The Spanish Armada was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval experience appointed by Philip II of Spain. His orders were to sail up the English Channel, join with the Duke of Parma in Flanders, and escort an invasion force that would land in England and overthrow Elizabeth I. Its purpose was to reinstate Catholicism in England, end support for the Dutch Republic, and prevent attacks by English and Dutch privateers against Spanish interests in the Americas.
Route of the Spanish Armada
Philip II of Spain c. 1580, National Portrait Gallery, London
Queen Elizabeth I c. 1585, Trinity College, Cambridge
The Surrender of Pedro de Valdés (commander of the Squadron of Andalusia) to Francis Drake aboard the Revenge during the attack of the Spanish Armada, 1588, by John Seymour Lucas
Philip II, also known as Philip the Prudent, was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He was also jure uxoris King of England and Ireland from his marriage to Queen Mary I in 1554 until her death in 1558. He was also Duke of Milan from 1540. From 1555, he was Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.
Portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola (1565)
The Baptism of Philip II in Valladolid, Castile. Historical ceiling preserved in Palacio de Pimentel (Valladolid)
Philip, in the prime of his life, by Anthonis Mor
Philip II wearing the order of the garter by Jooris van der Straeten, c. 1554
