spanish armada

English - English

Definition of spanish armada in English English dictionary

the fleet of war ships sent by Philip II of Spain against England in 1588

Great fleet sent by Philip II of Spain in 1588 to invade England in conjunction with a Spanish army from Flanders. Philip was motivated by a desire to restore the Roman Catholic faith in England and by English piracies against Spanish trade and possessions. The Armada, commanded by the duke of Medina-Sidonia, consisted of about 130 ships. In the weeklong battle, the Spanish suffered defeat after the English launched fire ships into the Spanish fleet, breaking the ships' formation and making them susceptible to the English ships' heavy guns. Many Spanish ships were also lost during the long voyage home, and a total of perhaps 15,000 Spaniards died. The defeat of the Armada, in which Francis Drake played a principal role, saved England and the Netherlands from possible absorption into the Spanish empire

Related Terms

battle of the spanish armada

in the English Channel a small fleet of British ships successfully defeated the large armada sent from Spain by Philip II to invade England

Hyphenation

Span·ish Ar·ma·da

Turkish pronunciation

spänîş ärmädı

Pronunciation

/ˈspanəsʜ ärˈmädə/ /ˈspænɪʃ ɑːrˈmɑːdə/