Spanish Armada

4 Pages 1024 Words

Due to rising tensions between England and Spain, in 1588 the two nations confronted each other in one of histories greatest naval showdowns. There were many reasons for the confrontation, but a few primary causations can be named. Firstly, there was an underlying conflict of Spanish Catholicism vs. English Protestantism. Phillip the II of Spain had the backing of the papacy and was ardently opposed to any kind of Protestantism. On the contrary, when Elizabeth became the Queen of England, she made Protestantism the official state religion and made attendance to the Church of England compulsory for all citizens. The religious rivalry between the two nations escalated steadily and eventually ended up in war. Prior to 1588, Spain had been fighting a Protestant rebellion in the Low Countries, and had been doing well. Opposed to the spread of Catholicism and Spanish rule, England saw it as her duty to send military aid to the Dutch Protestants. The war which had started as a Dutch rebellion had turned into a proxy war between the Spanish and the English. An already tense situation was made worse when Elizabeth executed Mary, Queen of Scotts, the Catholic wife of Phillip the II.
The whole time that this religious rivalry was occurring, the problem of privateering was slowly gnawing away at the Spanish economy. Spain had established colonies in the new world and was exporting huge amounts of bullion to support her economy. The government of Spain absolutely relied on this money to make her economy function. The English crown actively supported privateering efforts which would serve two purposes: 1. to increase the wealth of England and 2. to detract from the wealth of Spain. These acts of privateering were a large cause of the showdown between Spain and England.
There are two main reasons that Spain lost her Armada. First there was the issue of poor leadership. A few months prior to setting sail, the commander of the Sp...