The Spanish Armada Float or Flop - 864 Words

When one thinks about the world’s greatest navy’s countries like England and the United States instantly come to mind. But, in the year 1588, there existed another powerful navy, the empire of Spain. The Spanish navy, also referred to as the Spanish Armada, was great in size and, to some extent, had well trained soldiers. Like most great things, the Spanish Armada was due in for its ultimate demise at the hands of the everlasting, powerful, British navy. Generally, the Spanish Armada was everything a great navy was, with a few weak links that mainly contributed to the Armada being defeated by the English navy. So, what exactly was the fleet known as the Spanish Armada? To answer that question one has to first look at why the Armada was a necessity for the Spanish. Leading up to the year of the invasion that the Armada was assembled for, 1588, tensions between Spanish leaders and Queen Elizabeth of England. But, the number one reason for the Armada’s assembly was when Sir Francis Drake attacked Spain with the powerful English navy, under orders of Queen Elizabeth. As a plan to avenge the deaths caused by Drake’s assault on Spain, the Spanish king then assembled a fleet numbering, according to Wenxi Liu â€Å"138 ships from Spain and different Habsburg dominions, weighing a total of 58,000 tons, carrying 30,000 men and 2,400 cannons†(9). Though the size of the Armada is impressive it did not have a strategic set up. The