The Fall of The Spanish Armada Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Fall of The Spanish Armada - Research Paper Example Elizabeth was very ambitious and followed her father’s religion, protestant. In her rule, she declared the English religion as the Church of England, and not Catholicism. This upset the Spanish king who hated Protestants. This was the beginning of their differences. In her first thirty years of reign, Queen Elizabeth I of England made sure that peace prevailed in the country. Trade and commerce was thriving and the England ships were encompassing the territory, further across to the West Indies. This expansion of commerce became a source of conflict with Spain and Portugal. The two super powers, Spain and Portugal, were the rulers of the New World. They were practicing trade monopoly and the invasion of English traders was positively welcomed. The traders from England broke through the barriers establishment set up by Spanish and Portuguese army, and went to sell the black seized from Africa, making enormous profits. On their way back to England, the traders, notably Sir Franc is Drake and John Hawkins, would attack the Spanish ships and steal their gold (Arthur). Queen Elizabeth was aiding the traders with ships and finances, and had a share from the profits and the stolen treasure from the Spaniards. The pirates from England went on with their attacks on ships from and to Spain. Some of the Spanish shipments were carrying supplies to countries opposing Protestantism, while others were bound to Spain, carrying treasures and slaves for Spain. The Spanish ports in South America and Caribbean also suffered attacks. Elizabeth was said to share part of the loot, but the worst thing was that she used part of the loot to enforce Protestant movements in Europe that were against the Spanish Catholicism Empire. These actions from England deteriorated the relations between the two nations, but Philip did not want to attack Elizabeth directly. The Rodolfi Conspiracy of 1571 gave King Philip a chance to go against Queen Elizabeth. The conspiracy was set to assassinat e Queen Elizabeth I and empower her Protestant cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. The relation between England and Spain suffered greatly due to both parties. Elizabeth was giving a safe haven for the Dutch individuals who were harassing Spanish ships. Around 1570, the famous pirate and soldier, Francis drake, sailed around the globe destroying Spanish colonies and their shipments (Mattingly 47). To counter this move, the Philip conquered Portugal and strengthened his military powers. Elizabeth offered an asylum for the overthrown Portuguese leader Don Antonio, and gave him authority to lead harassment of the Spanish ships by the English army. In the quest of seeking ally nations against Spain, Elizabeth started negotiations with France. In response to an attempt by the French forces to fight the Spanish navy off Terceira, the Spanish navy destroyed the French forces easily, fatally injuring most of the soldiers. Spain had regained confidence in its naval superiority. In 1584, there was a n attempt on the life of Elizabeth. She ordered a serious campaign aimed against the Spanish ships and the Caribbean holdings, placing Frobisher and Drake as the leaders. In the year that followed, the queen ordered close to five thousand soldiers ruled by the earl of Leicester to shore up after their leader, William of Orange, died. In addition to these acts, the queen ordered the execution of Mary, her protestant rival in February 1587. The Spanish King at the time, King Philip