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
Armada de Molucca Armada de Molucca The Armada de Molucca was the name of the Spanish fleet led by Ferdinand Magellan in the first expedition to sail to the Spice Islands from Europe and the first world circumnavigation. The fleet sailed from Spain in 1519 across the Atlantic and then Pacific Oceans. After Magellan's death in the Philippines in 1521, Juan Sebastian Elcano took command of the fleet which arrived in the Spice Islands a few months later, and led the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean where they arrived in 1522. The fleet, provided by King Charles V, included five