<P> The Spanish Armada ( Spanish : Grande y Felicísima Armada , literally `` Great and Most Fortunate Navy '' ) was a Spanish fleet of 130 ships that sailed from A Coruña in late May 1588 , under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia , with the purpose of escorting an army from Flanders to invade England . The strategic aim was to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and her establishment of Protestantism in England , with the expectation that this would put a stop to English interference in the Spanish Netherlands and to the harm caused to Spanish interests by English and Dutch privateering . </P>
<P> The Spanish Armada ( Spanish : Grande y Felicísima Armada , literally `` Great and Most Fortunate Navy '' ) was a Spanish fleet of 130 ships that sailed from A Coruña in late May 1588 , under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia , with the purpose of escorting an army from Flanders to invade England . The strategic aim was to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and her establishment of Protestantism in England , with the expectation that this would put a stop to English interference in the Spanish Netherlands and to the harm caused to Spanish interests by English and Dutch privateering . </P>
the leader of england during the attempted invasion of the spanish armada was
the leader of england during the attempted invasion of the spanish armada was
Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I