The deterioration of Anglo Spanish relations between 1572-88 was due to a handful of reasons, most notably, the Treaty of Nonsuch proved costly for the relations as Philip saw it as a clear declaration of war from Elizabeth. However, the deterioration cannot be pinpointed just on the Treaty of Nonsuch, war would not have broken out without key events such as Drake’s circumnavigation of the world in 1577-81, where Spain and England were effectively at war in the new world, as well as the tragic massacre of Hughenots in Paris on the 24th August 1572, named the St Bartholomew’s day massacre.

Firstly, The Treaty of Nonsuch on the 10th August 1585 outlined Elizabeth’s intent to fight Philip over the Netherlands. She accepted the role of ‘Protector of Dutch Rebels’ and promised to provide up to 8,000 English troops in the Netherlands by 1587. While the troops were poorly led by Leicester and their military assistance was not significant, Philip took this signal of intent from Elizabeth as war. From this day onwards, Marquis of Santa Cruz started planning the Spanish Armada. This also led to Drake disrupting planning in April 1887 where he blew up ships in Cadiz to stall the Armada. It has been said that Elizabeth was not aware of the consequences of her actions and she did not mean to declare war, however this evidence is flimsy and her advisers would have warned her about what would happen. As we can see, war had never officially been announced before, although many spats had occurred between the nations. Therefore, while there are other factors to take into account, this was definitely the match which lit the fuse of war.

While it could be argued that the Treaty of Nonsuch was the main reason for Anglo Spanish relations going sour, the whole year of 1585 could be seen as the main factor. Parma captured Antwerp and Scheldt, leaving just two and a half provinces left for the Dutch Rebels to defend, without a leader and facing bankruptcy. This is important because Philip had basically defeated them, meaning he could focus wholly on Elizabeth and England, who had been a parasite to him over the preceding years. Furthermore, Henry III and the Catholic League attacked Hughenots due to Philip’s influence. We can see that this made the Anglo Spanish relations worse because Elizabeth had been keen on allying with the Huguenots and Philip destroying the Dutch Rebels and massacring Hughenots left Elizabeth alone in Europe, feeling war looming with Spain.

1584 was also an important year for the relations worsening. Farnese had unrivalled resources and Farnese took Antwerp and Groningen, much to Peter Geyl’s dismay, as he thought the terrain and Dutch grit would be enough to stop Farnese, this worsened the relationship because it meant that England could well be next on Philip’s anti protestant regime. We can see that Elizabeth felt threatened because she expelled Menzoda, the Spanish ambassador, for plots regarding bringing Mary, a catholic, to the English throne, this would not have pleased Philip, but it is clear that the relationship was on downward spiral as Philip was attempting to overthrow the excommunicated queen. The death of Anjou in 1584 made Henri of Navarre the heir to the French throne. This was extremely vital for Philip not attacking Elizabeth sooner, as he feared a combination of Elizabeth, Henri and the Dutch rebels would be an axis of evil for him, however instead of dealing with the Rebels first, he tried to deal with all 3 at once. On the 31st December 1584, The Treaty of Joinville
Ben Thompson was signed with the Guise faction and Philip, attempting to bring Isabella, Philip’s daughter, to the throne. Philip miscalculated massively, as the Salic law would never have allowed this, it also made matters a lot worse between England and Spain. Therefore, it could be said that the whole year of 1584 was the main cause of Anglo Spanish relations turning bitter.

Moreover, the crucial events of 1572 could be seen as the main cause of Spain and England no longer being allies. In April 1572, the Treaty of Blois was signed between England and France. This deteriorated the Anglo Spanish relationship because Philip feared a Protestant force attacking him. In response to this, Philip allied with the Catholic Guise faction in France and committed the St Bartholomew’s day massacre on the 24th August 1572. This put a very big strain on the relationship between Elizabeth and Philip because, for England, it ruined the possibility of an invasion of the Netherlands due to the extremely high amount of Hughenots killed. Furthermore, Walsingham was forced to return from France. We can see this as a key reason for the deterioration of relations because Elizabeth had lost a huge amount of Protestant allies and she felt aggrieved at Philip for orchestrating a mass murder of Protestants in Europe.

In conclusion, it is clear that one cannot pinpoint an exact cause for the deterioration of Anglo Spanish relations from 1572 to 2578. However, it must be said that there were a handful of causes. The Treaty of Nonsuch must be mentioned as the spark that light the fuse of war, Elizabeth’s decision to protect Dutch rebels made Philip acutely aware that war was on the horizon. In addition, one could suggest that the events of 1572 such as the St Bartholomew’s day massacre and the Treaty of Blois were the cause of the relationship turning sour as well as the death of Anjou in 1584, which led to a Protestant being heir to the French throne, which particularly unsettled relations because Philip felt threatened by an Anglo Franco Dutch invasion of the Netherlands. Overall, the main reason for the deterioration of Anglo Spanish relations would be the Treaty of Nonsuch because Philip saw it is a declaration of War, however it is not clear if the relations would have taken such a drastic turn for the worst without this Treaty taking place in 1585.