The Battle of the Armada
In August 1588 Spain's "invincible fleet" that was trying to invade and conquer England was defeated by an English fleet led by Admiral Charles Howard and Vice-Admiral Francis Drake. At the time, Spain was under the reign of King Philip II, who had been England's King Consort until 1558 when his wife Mary I died, and who wanted to overthrow her sister, Queen Elizabeth I.

The Spanish fleet was the largest of its age - more than 130 ships with over 30,000 soldiers on board. Warned of the incoming enemy by a series of beacons along the south coast of England, the English sent fireships into the Spanish fleet before engaging in a huge battle at Gravelines, off the north coast of France. The Spanish tried to retreat but were boxed in by the English, forcing them out towards the Irish coast, where a series of heavy storms destroyed much of the fleet.