English Armada

The English Armada, also known as the Counter Armada or the Drake-Norris Expedition, was a fleet of warships sent to Spain by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1589, during the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War and the Eighty Years' War. It was led by Sir Francis Drake as admiral and Sir John Norreys as general, and failed to drive home the advantage England had won upon the destruction of the Spanish Armada in the previous year. The Spanish victory marked a revival of Philip II's naval power through the next decade.
Queen Elizabeth I's intentions were to capitalise upon Spain's temporary weakness at sea after the successful repulse of the Spanish Armada and to compel Philip II to sue for peace. The expedition had three objectives: to burn the Spanish Atlantic fleet, to make a landing at Lisbon and raise a revolt there against Philip II , and then to continue west and establish a permanent base in the Azores. A further aim was to seize the Spanish treasure fleet as it returned from America to Cádiz, although this depended largely on the success of the Azores campaign.

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