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The defeat and destruction of the Spanish Armada (in 1588 is seen by many as the high point of Elizabeth I’s of England’s reign. If the Armada had been successful then , it could have changed the course of English and indeed, world history. The defeat of the Armada was to have had profound consequences for England. The first consequence of the English victory was that it secured the its independence of that kingdom.

The With defeat of the Armada led to , England becoming become a serious European naval power and this . Britain's navy was to prove important in the foundation of the future British Empire. As a result of the failed invasion, by Catholic Spain, England became more self-consciously Protestant and, Catholicism became very increasingly unpopular and seen was viewed as anti-English. The English also saw the defeat of the Armada was as an act of divine providence and it . It confirmed the opinion of many to them that England was a kingdom destined for greatness and this was to play a very important role in English national identity for many centuries.

====Background====In the sixteenth century, Europe was divided into two mutually hostile religious groups. The North of Northern Europe was dominated by Protestantism Protestants regimes and the south was mainly Catholic. England had become a an increasing Protestant realm state by the mid-sixteenth century, but this was opposed by many Catholics. Contrary to popular belief, Catholicism had been popular in England before the Reformation and many people still sympathized with what they called the ‘old religion.’<ref> Duffy, E. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300108281/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0300108281&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=b06f0eb9358da3a5da4c6146421bcff6 Stripping of the Altars]</i> (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 113</ref> Queen Elizabeth, I the First initially pursued a moderate religious policy to minimize religious conflict between Catholic and Protestant. However, Elizabeth soon found herself under pressure from Spain - the great preeminent Catholic power of in the world at that time, . Spain. It was the dominant Catholic power in Europe because of its vast territories in 's influence reach stretched across Europe and into the Americas.

The Spanish King Phillip II was an ardent Catholic and he had two primary ambitions. First, the first was he wanted to return the all Protestants back to the Catholic faith and . Second, he hoped to to expand the growing power of Spain. The Spanish King had been married to Mary I of England and it seemed that for a time that England would become part of the fall under Spanish dominionsinfluence. However, the coronation of Elizabeth I had changed all of fundamentally altered this and dynamic because she was determined on a policy of to maintain England's independence from Spain. Spain , on the hand, wanted to force the English back into the Catholic fold and to end the attacks of English pirates on their shipping ships and colonies in the Americas.

Elizabeth, I had encouraged English privateers, such as Sir Francis Drake to mount attacks on Spanish targets. Elizabeth sought to limit the power of Spain and to secure some of the riches ‘of the America colonies for her subjects.’<ref> Holmes, Richard. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198662092/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0198662092&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=94311aba3c2131eec83402c57e9f3338 The Oxford Companion to Military History]</i> (Oxford, Oxford University Press. 2001), p. 214</ref> The English Queen also supported the Dutch in their revolt against Phillip II. Relations between Spain and England began to deteriorate deteriorated rapidly and by the mid-1580s the two countries were in an undeclared war, . A war that was to last until the rest end of Elizabeth’s reign. Spain was the richest and the most powerful Empire in Europe and Phillip decided that he would invade England, believing . He believed that if he was successful it would help him to secure many of his strategic objectives in Europe. The Spanish presented the Armada as a Catholic crusade and it was partially funded by the Papacy.

====The Spanish Armada==== [[File: Armada 4.jpg|350px|thumbnail|left| A contemporary painting of the Armada]]The launch of the Armada had been delayed several times, including once because of a raid by the English on Cadiz. The Spanish Armada was a fleet of 130 ships and it first left the port of Coruna in August 1588, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, the most powerful noble in Spain.<ref> Holmes, p. 215</ref> The fleet was ordered to sail to the English Channel and transport a large army in Flanders into England. The aim of the invasion was to depose Elizabeth I and to reimpose Catholicism on the English people. The fleet was an impressive one and the Spanish were experienced, sailors and navigators. However, the commander Medina-Sidonia was old and relatively inexperienced and he was to commit committed mistake after mistakethroughout the campaign.

The Spanish fleet despite its numerical advantage did not attack the English fleet based at Portsmouth and instead sailed to Calais. The Spanish army under the Duke of Parma was advancing to Calais to be transported to England. However, the English navy under Drake and Howard attacked the Armada with fireships, and this was the start of what became known as the Battle of Grave lines. The English tactic of using fire-ships, created panic among the Spaniards and the fleet was broken up into small groups of ships. The battle was to last lasted over a week with both sides launching attacks. However, Medina-Sidonia decided to withdraw and this . This decision was decisive as it meant that the Spanish army was unable to rendezvous with the invasion army. Drake and the other English commanders were happy to let the Armada sail away from the invasion force. Then a strong wind from the southwest forced the fleet to sail to the north and into the North Sea.

Medina-Sidonia could tried to regroup his ships and decided to withdraw to Spain and the . This ended Spain's attempt to invade England was over, but it did not end the Armada's problems. Now At this point, the Armada sought only to survive and return to Spain. The Unfortunately, inclement weather and a strong south-western wind meant that the Spanish could not return via the English Channel and this . This wind later became known in England as a ‘Protestant Wind.’<ref>McDermott, James. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030010698X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=030010698X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=f473dc1cecf6852131ce8bd6e86de229 England and the Spanish Armada: The Necessary Quarrel]</i>. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005), P. 215</ref> The Spanish Command, which could not communicate with Madrid decided to round the British Isles. The Armada sailed around Scotland but all the while was harried by the English fleet. The weather was very unseasonable for that time of years and the fleet of Phillip II was battered by gales and storms. As the Armada made their way around Scotland the suffered many losses. Many more ships were wrecked on the west coast of Ireland and the survivors were hunted down and killed by natives loyal to the English crown.<ref>T. P. Kilfeather. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013K2KD6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0013K2KD6&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a486270d446af7bb1840eb37dd11d649 Ireland: Graveyard of the Spanish Armada]</i> (Anvil Books, 1967), p. 167</ref> By the time that the remnants of the Spanish invasion fleet made it to Spain over two-thirds of the original Armada had been lost. The undeclared Anglo-Spanish War did not end with the defeat of the Armada but was to continue until 1604 and ended in a stalemate.

===England’s salvation===The Spanish Armada is one of the great ‘ifs’ in history. If the Spanish ships had been able Command, which could not communicate with Madrid decided to rendezvous with round the army of Flanders and transported it across the Channel, then it is quite likely that England would have been defeatedBritish Isles. The Spanish army was considered Armada sailed around Scotland but the English navy continued to be harry the best in Europe at this time and it was composed not only of Spanish veterans but also German veteransfleet. The English army weather was mainly composed very unseasonable for that time of local militias year and the Phillip's fleet was poorly led battered by strong gales and trainedmassive storms. As the Armada made their way around Scotland they began to lose ships. In a set piece battle, Many more ships were wrecked on land, it seems likely that the Spanish would have overcome west coast of Ireland and the survivors were hunted down and killed by natives loyal to the English and deposed Elizabeth Icrown.<ref>T. P. Kilfeather. <i>[https://www.amazon. The kingdom of England would have become part com/gp/product/B0013K2KD6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0013K2KD6&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a486270d446af7bb1840eb37dd11d649 Ireland: Graveyard of the Spanish EmpireArmada]</i> (Anvil Books, 1967), p. Phillip II did not plan to rule it directly but planned to place a Catholic on 167</ref> By the throne and they would have been time that the ally and dependent remnants of the Spanishinvasion fleet made it to Spain over two-thirds of the original Armada was lost. The While the defeat of the Armada prevented this from happening and Spanish Aramade did not end the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War which would continue until 1604, it secured the independence of England and allowed her made if difficult for Spain to to become a world power by get the eighteenth centuryupper hand.<ref> HolmesEventually, pthe conflict ended in a stalemate. 257</ref>

====England’s salvation====The Spanish Armada is one of the great ‘ifs’ in history. If the Spanish ships had been able to rendezvous with the army of Flanders and transport it across the Channel, then England may have been defeated. The Spanish army was considered to be the best in Europe at this time and it was composed not only of Spanish but German veterans. The English army was mainly composed of local militias and was poorly led and trained. In a set piece battle, on land, the Spanish forces would most likely have been victorious and deposed Elizabeth I. The kingdom of England would have become part of the Spanish Empire. Phillip II did not plan to rule it directly but planned to place a Catholic on the throne. Philip wanted an ally that would become dependent on Spain. The defeat of the Armada prevented this from happening and secured the independence of England. England's victory allowed her to become a major world power by the eighteenth century.<ref> Holmes, p. 257</ref>  ====The Armada and Religion====

Phillip II wanted to return England to Catholicism. If the Armada had been successful then it seems likely that a Catholic king or queen would have been placed on the throne. They would have had the power to overturn the Protestant establishment in the country. No longer would the Church of England be the state church and once again the Catholic Church would have been the only recognized religion in the realm. Phillip II believed that it was right for a monarch to ensure religious conformity in their kingdom. It seems most likely that the The new Catholic monarch probably would have persecuted Protestants in much the same way as Mary I had during her reign. Now while With Catholicism would have been made the state religion reestablished this would not could have seen the end of hobbled Protestantism in England.

By the 1580s , the Church of England was supported by most English people and they would have resisted any attempt to reimpose the Catholic faith. It seems Still it is likely that England would have suffered a series of Religious Wars similar to France in the sixteenth century. However, the failure of the Armada meant that the Church of England was now more secure than ever before. Increasingly, the English people began to see themselves as a Protestant people. They saw Protestantism as an integral part of Englishness and important for their freedom. Many English people became even more anti-Catholic after the Armada. ‘Popery’ as they referred to Catholicism was associated with autocracy, intolerance, and slavery. This anti-Catholicism was an important aspect of English political life for many years.<ref>Bridgen, Susan. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142001252/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0142001252&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=128a402be47987e0bd3742b14adafb3d New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors, 1485–1603]</i>. New York, NY: Viking Penguin, 2001), p. 115</ref> It is arguable that the main losers in the Armada apart from all those who died in the conflict were English Catholics.

After On the hand, English Catholics faced an increasingly difficult life in England after the Armada's destruction. Catholics, Catholics known as ‘recusants’ because they ‘recusants,’ refused to recognize the Church of England . They came under official and unofficial pressure to conform to the state religionand give up their faith.<ref> Bridgen, p. 234</ref>. Even loyal English Catholics became suspect and as a result, more and Catholics converted to Protestantism. By the end of the reign of Elizabeth, England was a Protestant nation, with only a small and oppressed Catholic minority. The Armada had played an important role in this process. Phillip II had attempted to overturn the religious settlement in England but his attempted invasion only strengthened it. The people of England began to see themselves in providential terms and in biblical terms as an ‘elect nation’ nation.’ <ref>Krishan Kumar. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521777364/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0521777364&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=40a0da3a27c0edae7a7be1c813dd2ca4 The Making of English national identity]</i> (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 45</ref>. They believed The English began to believe that they were chosen by God to carry out his will and this gave them a new-found confidence. This sense of mission was one that was very important in later decades and was an important factor in the growth of English power, especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.

====England as a naval power====

It has often been stated that the defeat of the Armada ended the Spanish superiority at sea and was the beginning of begun England’s rise as a global naval power. This was not the case. The year following the defeat of the Spanish Armada the English monarch launched the ‘English Armada.’<ref>Bridgen, p. 135</ref> This was a naval attack on Spain , but it was heavily defeated with great substantial English losses. Madrid changed its strategy and a series of fortifications were built in the Americas that gave greater protection against English and other privateers. The fact remains that Spain , after the defeat of the Armada , remained the premier maritime power outside China. However, the defeat of the Armada did lead to long-term changes that were proved to prove be very important in the rise of England as a naval power. There was a recognition, after the attempted Spanish invasion that the English needed a strong navy and successive English administrations pursued policies that helped to expand the navy and develop . England focused on developing new technologies and building ‘modern shipyards.’ <ref>Holmes, p. 217</ref> As a result, in These changes laid the wake of the Armada, the kingdom became an important groundwork for England naval power.

If Additionally, if the Spanish Armada had been a success then it seems likely is highly unlikely that the English England would not have been able to successfully plant colonies in North America. In the early seventeenth century, English colonies were found founded at Plymouth Rock and Jamestown. If the Spanish had placed one of their candidates on the throne of England then this may never have occurred. The defeat of the Armada saw England emerge as, if not a dominant naval power but an important one, that had and the means to establish colonies and to principal colonizer of North America. Additionally, English trading companies such as the East India Companyexpanded across the globe.<ref>Holmes, p. 256</ref>. Its England's naval capability was in the long-term to directly to lead to the growth and development of the British Empire.

====Conclusion====

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