Editing History of England (section)

====Foreign affairs====
In foreign policy, Elizabeth played against each other the major powers France and Spain, as well as the papacy and Scotland. These were all Catholic and each wanted to end Protestantism in England. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs and only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France and Ireland. She risked war with Spain by supporting the "[[Elizabethan Sea Dogs|Sea Dogs]]", such as [[Walter Raleigh]], [[John Hawkins (naval commander)|John Hawkins]] and Sir [[Francis Drake]], who preyed on Spanish merchant ships carrying gold and silver from the New World. Drake himself became a hero—being the first [[Francis Drake's Circumnavigation|Englishman to circumnavigate the world]] between 1577 and 1580, having plundered Spanish settlements and treasure ships.

The [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|major war came with Spain, 1585–1603]]. When Spain tried to invade and conquer England it was a fiasco, and the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]] in 1588 associated Elizabeth's name with what is popularly viewed as one of the greatest victories in English history. Her enemies failed to combine and Elizabeth's foreign policy successfully navigated all the dangers.<ref>Charles Beem, ''The Foreign Relations of Elizabeth I'' (2011) [https://www.amazon.com/Foreign-Relations-Elizabeth-Queenship-Power/dp/0230112145/ excerpt and text search]</ref> The following year, an [[English Armada]], also known as the Counter Armada or the Drake–Norris Expedition, of a similar size to the Spanish one, was sent against Spain in order to drive home the advantage that England had gained. Led by [[Sir Francis Drake]] as admiral and [[John Norris (soldier)|Sir John Norris]] as general, it was however also a disaster.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elliott |first1=J H |title=Europe Divided (1559–1598) |page=351 |date=1982 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9788484326694}}</ref> In 1596, England sent their [[Capture of Cádiz|second Armada]] to Cádiz, led by [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham|Charles Howard]] and the [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]] the campaign was a signal victory. In revenge, Spain sent their [[second Spanish Armada]] to England a few months later, but this was met with disaster by storms before it saw England. Undeterred, a [[third Armada]] was sent the following year but near the English coast another storm dispersed the fleet, losing more ships sunk or captured.<ref>{{citation |last=Bicheno |first=Hugh |title=Elizabeth's Sea Dogs: How England's Mariners Became the Scourge of the Seas |year=2012 |pages= 289–293|publisher=Conway |author-link= Hugh Bicheno |isbn=978-1844861743}}</ref>

The War ended with both sides seeking peace in order to stop the costly conflict with the [[Treaty of London, 1604|Treaty of London]] in 1604, which validated the [[status quo ante bellum]].<ref name="Morgan">Hiram Morgan, 'Teaching the Armada: An Introduction to the Anglo-Spanish War, 1585-1604', ''History Ireland'', Vol. 14, No. 5 (Sep. - Oct., 2006), p. 43.</ref><ref name=":1">Paul Allen, ''Philip III and the Pax Hispanica, 1598-1621'' (New Haven, 2000).</ref> It amounted to an acknowledgement by Spain that its hopes of restoring [[Roman Catholicism]] in England were at an end and it had to recognise the [[Protestant]] monarchy in England. In return, England ended its financial and military support for the Dutch rebellion, ongoing since the [[Treaty of Nonsuch]] (1585), and had to end its wartime disruption of Spanish trans-Atlantic shipping and colonial expansion.