2nd Spanish Armada 1596. Spain and England had been at war for nearly twelve years with neither side gaining the upper hand. The result of the intervention of Philip II in the religious war in France in support of the Catholic League, meant that Spanish forces had established coastal garrisons along the French and Flemish coast by the late 1580s. These bases had a huge strategic value because they allowed England to be threatened by the Spanish fleet and troops. England on the other hand had also intervened in France, but in support of King Henry IV of France, as a result of
2nd Spanish Armada Spanish authorities of the disembarkation of their troops in O'Neill's territory. In Lisbon Cornelius O'Mulrian followed with intense interest the preparations of the new armada. According to the reports the nuncio was sending to Rome, the invasion of Ireland was imminent. He wished to dispatch O'Mulrian, together with many Jesuits and other priests to organise the Catholic restoration in Ireland. In July, the Earl of Essex had been fed reports from spies and merchants that there were forty-six ships in Lisbon and that new warships were being built at many places on the Biscay coast. This information was conveyed to