Why did England & Spain go to war in 1585?

Why did England & Spain go to war in 1585?

economics, politics, religion, the Netherlands

The Spanish empire allowed Spain to…

make money by selling goods to the American colonies - this wealth threatened England/Elizabeth was jealous of it

Only Spanish ships were…

given licences to sell goods in Spanish colonies. The English started selling goods illegally as well as attacking Spanish ships.

Francis Drake…

raided the Spanish colonies in Panama & the Pacific Coast; Spain viewed Drake as a pirate who needed to be punished

Spain was the most…

powerful country in the world - it ruled Portugal, the Netherlands & large parts of the Americas. The English were threatened by this power

Elizabeth pretended to…

know nothing about Drake’s actions & rewarded him for his exploration. Phillip complained about this but did not declare war.

Phillip was more worried about…

France (meaning he preferred Elizabeth as queen over MQoS as she could align herself with France & pose a greater danger to his position)

Phillip saw English interference in the Netherlands & the Americas as a…

political threat

Phillip had links to…

many of the plots against Elizabeth, but never sent an army

What was the conflict with Phillip being a devout Catholic who saw it as his life’s work to return countries to the Catholic Church?

Elizabeth set up the Protestant Church in 1559 & increased penalties against Catholics from the 1570s.

why is religious conflict not a convinving reason?

Phillip took no action when Elizabeth set up her church or when the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth in 1571. Phillip already accepted a Protestant England for over 25 years.

In 1584, Phillip II agreed to…

help the French Catholic League rid France of Protestantism. In 1585, the French king also signed - this made France & Spain allies against Protestantism

In 1572, the Netherlands…

rebelled against their Catholic rulers. The Dutch asked Elizabeth for help which meant that Phillip sent a huge army to the Netherlands.

In 1576, the Spanish troops in Netherlands…

mutinied & attacked the city of Antwerp, this united the Dutch against Spain & led to the Pacification of Ghent. Elizabeth sent £100,000 to help the rebels & promised to send troops to enforce the treaty.

Many of Elizabeth’s advisors (e.g. Dudley)…

called for Elizabeth to support the Dutch Protestants.

In 1585, Elizabeth signed…

the Treaty of Nonsuch with the Dutch Protestants. This effectively put England at war with Spain.