The Defeat of the Spanish Armada In the 16th century, Spain was the world's greatest superpower and had influence over much of the European world. King Philip II, the leader of Spain, was deeply religious and wanted to convert Protestant England to Catholicism. The Armada was a fleet intended to invade England; it was one of the largest fleets ever assembled and was considered invincible, however it was destroyed in a few days of fighting and a disastrous voyage back to Spain. Although the Spanish Armada was thought to be invincible, due to a combination of errors in judgment by its commanders and unfavorable weather conditions, it was one of the greatest defeats in history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Although Mary Queen of Scots did not actually participate in the war, she was the cause of Philip II's decision to invade England. Mary Queen of Scots was the rightful heir to the English throne, provided that Elizabeth had no children. She was exiled to France because she was Catholic and killed her husband. She then took refuge in England where Elizabeth kept her under close surveillance. In 1586 a plot emerges to kill Elizabeth and make Mary Queen. This plot is called the Babington plot. Elizabeth orders Mary's beheading, which occurred on February 12, 1587. Mary's death infuriates Philip II, King of Spain and the most powerful man in the European world. Philip was a devout Catholic and considered himself the international defender of Catholicism. Phillip's devotion to religion stood out even in a time when most people were very devout (Lace, 16). Since Mary is also Catholic, she becomes very angry with Elizabeth. Philip's main reason for invading England was to make the country Catholic and end English support of the revolting Dutch. His secondary reason for invading England was that he wanted supremacy in trade and maritime power. The growth of English naval power posed a threat to Spain's supremacy of the seas. The third important reason for invading England was the death of Mary Queen of Scots. This was the last straw, Philip had already thought about invading England but now he finally had a legitimate excuse. Philip made plans to invade Europe. His plan was to pick the Duke of Parma's men in the Netherlands and ferry them to England, march to London and take the city. Philip also planned to have a fleet of ships to protect the army during the ferrying. Thus, Philip created what is known as the Spanish Armada. This fleet was so large that it was thought to be invincible and that the Spanish could not lose it. The plan was for the fleet to sail up the Channel to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the fleet would rendezvous with the Duke of Parma and his troops. From there the Armada would cross the Channel to England, unload equipment from the ships and continue on to London. This plan seems like a good idea, except that it takes too long to put together a fleet of this size and by the time it was ready, it was obsolete compared to the English one. The Armada consisted of 130 ships, 19,000 soldiers, 8,000 sailors and 2,000 slaves. This fleet was so large that they had to use merchant ships to transport all the supplies, these ships turned out to be a bad idea because they had little defense. The English were ready for the Spanish. The first meeting took place in Plymouth, on 29 July 1588, here both sides fired but the Spaniards failed to.