England's war with Spain had been going on for nearly ten years; Spanish colonies, warships, and merchants were subject to attacks by English privateers. Many of these were ordered by Queen Elizabeth I but a number were also operated as joint stock ventures similar to the English Armada. In 1595 one such expedition was that of Amyas Preston and George Sommers with their privateer ships "Ascension", "Gift", "Julian" and "Darling" (owned by Sir Walter Raleigh), "Angel", and a pinnace called "Delight". The expedition's purpose was to cooperate with Raleigh's work of exploration in the same year at Trinidad and Guiana in the hope of finding El Dorado, as well as to commit to amphibious descents throughout the Spanish Main with them. For this purpose they had a disembarkation force of 300 men, many of whom were professional soldiers of the English army who had been fighting against the Spanish in Holland and in France. Preston made a name for himself during the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Somers first sailed into the public eye when, heading toward Spain in command of the "Flibcote", and in the company of three other vessels, he brought home Spanish prizes worth more than £8,000.