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 from there in 1485. Here it was believed the Spaniards would find a vast reservoir of Catholic support. Detailed charts on the ports of England and Wales had been drawn up, and other plans suggested occupying the Isle of Wight. A number of the King's advisers however saw an invasion of Ireland as a better way to destabilize England. The use of Ireland as a springboard for a new invasion was nothing new; Marquis of Santa Cruz, the first commander of the Spanish Armada, had advocated landing in Cork or Wexford in 1586. The plan was only scrapped because of