3rd Spanish Armada fleet. Howard immediately sent the fleet out to hunt the Spanish, most of whom had arrived back at port. Any remaining Spanish ships were rounded up and captured along with their soldiers and crew. Philip took much of the blame for the failure by the Armada commanders, particularly Padilla. The Armada was the last of its kind that the Spanish would execute under Philip II before his death. The war with Spain and England had been going on for nearly twelve years and both sides had achieved little in their goals. The result of the intervention of Philip II in
2nd Spanish Armada was chosen simply because it was closer to Spain but also could be used as a base to attack England and also to help the Irish rebels. The weather finally relented on the morning of 24 October permitting the Armada, numbering eighty-one ships, to depart the harbour of Lisbon. The fleet along with the army set sail from Lisbon on 25 October, heading towards La Coruña and sailed in safety as far as Viana do Castelo where they had to anchor and wait for a wind. When the wind came they neared Cape Finesterre, the land's end at the north-west