The Battle Of The Spanish Armada

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Term Paper Title	The Battle Of The Spanish Armada
# of Words	3951
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	15.8

The Battle of the Spanish Armada

The Battle of the Spanish Armada

     The great naval battle between Spain and England in 1588- one of the
most important battles in the history of the world- is known as the Battle of
the Invincible Armada. But in a sense, this is a misnomer. An invincible armada
is one that cannot be defeated, yet the mighty fleet of warships that Spain sent
to invade England, was defeated so badly that Spain could never again rule the
oceans. How was it possible that this armada, which had awed all of Europe with
its size and strength, was unable to stand up against the forces of a much
smaller and less powerful enemy? The answer lies in the differences between
these two countries and their rulers, Elizabeth I of England and Philip II of
Spain.
     During the 16th century, Spain was at the height of her power.  Newly
discovered worlds and conquests of different peoples had yielded Spain an
abundance of precious metals and gems, which made Spain the envy of all the
other European nations.  By 1580, King Philip II was ruling over an empire that
covered three-fourths of the known world.  Even the ancient Romans would have
been envious of its size. (Walker 15-19)
     Religion was one of the compelling motives behind the actions and
ambitions of Spain.  Philip's father, Emperor Charles V, had established himself
as the guardian of Christendom.  He also had the dream of uniting all of the
Christian European nations against the Turks and the Moors, who had been
terrorizing Catholicism from one end of the Mediterranean to the other.  However,
his dreams were hindered with the coming of the Protestant Reformation, which
split Christendom into two parts.(Marx 22-25)
     Philip II continued in his father's footsteps as the defender of
Catholicism.  After the Turks were defeated in a decisive sea battle in 1571,
Philip turned his attention to another serious threat to Christendom: his
Protestant neighbors.  Devoutly religious and good friends with Pope Sixtus V,
he was willing to use all of his resources, including his treasures from the New
World, his large army, and his huge fleet of warships, just to unite Europe
under a common Catholic faith. (Marx 28-33)
     He probably would have accomplished his goal too, if it weren't for the
Protestant Queen Elizabeth I of England.  England at this time, however, was not
nearly as powerful or as wealthy as Spain.  Her tax revenues were so small that
monarchs were forced to sell their jewels and lands just to keep food o...

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