Why was the Spanish Armada Defeated?

In 1588 King Phillip II of Spain sent a great fleet commanded by the duke of Medina Sidonia to envade England. Phillip was angry because:

• Elizabeth refused to marry him;
• English sailors have attacked Spanish ships carrying treasure back to Spain from America;
• The English had helped the Dutch rebel against their Spanish rulers;
• Elizabeth had excecuted Mary Queen of Scots.

King Phillip's plan

The plan was to sail up the English channel and pick up a Spanish army, commanded by the Duke of Parma, at the port of Calais in France. The Armada would then carry this army to England, to defeat Elizabeth and make England a Catholic country, friendly to Spain. The plan failed. Out of 150 of the Spanish ships that set out, only 67 returned to Spain.