English Armada 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 (1585–1604) 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
3rd Spanish Armada severe losses in ships (including a few galleons known as the Apostles), men, supplies and money. The cost was ruinous; the two ships carrying the pay-chests disappeared below the waves. The Spanish King not to be disheartened ordered another invasion despite the Cortes Generales claiming funds would not be available in time. As a result, the Cortes was asked to be dissolved by Philip and a financial crisis loomed. 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