The Spanish Armada was a fleet of warships that attempted to destroy the English fleet in 1588. The English defeated the Armada, however, by sending small boats set afire to float among the Spanish ships as they lay at anchor off the French coast near Calais. About 60 English ships sank two Spanish ships and damaged over 50 more. The crippled Armada then sailed back toward Spain, but heavy winds wrecked many more ships. Out of the original number of 130 ships in the Armada, only 67 returned to Spain.



Source: Encarta