Sea Power: Battleships Through the Ages

English pirate adventurers such as Sir Francis Drake and John Hawkins, preyed upon the vital bullion convoys en-route to Spain from the new world, disrupting Spanish trade. These men precipitated the conflict between England and Spain, which was to produce one of the most famous engagements in naval history — the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the rise of the Tudor and Elizabethan navies.