The Spanish Armada set sail from Spain in July 1588, with the mission of overthrowing the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I and restoring Catholic rule over England.. Although Raleigh did not command a ship, he was the Queen’s naval adviser and helped Sir John Hawkins to implement improvements to the design of ships, an important factor in the success of the English fleet against the Spanish. The famous Spanish treasure fleet was made up of such vessels. The galleon was renowned for its large hulls and heavy loads, and for the gold, it brought back from the New World to be squandered by the Spanish crown and nobility. The Spanish Armada. Peter Lemon, a junior officer in England's navy in 1597, recorded that the third Armada bore "300 sayle of ships. The Spanish Armada was one part of a planned invasion of England by King Philip II of Spain. Then, how many ships were in the English fleet against the Spanish Armada? Launched in August 1588, ‘la felicissima armada’, or ‘the most fortunate fleet’, was made up of roughly 150 ships … The ensuing English victory against this Spanish Armada became a pivotal moment in the rise of Protestant England as a global power. 100 gallies and 120000 menn for the conquest of Ingland" [sic], which is a fearful exaggeration, but Lemon needn't have worried, as yet another strong storm stopped the Spanish. It was armed with guns and loaded with supplies and men for the planned invasion of England. The Trinidad Valencera was one of the largest Spanish Armada ships displacing 1,100 tons. In terms of placements, the largest guns were carried as stern chasers, while the others, divided between the two broadsides, were arranged along a long gundeck. Usually, it’s carrying heavy weapons. 'Great and Most Fortunate Navy') was a Habsburg Spanish fleet of 130 ships that sailed from Corunna in late May 1588, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, with the purpose of escorting an army from Flanders to invade England. 7) The Flota and Purpose of the Galleon – English ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588. A giant Spanish invasion fleet was completed by 1587, but Sir Francis Drake’s daring raid on the Armada’s supplies in the port of Cadiz delayed the Armada’s departure until May 1588. The Spanish began to build galleons on a large scale and used them to form a powerful fleet. The Spanish Armada (Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, lit. Source: Wikimedia Commons The Spanish Armada (Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, lit. Many years previously in the early 1530s, under instruction from Elizabeth’s father King Henry VIII, the Protestant Church of England had broken away from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Meaning literally “Great and Most Fortunate Navy”, the Spanish Armada’s strategic goal was to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and put an end to Protestantism in England. On May 28, 1588, the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, headed for England with 130 ships and 30,000 men. Originally a Venetian merchant ship, it was conscripted by the Spanish against the wishes of its captain. Two years later, Philip ordered a huge fleet – some 130 ships carrying 24,000 men – to set sail for the English Channel and support a Spanish land invasion of England from Flanders. The English fleet at one time or another included nearly 200 ships , but during most of the subsequent fighting in the English Channel it numbered less than 100 ships , and at its largest it was about the same size as the Spanish … , it was conscripted by the Spanish Armada Flota and Purpose of the Galleon English. August 1588 powerful fleet of the largest Spanish Armada ( Spanish: y! 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