The Spanish Armada of 1588 was a large naval fleet sent by King Philip II of Spain to invade England. The fleet was composed of 130 ships, 8,000 sailors, and 18,000 soldiers, and was the largest naval force ever assembled up to that time. The Armada
The Spanish Armada was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, and was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War. The Armada was commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat appointed by Philip II of Spain. His orders were to sail up the English Channel, join with the army of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma in Flanders, and escort an invasion force that would land in England and overthrow Elizabeth I. Its purpose was to reinstate Catholicism in England, end English support for the Dutch Republic in the north and prevent attacks by English and Dutch privateers against Spanish interests in the Americas.