jan 1, 1588 - Defeat of Spanish Armada

Description:

Spain's fabulous empire generated enormous profits to the point where Spain thought of itself as invincible, so King Philip II of Spain, a foe to England's Protestant Reformation, sought to invade England by amassing an armada of 130 bulky ships. The English were prepared to fight back, and in 1588, the showdown came. With swifter ships and more skilled sea captains (and a timely storm), the Spanish Armada was defeated - a heavy blow to Spain's ego, but an event that thrust England into a golden age. The Spanish were devastated because this event marked the beginning of their imperial end; they had stretched themselves too thin and were now too big to be managed successfully. England, on the other hand, displayed all the traits that Spain had on the eve of its colonialization spree - a unified state under a popular monarch, religious resolution after a prolonged struggle, and a vibrant sense of national destiny. As a result, England grew to be a naval power and had naval dominance in North America - a fact important to the new English colonizers.