page_title: English Armada
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: English Armada / Aftermath
context_page_description: The English Armada, also known as the Counter Armada or the Drake–Norris Expedition, was an attack fleet sent against Spain by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1589, during the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War and the Eighty Years' War. It was led by Sir Francis Drake as admiral and Sir John Norreys as general, and failed to drive home the advantage England had won upon the failure of the Spanish Armada in the previous year. The Spanish victory marked a revival of Philip II's naval power through the next decade.
context_section_description: The English fleet lost about 40 ships, plus the 18 launches destroyed or captured at Corunna and Lisbon. Fourteen of the ships were lost directly to the actions of Spanish naval forces: three at Corunna; six were lost to actions led by Padilla, three to Bazán and two to Aramburu. The rest were lost to a stormy sea as the fleet made its return voyage to England. The outbreak of disease on board the vessels was also transmitted to the port town populations in England on its return.    None of the campaign's aims had been accomplished, and for a number of years this expedition's results discouraged further joint-stock adventures on such a scale.( p.214) The English expeditionary force had sustained a heavy loss of ships, troops and resources, but only brought back 150 captured cannon and £30,000 of plunder, and had not inflicted decisive damage on the Spanish forces. Another indirect minor strategic benefit was, perhaps, a temporary disruption to Spanish military shipping activity, and the diversion of Spanish imperial resources that might have contributed to a mutiny by troops under the command of Parma in Flanders that August.
  The most detailed account (in English), written in the form of a letter by an anonymous participant, was published in 1589: A true Coppie of a Discourse written by a Gentleman, employed in the late Voyage of Spain and Portingale... which set out openly to restore the credit of the participants. However, this English narrative has been shown to have been a highly effective means to bury the magnitude of the disaster.(2018: p.224)
  With the opportunity to strike a decisive blow against the weakened Spanish navy lost, the failure of the expedition depleted the financial resources of England's treasury, which had been carefully restored during the long reign of Elizabeth I. The war was financially costly to both of its protagonists, and the Spanish Empire—which was fighting France and the United Provinces at the same time—would be compelled in financial distress to default on its debt repayments in 1596 following another raid by the English on Cadiz. Two more armadas in 1596 and 1597 were sent by Spain against England, but both were scattered by storms en route. Peace was finally agreed between the two powers at the signing of the Treaty of London in 1604.
caption: Map of the English Armada campaigns.