Question

Armada Campaign of 1588, How did England's victory change the balance of power at sea?

Answer 1

Well, if I'd smashed an entire fleet of ships belonging to the only other major power capable of challenging me, I'd be able to run amok wherever and whenever I pleased, right? That's basically what happened.

Answer 2

"The outcome of the 1589 battle would have momentous consequences for the history of settlement in the Western Hemisphere, for the balance of power on the European Continent, even for the melancholy and tragic history of Ireland. Most importantly, contrary to what is so often assumed, Spain would emerge strengthened in the decade following the Armada, with a fortified navy that was finally capable of fending off buccaneer attacks and reliably transporting precious metals from the Americas. Elizabethan England would be on the losing end of most of the remaining battles with Spain, both on land and at sea, and would be plunged into debt and disarray, its colonial ambitions thwarted and its resources sapped in a draining guerrilla war in Ireland. England definitely did not rule the seas following the Armada incident; Spain would control the waters for many decades more before passing control to the Dutch, to be followed by a titanic clash between England and France for hegemony over the sea routes in the 1700s. The history of the Anglo-Spanish War of the late 1500s is far more intricate than the headline history usually reported in regard to the Armada, yet vastly more intriguing as well. The hinge point of the conflict was not the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, but the debacle of the English one in 1589. Central to both incidents was the still-fascinating figure of that legendary English seaman, Sir Francis Drake, and a closer look at the 1589 Expedition to Spain and Portugal helps to further illuminate Drake’s character in all its extraordinary multidimensionality. The defeat of the English Armada in 1589, lesser-known yet remarkably significant event in its consequences, is related here in this article. "