2nd Spanish Armada

2nd Spanish Armada
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War

Philip II of Spain in his old age, ordered the Armada of 1596 in revenge for the English attack on Cadiz
Date24 October – 1 November 1596
Location
Cape Finisterre, Atlantic
Result English victory[1][2][3]
Belligerents
Spain England England
Commanders and leaders
Spain Philip II
Spain Martín de Padilla
Spain Diego Brochero
Spain Sancho Martínez de Leyva
Spain Carlos de Arellano		 England Elizabeth I
England Robert Devereux
England Charles Howard
England Walter Raleigh
Strength
Fleet
24 galleons
53 armed merchant ships[4]
Total
126[5] - 140 ships
19,500 men (approx.)[6]		 Various shore defences
13 galleons
74 armed merchant vessels
12,000 men[7]
Casualties and losses
1 Flyboat captured[8]
Storms/Disease:
5 galleons sunk[9]
38 other ships sunk or scuttled[6]
5,000 dead[10][11]		 Unknown

The 2nd Spanish Armada also known as the Spanish Armada of 1596[12][13] was a naval operation that took place during the Anglo–Spanish War. Another invasion of England or Ireland was attempted in the autumn of 1596 by King Philip II of Spain.[9][14] In an attempt at revenge for the English sack of Cadiz in 1596, Philip immediately ordered a counter strike in the hope of assisting the Irish rebels in rebellion against the English crown.[6] The strategy was to open a new front in the war, forcing English troops away from France and the Netherlands, where they were also fighting.[7][15]

The Armada under the command of the Adelantado, Martín de Padilla was gathered at Lisbon, Vigo and Seville and set off in October.[16] Before it had left Spanish waters, storms struck the fleet off Cape Finisterre.[17] The storms shattered the Armada causing much damage and forcing the ships to return to their home ports.[18] Nearly 5,000 men died either from the storm or disease and 38 ships were lost, which was enough for a long-term postponement of the Irish enterprise.[18] The material and financial losses added to the bankruptcy of the Spanish kingdom, during the autumn of 1596.[1][7]

  1. ^ a b Morgan pp. 56–58
  2. ^ Richardson & Doran p. 37
  3. ^ Childs p. 9
  4. ^ Tenace pp. 856–857
  5. ^ Clodfelter, Micheal (9 May 2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015, 4th ed. ISBN 978-0786474707.
  6. ^ a b c Bicheno pp. 289–290
  7. ^ a b c Leathes, Stanley (1907). The Cambridge Modern History, Volume 3. CUP Archive. p. 529.
  8. ^ Roberts, R A, ed. (1895). Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House, Volume 6, November 1596, 16–30. HMSO. pp. 479–499.
  9. ^ a b Tenace pp. 864–866
  10. ^ Hume p. 229
  11. ^ Ungerer p. 207
  12. ^ Wernham pp. 139–140
  13. ^ Simpson p. 37
  14. ^ McCoog p. 400
  15. ^ Morgan pp. 45–50
  16. ^ Fernández Duro, Cesáreo: Armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y de Aragón. Vol. III. Instituto de Historia y Cultura Naval, p. 130 (Spanish)
  17. ^ Kamen pp. 308–309
  18. ^ a b Tenace, Edward (2003). "A Strategy of Reaction: The Armadas of 1596 and 1597 and the Spanish Struggle for European Hegemony". English Historical Review. Oxford Journals. 118 (478): 867–868. doi:10.1093/ehr/118.478.855.