What Actually Defeated the Spanish Armada

In 1588 King Philip II of Spain assembled almost 200 ships and thousands of battle-tested sailors to invade England and return the country to Catholicism under his rule. He ordered Admiral Medina Sidonia to sail to Flanders and join up with a large Spanish army, but the English fleet cut them off, forcing them to sail into a major storm. Many ships sank or were captured, and thousands of Spaniards were killed or drowned. Contrary to popular belief, Queen Elizabeth had nothing to do with this ‘defeat.’

Erik Speyer is a retired naval aviator who designed an oceanographic museum in Miami and served for 10 years as executive director of the Miami Museum of Science. An award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books, Speyer lives in Santa Fe with his wife Jo Beth.

Host or Publisher RENESAN Institute for Lifelong Learning