The Spanish Armada was a fleet of ships sent by King Philip II of Spain to invade England and depose Queen Elizabeth I in 1588. The armada consisted of 130 ships, including 65 galleons, and carried 24,000 men. The English fleet, led by Lord Admiral Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake, numbered about 200 ships and was smaller and more maneuverable than the Spanish ships.
The armada sailed from Lisbon on May 29, 1588, and reached the English Channel on July 19. The English ships attacked the armada in a series of skirmishes, and on July 29 the English fleet defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Gravelines. The armada was forced to retreat, and many of the ships were wrecked on the coast of Ireland.