Defeat of the Spanish Armada

About the Battle

Philip II sent 130 ships to escort an invasion army from Flanders. English ships harassed the crescent formation up the Channel, then fireships scattered the fleet anchored at Calais. Storms wrecked dozens of retreating galleons around Scotland and Ireland. Protestant England celebrated a deliverance, the origin of the phrase Britannia rules the waves. Spain rebuilt its navy but never repeated the attempt.