Spanish Armada Philip expressing grave doubts about the planned campaign, but this was prevented from reaching the King by courtiers on the grounds that God would ensure the Armada's success. Prior to the undertaking, Pope Sixtus V allowed Philip II of Spain to collect crusade taxes and granted his men indulgences. The blessing of the Armada's banner on 25 April 1588, was similar to the ceremony used prior to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. On 28 May 1588, the Armada set sail from Lisbon and headed for the English Channel. The fleet was composed of 130 ships, 8,000 sailors and 18,000
Armada Memorial bronze statue of "Britannia" (a female personification of Great Britain) with a lion. A series of cast-iron stanchions with chains act as a perimeter fence. The stone used in the memorial was quarried in Gunnislake, Cornwall and was noted as one of the whitest known granites with a close texture (in 1897). Armada Memorial The Armada Memorial is a monument on Plymouth Hoe, Plymouth, Devon, England. Built in 1888, the monument celebrates the tercentenary of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, which was sighted by English captains stationed in the city. It is a granite structure, decorated with bronze crests