The defeat of the Armada marked the end of Spanish control of the seas, leaving open the opportunity for England to start colonies in North America.
When Elizabeth passed the royal scepter onto James I in 1603, the king was eager to finally make peace. While he was dispiritingly lacking in the charisma, panache, and popularity of his Tudor predecessors, James lucidly grasped the enervation and frustration wrought by the ongoing war. After negotiating a peace with the Irish lords, he signed the Treaty of London in 1604, finally concluding the Twenty Years’ War between England and Spain.
The terms, ironically, were similar to those that Philip II had sought prior to the Spanish Armada in 1588, namely the cessation of English intervention on the Continent and a renunciation of high seas buccaneering—which, in any case, had been delivering at best diminishing returns following the Spanish navy’s refitting in 1589.
Learn more about the Spanish Armada by checking these 10 facts from Historyextra.com.