Spain, once the world's dominance, also ushered in a period of weakness. The main reason for this was the deterioration of relations between Spain and its former ally, England.
Causes of deterioration in the relationship between the parties:
First, British privateers plundered the gold and silver mined by Spain on the American continent, which was an important support for Spanish finances. After being plundered by the British, the Spanish economy was in trouble.
Second, the religious element. King Philip II of Spain was a devout Catholic, but Elizabeth I's designation of the Anglican Church as the national church created a religious rift between the two countries.
Elizabeth I
Third, in 1587, Elizabeth I would flee to England, queen of Scotland and heir to the throne of England, Mary Ann. Stuart was executed. Philip II was strongly dissatisfied with the matter.
Fourth, and decisively, Britain supported Dutch independence. In 1568, the Dutch waged a war of independence from Spain, and Britain provided support to the Netherlands after the war lasted more than twenty years. The Netherlands was the territory of the Habsburgs (Philip II family), a region with a developed wool textile industry from the Middle Ages, and one of the important sources of wealth for Spain.
However, there were many Protestants in the Dutch region, and Spain made it mandatory for them to be Catholic. William I, Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, led a rebellion. England chose to support the Netherlands, and in 1585, the English Parliament decided to send troops to the European continent to rescue the Netherlands. Faced with such repeated hostilities against Spain, philip II did not hesitate to send an "Armada" to England.
The beginning and end of the Armada
In May 1588, the Armada, led by the Duke of Sidonia, formed a massive fleet of 130 ships centered on 20 Spanish galleons and four Gallissei warships. Among them, 20 Spanish galleons have outstanding sailing capabilities, can carry more cannons and have stronger attack power than previous ships, and are the main force of the fleet. The fleet also had 8,000 navies and 19,000 army troops.
The Armada set sail at the port of Lisbon, Spain, and began its journey north. The inclement weather encountered on the way made it difficult for the fleet, and it was July when they reached the Strait of Dover. On 21 July, the Armada engaged the English Navy for the first time at Plymouth Harbour. The ships of the English Navy, though as many as 170, were small warships. In terms of combat effectiveness, Spain is in an absolute advantage.
However, the deputy commander of the English fleet was the battle-hardened pirate Francis. Drake. Contrary to what was expected before the war, the dominance of the war remained in the hands of England. The English warships were weak in fire and could not sink the Spanish warships in one blow, but the English warships were equipped with long-range long-barrel guns and the maneuverability of small warships, while maintaining a certain distance from the Spanish ships, they fired continuously at the Spanish warships, hitting them until they could not move. The main tactic of the Spanish Navy was hand-to-hand combat, which required close proximity to enemy ships to perform, resulting in the Spanish Navy being unable to deal with the British Navy.
The Spanish Armada suffered a crushing defeat in the first battle, and in order to join the Army forces of the Duke of Parma to receive supplies and assistance, the Armada went to Dunkirk, the Spanish territory of the Netherlands.
However, the next day they were caught up by the English fleet at Cape Portland, and the Armada still adopted its previous tactics to meet the battle, and undoubtedly lost again and suffered heavy losses.
The Armada departed from Lisbon and returned to its final destination, Santander
Expecting to meet the Duke of Parma, the Armada crossed the Isle of Wight to the French port of Calais, but the Duke of Parma was unable to send reinforcements because of the blockade by the Dutch independenceists. On the night of 28 July 1588, the Armada, anchored in the port of Calais, was attacked by eight smaller fireships. There is no doubt that this is the "masterpiece" of the English Navy, and it is also a useful method of warfare for pirates such as Drake and Hawkins. The Armada was in disarray, and Drake led the fleet to attack. The Armada, which had been undersupplied, was unable to continue fighting after running out of ammunition and ended in a crushing defeat.
To avoid total annihilation, the Armada fled north. Rounding the north of Scotland from the Atlantic Ocean south, through the west of Ireland to Spain. On the way, they encountered another great storm. The ship spread infectious diseases and returned to Santander, Spain, full of devastation. By this time it was September 22, 1588, and the fleet had only 67 ships left, half of which could no longer be used.
The Fall of the Spanish Armada by Philippe James de Lauserberg
Since then, the dispute between England and Spain has lasted for 16 years, during which time English privateers have plundered more than 200,000 pounds of wealth from the New World every year. As its power grew, England established colonies around the world and grew into the most powerful empire in history.
In Spain, a rebellion broke out in Portugal, ruled by Philip II as king, causing Spain to lose control of Portugal. After achieving full independence, the Netherlands also quickly grew into a world maritime power, threatening Spain's economic power and becoming a maritime hegemony with England.
Armada
In this way, Spain's military and economy gradually declined, and the country went into decline. The fall of the Armada became the fuse of the "sunset".