In the late 16th century, Philip II of Spain launched the Spanish Armada in an attempt to invade England and convert it back to Catholicism under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I. The Spanish Armada consisted of around 122 ships carrying over 30,000 men that set sail from Lisbon, Portugal in 1588. However, the Spanish Armada was defeated by the English navy through battles in the English Channel that resulted in the destruction of the Spanish ships, with only 87 returning to Spain. The failed invasion marked a decline in Spanish power and affirmed England's independence.

2. In the late 16th century,
Spain was the most
poweful empire. Spanish
king, Philip II, ruled much
of the New World and
much of Western Europe.

3. PHILIP II
was the
great-
grandson
of the
Catholic
Monarchs

4. Elisabeth I was the Protestant queen of England
and Philip´s enemy

5. Philip was a devout Catholic. He felt it was his
duty to invade and conquer England to
convert the country back to the Church of
Rome.

6. In 1588 he sent about 122 ships from Lisbon to
fight Protestant England.

7. The route of
The Spanish
Armada
July-October
1588

8. Between the first ship and the last one there
was a distance of 7 miles (11km)

9. The Spanish ships slowly made their way into
the English Channel.
They looked like “great floating-castles.”

10. But they were also clumsy and
difficult to manage

11. English ships were smaller and more
manageable.

12. The Spanish galleons were so high and the
English vessels so low that it was difficult for
the Spaniards to fire them.
Spanish galleon English vessel

13. Also the English vessels slipped under the bows
of the Galleons, firing a shot or two and then
going for the next one.

16. The first encounter lasted for more than a
week. The Spanish suffered severely. Masts
shattered, Holes in the hulls, sailors slained…

17. The Armada was also sttacked by fire-boats.
The Spaniards were horrified. In their escape
some ships collided, others burned or ran
aground.

18. Others sailed northwards. The boisterous
northern seas did the work of many
cannons.

20. Queen Elizabeth said about the battle: I have
the body of a weak, feeble woman, but I
have the heart of a king, and no prince
of Europe should dare to invade my
kingdom.

21. Just 87 ships returned to
Spain. The following
year, England organized
a similar campaign
against Spain, which
was also unsuccessful.

22. The end