2nd Spanish Armada

2nd Spanish Armada
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War
Philip II of Spain in his old age, ordered the Armada of 1596 in revenge for the English attack on Cadiz
Date 29 October – 1 November 1596 Location Cape Finisterre, Atlantic Result Spanish failure Armada shattered by storm Huge naval & economic losses for Spain Postponement of invasion
Belligerents
Spain	England
Commanders and leaders
Philip II Martín de Padilla Diego Brochero Sancho Martínez de Leyva Carlos de Arellano	Elizabeth I Robert Devereux Charles Howard Walter Raleigh
Strength
Fleet 24 galleons 53 armed merchant ships Total 140 ships 19,500 men (approx)	Various shore defences 13 Galleons 74 armed merchant vessels 12,000 men
Casualties and losses
1 Flyboat captured Storms/Disease: 5 Galleons sunk 38 other ships sunk or scuttled 5,000 dead	Unknown

Spanish failure

The 2nd Spanish Armada also known as the Spanish Armada of 1596 was a major naval event that took place during the Anglo–Spanish War in which another invasion of England or Ireland was attempted in the Autumn of 1596 by King Philip II of Spain. In an attempt at revenge for the English sack of Cadiz in 1596 Philip immediately ordered a counter strike in the hope of assisting the Irish rebels in rebellion against the English crown. The strategy was to open up a new front in the war, forcing English troops away from France and the Netherlands where they were also fighting.

The Armada under the command of the Adelantado, Martín de Padilla was gathered at Lisbon, Vigo and Seville and set off in October. Before it had left Spanish waters storms struck the fleet off Cape Finisterre. The storms shattered the Armada causing heavy damage which forced the ships to return to their home ports. Nearly 5,000 men died either from the storm or disease, and 38 ships were lost which was enough for a long term postponement of the Irish enterprise. In addition, significant material and financial losses added to the bankruptcy of the Spanish Kingdom during the Autumn of 1596.

Spain and England had been at war for nearly twelve years with neither side gaining the upper hand. The result of the intervention of Philip II in the religious war in France in support of the Catholic League, meant that Spanish forces had established coastal garrisons along the French and Flemish coast by the late 1580s. These bases had a huge strategic value because they allowed England to be threatened by the Spanish fleet and troops. England on the other hand had also intervened in France, but in support of King Henry IV of France, as a result of the Treaty of Greenwich in 1591. The Spanish had captured Calais in 1596 which meant that a strike against England was potentially more achievable. After desperate French demands to keep her from signing peace with Spain, the English signed the Triple Alliance with the Dutch republic and France.

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Wikipedia