Maritime history only when his ship was too disabled to offer any resistance. The Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidona in 1588. The Spanish Armada was sent by King Philip II of Spain, who had been king consort of England until the death of his wife Mary I of England thirty years earlier. The purpose of the expedition was to escort the Duke of Parma's army of tercios from the Spanish Netherlands across the North Sea for a landing in south-east England. Once the army had suppressed English support
3rd Spanish Armada its captain, master, and purser, were brought in and sent to Falmouth. Here the English captain reported that the Spanish fleet as some thirty leagues off the Scilly Isles. In addition the Spanish prisoners had with them letters and plans on their rendezvous at Falmouth. This was the first indication of the Armada off the Cornish shores and immediately the Privy Council met. However, the evidence from only one ship was not enough. Also, the English fleet had not yet arrived; they could only send orders, pay and supplies to the fleet in hope that it would return in time.