3rd Spanish Armada Spain, the English signed the Triple Alliance with the Dutch republic and France. England had sent an armada the next year under the Earl of Essex and Charles Howard to Cadiz which was captured and sacked. An angered Philip soon after took into consideration the defence of the peninsula. 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. Just after they set off however the fleet was obliterated in autumn storms off Cape Finisterre causing
Spanish Empire support to the Protestant causes in the Netherlands and France, and Sir Francis Drake launched attacks against Spanish merchants in the Caribbean and the Pacific, along with a particularly aggressive attack on the port of Cadiz. Portugal was brought into Spain's conflicts with rivals. In 1588, hoping to put a stop to Elizabeth's intervention, Philip sent the Spanish Armada to invade England. Unfavorable weather, plus heavily armed and manœuvrable English ships, and the fact that the English had been warned by their spies in the Netherlands and were ready for the attack resulted in a defeat for the Armada. However,