Why Were England and Spain Enemies for so Long?

336 Words2 Pages
The question I am going to be answering is: ‘Why were England and Spain enemies for so long during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?’ To answer this question we need to look at all the evidence available. During the reign of Henry VIII, he decided to break away from the Catholic Church, turning his country into a protestant religion. However this did not impress the Pope and Spain as they thought that every country should be a Catholic country. Both countries were ruling most of the world, the Spanish empire in South America as an example. They were constantly disputing about who had to the Caribbean. We also have to consider the beheading of Catherine of Aragon by Henry VIII causing some of the disputes. Another example of marital disputes is in Elizabeth I reign. After Mary, Elizabeth’s sister, had died in1558, Philip a newly widowed asked Elizabeth to marry him. She did not agree to this and remained single. An example of one of the battles caused by the two enemies is the Spanish Armada. There are many causes for the attack and here are a few: In 1585, Elizabeth sent an army to help the people of Holland fight against the Spanish. For the first time England and Spain were at war with each other. Spain ruled a number of countries in the New World. Seamen such as Sir Francis Drake stole treasure from Spanish ships during the 1570's and 80's. Elizabeth had been encouraging this. In 1559 Elizabeth decided to allow people in Wales and England to choose whether they wanted to be Catholic, or Protestant. This decision angered Philip. Overall the main causes for the two countries being enemies is over Religious and Marital gestures. Henry VIII: Beheading Catherine of Aragon. Breaking away from the Catholic Church Elizabeth I: Disagreeing to Philip’s marital gesture. Allowing people in England and Wales to choose their
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