I knew the Spanish lost their fleet in a storm during the Anglo-Spanish War, culminating in an English victory. What I didn't know is they sent TWO more fleets, each falling victim to another storm. How did they manage to screw up so badly?

by zactary

I just can't comprehend for the life of me how a superior naval force falls victim to a storm THREE times in a row. Was it just plain stupidity of the Spanish king and his admirals? Were the late fifteen hundreds just really storm-prone? Or was it just dumb luck?

Also, if the storms did not befall the Spanish armada is it believed that they would have been able to challenge the English Navy at sea? Is it possible if not for these three storms the Spanish may have ruled the seas?

jschooltiger

I'm not quite sure what you're asking about, to be quite honest. I've written about the Armada before:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2krusl/why_did_the_spanish_armada_ultimately_fail/clodwdm/

and

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/7wcoq3/the_english_victory_over_the_spanish_armada_in/

but the loss of Spanish ships to stormy weather happened after they were driven out of the Channel by English ships, or perhaps more charitably, after Medina Sidona abandoned his plans to attempt to support the invasion fleet. What two other fleets are you referring to?