Maritime history of England Instructions were issued in 1653 and Sailing Instructions in 1673. During the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) the French fleet was initially stronger than that of the English, but the former was almost completely destroyed at the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Many other sea battles were fought in this period. The Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of Alonso de Guzmán El Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588. It was sent by King Philip II of Spain to take the Duke of Parma's army from the Spanish Netherlands to a landing
Spanish Empire and Protestant England. When the Spanish Armada sailed in 1588, England faced the most serious threat of invasion since the Norman Conquest of 1066. Its defeat did not end the threat. England sent out its own armada in 1589, but this endured heavy losses. In 1591, Spain reasserted its naval superiority at the Battle of Flores, when an attempt to capture its treasure fleet was thwarted. Spain had invested itself in the religious warfare in France after Henry II's death. In 1589, Henry III, the last of the Valois lineage, died at the walls of Paris. His successor, Henry IV