The rivalry
During the late 1500s, relations between Spain and England grew increasingly hostile. Spain's King Philip II wanted to restore the Roman Catholic faith in England, where the Protestant religion had dominated for some time. Tensions mounted in 1585 when England supported rebels in the Netherlands, a country ruled by Spain. After a series of damaging raids by English captain Sir Francis Drake on Spanish merchant ships in the Caribbean in 1585 and 1586, Philip decided to invade England.
The fleets
Spain's plan was to invade England with 30,000 troops. First, however, Spain intended to send a fleet of ships to defeat the English Navy. This would enable Spanish troops to cross the English Channel from the Netherlands.
After nearly two years of preparation and delay, the Armada sailed from Lisbon in May 1588. The fleet consisted of about 130 ships with about 27,000 soldiers and sailors. The English fleet that awaited the Spaniards numbered less than 100 ships. No more than 40 or so were warships of the first rank; but the English ships were faster than most of the Spanish vessels and well armed for their size. The English planned to bombard the Spanish ships at long range. This was unusual because at the time, battles at sea were fought by bringing the ships close to each other so that soldiers from one could board the other and fight as on a battlefield.
The battle
The two navies met in the English Channel in late July. In three separate encounters, the English harassed the Spanish fleet from long range but were unable to inflict serious damage on the Armada. In early August, the English succeeded in breaking the fleet's formation. They closed in on the disorganized Spanish fleet and began bombarding it. The Spanish ships could answer only with small arms, for their heavy guns were not mounted. As a result, the Armada sustained serious damage and casualties. Three Spanish ships were sunk or driven ashore and others were badly battered.
Stung by these losses, the Spanish retreated. Due to unfavorable winds and the English fleet, the Armada was forced to return home around the northern tip of Scotland. The long voyage through the autumn gales of the North Atlantic proved fatal to many of the Spanish ships. Only 60 ships are known to have reached Spain, many of them too badly damaged to be repaired. In all, perhaps 15,000 men perished. The English lost several hundred, perhaps several thousand, men to disease but sustained few casualties in action.
The defeat of the Spanish Armada saved England from invasion and badly damaged the power and prestige of Spain. It also served as the first major naval gun battle under sail—and for the next two and a half centuries, gun-armed sailing warship dominated the seas.