[18] The Armada was executed by the Adelantado Martín de Padilla, who was hoping to intercept and destroy the English fleet under Robert Devereux the 2nd Earl of Essex as it returned from the failed Azores expedition.

[23] The returning English fleet, which had been scattered by the same storm, were unaware that the Spanish had come to intercept them, and arrived safely in England with the loss of only one ship.

[31] The result of the intervention of Philip II in the religious war in France in support of the Catholic League, meant that the Spanish had established coastal garrisons along the French and Flemish coast by the 1580s.

[5] In a wave of revenge after the defeat at Cadiz, Philip II sent out orders for a large armada to do the same to England by way of taking the French port of Brest.

[37] Just after they set off however the fleet was obliterated in autumn storms off Cape Finisterre causing severe losses in ships (including a few galleons known as the Apostles), men, supplies, and money.

The Cadiz defeat, the failure of the Armada, as well as the war in France and the Netherlands that year meant that Philip's nation went into bankruptcy; the third of his reign.

[20] Adding to the King's and Spain's woes, a poor harvest began to take effect in the country and thousands were affected.

[39] There was a heavy reliance on the Italian holdings to make up the losses from the previous year's failed armada as well as funds and supplies.

[39] The primary original objective was Ireland to support the rise of the rebels under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, but the senior Spanish commanders wanted to attack England instead.

[44] When news came however that the English had sailed in force again under Essex, and were first on the coasts of the Peninsula, and then cruising round the Azores to capture the treasure fleets, there was shock at the Spanish court.

[44] The Spanish were to hold the town and port and force Elizabeth into a peace or hoping to attract the Catholic followers and rise up in support.

[6] The Armada left La Coruña and Ferrol after which a fleet under Admiral Diego Brochero was to meet another from Blavet in Brittany (under Spanish rule) with a thousand men under Pedro de Zubiaur.

[48] For three days the storm blew, Spanish ship losses increased, the San Lucas ran aground off the Lizard casting away their horses and mules.

[10] In the San Pedro, Brochero had to drop out of the station to a Biscay port as the ship was so badly damaged, but he was put to sea again in a flyboat and rejoined the armada.

[48] On the night of 25 October, seeing that the currents were unrelenting he reluctantly ordered the remaining ships to start to part company and to scatter, each one thinking of their own safety.

The Queen's cousin, the Earl of Ormond, was given command of all military forces in Ireland in case the Spanish ships decided on landfall there.

[53] In Cornwall a Spanish force landed 700 elite soldiers on a beach in one of the creeks off the Helford River near Falmouth, and dug in, waiting for reinforcements.

English militia began to arrive in large numbers (although poorly armed), but the Spanish fleet was still hopelessly dispersed.

[30] Sir Ferdinand Gorges, the Governor of the Fort at Plymouth, put a 500-man guard on the town and a pinnace was sent out to feedback sightings of the Spanish fleet.

[50] Charles Blount, the 8th Baron Mountjoy, was put in command of the English land forces while the few galleons from Chatham were sent to the Cornish and Devon coasts.

[12][10] A muster on 21 November put the number of ships at A Coruña at 108 vessels with many in need of repairs, while the entire fleet required new provisions, especially victuals.

[61] In addition the core of the English Catholics did not rise up in rebellion even when the Spanish fleet offshore was known to them, in fact many had even spoken out in support of fighting them.

Padilla was so angered at the lack of preparation that he said to the Spanish King:[19] If your majesty decides on an attempt on England, take care to make preparations in good quantity and in good time and if not then it is better to make peace.The Spanish king was distraught by the news and he knew there was no possibility a third attack by an armada could be attempted.

[51] They were able to learn what was happening, including the objectives and overall strategy of the Spanish Armada as a whole within a few days, whilst the ships were off the English and Welsh coasts.

[63] Lessons were learned however, in particular at Falmouth, where Mountjoy's consultant military engineer Paul Ivey was responsible for strengthening the castles at St Mawes and Pendennis.

[62][64] It was put into immediate effect – information from prisoners claimed that an invasion would be attempted the following summer but only if the taking of Falmouth or Milford had succeeded.

English troops from France on standby returned there to fight with Henry IV in Brittany at the closing of the Franco-Spanish war before the Peace of Vervins was signed.

[3] For the first time in English naval history, effective offshore blockades were launched with expeditions such as one led by William Monson and Richard Leveson most notably off Sesimbra in 1602.

[70] This time the Armada succeeded in landing a much smaller force under Juan del Águila and Pedro de Zubiaur, after a severe storm again nearly put paid to the operation.

[71] In 1953 during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, in Aberdyfi a local ship was fitted out to represent the Spanish caravel The Bear of Amsterdam.