Drake Attacks Spanish Court of Cadiz

By the 1580s, King Philip II of Spain was preparing a great armada to invade England, depose the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, and halt English support for Dutch rebels and raids on Spanish shipping. Learning of these preparations, Elizabeth authorized Sir Francis Drake, England's most celebrated sea captain, to strike preemptively at the Spanish coast.

In April 1587 Drake led an English squadron into the harbor of Cadiz, a key port where Spanish ships and supplies were being gathered. Over the following days he attacked the anchored vessels and stores, destroying a large quantity of shipping and provisions. Drake afterward described the raid as singeing the King of Spain's beard, and went on to harass other points along the Iberian coast.

The Cadiz raid inflicted significant losses and disrupted Spanish logistics, helping to delay the launch of the Armada by roughly a year. That delay gave England valuable time to strengthen its defenses and prepare its fleet. When the Spanish Armada finally sailed in 1588, it met disaster, and Drake's bold strike was remembered as a key blow in England's struggle against Spain.