3rd Spanish Armada 3rd Spanish Armada The 3rd Spanish Armada, also known as the Spanish Armada of 1597, was a major naval event that took place between October and November 1597 as part of the Anglo–Spanish War. The armada, which was the third attempt by Spain to invade or raid the British Isles during the war, was ordered by King Philip II of Spain in revenge for the English attack on Cadiz following the failure of the 2nd Spanish Armada months before due to a storm. The Armada was executed by the Adelantado, Martín de Padilla, who was hoping to intercept and destroy
3rd Spanish Armada Spanish had come to intercept them, and arrived safely in England with loss of only one ship. Padilla finally ordered a retreat back to Spain. The returning English ships captured a number of Spanish ships, from which valuable information was obtained about the Armada. Panic in England then ensued, partly because the English fleet had been out to sea with the English coast virtually undefended. This caused the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I of England and the Earl of Essex to deteriorate further and Charles Howard, the 1st Earl of Nottingham, took over from Essex as commander of the English