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The Spanish Command, which could not communicate with Madrid, decided to round the British Isles. The Armada sailed around Scotland but the English navy continued to harry the Spanish fleet. The weather was very unseasonable for that time of year and the Phillip's fleet was battered by strong gales and massive storms. As the Armada made their way around Scotland they began to lose ships. Many more ships were wrecked on the west coast of Ireland and the survivors were hunted down and killed by natives loyal to the English crown.<ref>T. P. Kilfeather. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013K2KD6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0013K2KD6&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a486270d446af7bb1840eb37dd11d649 Ireland: Graveyard of the Spanish Armada]</i> (Anvil Books, 1967), p. 167</ref> By the time that the remnants of the Spanish invasion fleet made it to Spain over two-thirds of the original Armada was lost. While the defeat of the Spanish Aramada did not end the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War which would continue until 1604, it made if difficult for Spain to to get the upper hand. Eventually, the conflict ended in a stalemate.

The Spanish Armada is one of the great ‘ifs’ in history. If the Spanish ships had been able to rendezvous with the army of Flanders and transport it across the Channel, then England may have been defeated. The Spanish army was considered to be the best in Europe at this time and it was composed not only of Spanish but German veterans. The English army was mainly composed of local militias and was poorly led and trained. In a set piece battle, on land, the Spanish forces would most likely have been victorious and deposed Elizabeth I. The kingdom of England would have become part of the Spanish Empire. Phillip II did not plan to rule it directly but planned to place a Catholic on the throne. Philip wanted an ally that would become dependent on Spain. The defeat of the Armada prevented this from happening and secured the independence of England. England's victory allowed her to become a major world power by the eighteenth century.<ref> Holmes, p. 257</ref>