Introduction [excerpt] The most infamous interaction of Philip II with England was certainly that of his attempted invasion with the ill-fated Spanish Armada in 1588. This incident cemented Philip's reputation in England as an unreasonable foreign aggressor, trying to steal the rightful inheritance of England's divinely favored Queen Bess. While the English regarded him in a primarily negative light, in Spain Philip's reign came be seen as a golden age. Yet, before he was king of Spain, Portugal, Naples,...