How did the sailor Sir Francis Drake enrage King Philip?
In the reign of Mary I, England had begun to expand her trade, and during the 1560s and 1570s built up a strong navy. Francis Drake joined the navy as a young boy and sought his fortune in the ‘new world’. One way he made his name was by attacking treasure ships sailing back to Spain from America. One of his most daring acts was to ‘singe the King of Spain’s beard’, by setting alight Spanish ships in Cadiz harbour in 1586. For all these different reasons, King Philip wanted to establish the superiority of his navy and bring England back to Catholicism.
