2nd Spanish Armada 1596. Spain and England had been at war for nearly twelve years with neither side gaining the upper hand. The result of the intervention of Philip II in the religious war in France in support of the Catholic League, meant that Spanish forces had established coastal garrisons along the French and Flemish coast by the late 1580s. These bases had a huge strategic value because they allowed England to be threatened by the Spanish fleet and troops. England on the other hand had also intervened in France, but in support of King Henry IV of France, as a result of
2nd Spanish Armada were also fighting. The Armada under the command of the Adelantado, Martín de Padilla was gathered at Lisbon, Vigo and Seville and set off in October. Before it had left Spanish waters, storms struck the fleet off Cape Finisterre. The storms shattered the Armada causing much damage and forcing the ships to return to their home ports. Nearly 5,000 men died either from the storm or disease and 38 ships were lost, which was enough for a long-term postponement of the Irish enterprise. The material and financial losses added to the bankruptcy of the Spanish Kingdom, during the autumn of