duke of Parma failed to show up and as a result the English saw an opportunity to attack the Spanish fleet. On July 28, 1688 the English used fire-ships to scatter the Spanish ships. On July 29 at the Battle of Gravelines, an 8 hour struggle, ended with many Spanish ships damaged or sunk.
The Spanish commander,