> In 1588, which fleet of naval ships launched an attack on England?And the answer is: The Spanish Armada. Photo credit: history.comThe enormous fleet of 130 ships was sent by King PhilipII of Spain, to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and her establishment ofProtestantism in England. The Royal Navy of England was much smaller andmaneuvered more easily, ultimately defeating the Spanish Armada.King Philip's attack on Queen Elizabeth is a story that runs a bit deeper (and abit more personal) than initially meets the eye. Before the mutual animositybetween Queen Elizabeth and King Philip grew to culminate in the Spanish Armadaattack, King Philip was married to Queen Elizabeth's half-sister, Mary. The tworeinforced the other's firm beliefs in Catholicism even as the rest of Englandbegan to shift toward embracing the new Protestant tradition. Four years later,Queen Mary was dead and Philip's eyes were set on the throne. Convinced that hisrule in England would strengthen relations between European nations and decreaseFrance's power the global stage, he proposed marriage to Queen Elizabeth. To hisgreat chagrin, she denied. The battle was the ultimate test to opposing religious beliefs, Europeancompetition, and England's defense. Queen Elizabeth herself attended on the dayof the attack, dressed in military regalia. She inspired her troops with arousing speech, excerpted below. In the end, England's win against the SpanishArmada was momentous. > "I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart andstomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parmaor Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of myrealm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will takeup arms, I myself will be your general, judge and rewarder of every one of yourvirtues in the field." (x[https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/spanish-armada])