1588: Spanish Armada defeated

Off the coast of France, an English naval force defeats Spain's so-called Invincible Armada. After hours of furious fighting, the remnants of the massive Spanish fleet broke off and headed north on a long and difficult journey home. Two months earlier, King Philip II had launched the Armada, consisting of 130 ships and 30,000 men, to conquer England. However, Queen Elizabeth and her naval advisers prepared a brilliant defense, employing their superior guns and ships loaded with explosives to decimate the Spanish fleet. After retreating north, the Spaniards sailed around Scotland and Ireland, where the fleet was battered by storms. By the time they returned home in October, more than half the ships had been lost.