Phillip II had been married to Mary, the former queen of England. Phillip considered the reigning Queen Elizabeth to be illegitimate, and furthermore opposed her theology. Spain was Catholic, and since Henry VIII England was protestant (except for the short reign of Mary), Spain and England were at war. At the same time England saw to its advantage to legalize privateering, which only added fuel to the fire.
On this day May 28th, in 1588, the Spanish Armada leaves port from Lisbon. Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. There were 26,000 men (soldiers and sailors) on this fleet, its intention to invade England and overthrow Elizabeth. Due to terrible weather the Spanish fleet was at odds, and then lost anchorage offshore because England launched against them ships set afire with combustibles. As the battle continued with English ships being sent out, the Spanish Armada retreated.
In addition to England involving itself in Spain’s trade with the Netherlands, and Phillip’s dislike for Elizabeth (it should also be noted that she rejected his marriage proposal), privateering had become a lucrative business. Privateering is the legalization, in a time of war, of private party attacks on foreign ships to seize their goods. This actually ended up becoming a legitimate, although very unethical, business for many people.