Spanish Armada very cramped and most of the ships ran out of food and water. Many more later died in Spain, or on hospital ships in Spanish harbours, from diseases contracted during the voyage. It was reported that when Philip II learned of the result of the expedition, he declared, "I sent the Armada against men, not God's winds and waves". The English fleet was still cautious of the remaining Armada after the Battle of Gravelines, requiring it to remain on duty even as some of its sailors died. The following year Elizabeth I launched the Counter Armada, with 23,375 men and
2nd Spanish Armada the Treaty of Greenwich in 1591. The Spanish had captured Calais in 1596 which meant that a strike against England was potentially more achievable. After desperate French demands to keep her from signing peace with Spain, the English signed the Triple Alliance with the Dutch republic and France. England had sent an armada under Robert Devereux and Charles Howard to Cadiz, which was captured, sacked and held for two weeks in the summer of 1596. Philip soon after took into consideration the defence of the peninsula but most of all sought revenge even if it meant selling everything he had.