3rd Spanish Armada Spain, the English signed the Triple Alliance with the Dutch republic and France. England had sent an armada the next year under the Earl of Essex and Charles Howard to Cadiz which was captured and sacked. An angered Philip soon after took into consideration the defence of the peninsula. In a wave of revenge after the defeat at Cadiz, Philip II sent out orders for a large armada to do the same to England by way of taking the French port of Brest. Just after they set off however the fleet was obliterated in autumn storms off Cape Finisterre causing
3rd Spanish Armada the Adelantado, of Castile, was to command the fleet. The whole force, according to Lopez de Soto's estimate was huge in terms of men ship and supplies. The primary original objective was Ireland to support the rise of the rebels under the Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone but the senior Spanish commanders wanted to attack England instead. The Spanish King however intervened and ordered an attack on Brest to divert troops from the garrison in the Low Countries. When news came however that the English had sailed in force again under Essex, and were first on the coasts of the