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
The Armada Service survival of a type of utilitarian plate which is listed in the inventories of the gentry and aristocracy of the late Tudor and early Stuart periods." The nomenclature of the hoard's name is subject to speculation by scholars. It was named by modern scholars the "Armada Service" in allusion to the Spanish Armada of 1588, a failed attempt by Spain to invade England, as it is believed to have a connection to New World silver captured and pilfered from the Spanish treasure fleet operating at about that time. 31 pieces were "commissioned to mark the conquering of the Spanish naval