The Anglophone world has spread the belief that the defeat of the Spanish Armada was the beginning of Spanish decadence and Englands/Britains first serious step towards the world power status. However, how much truth is there in this view of English historiography and literature? What was Elizabeth I and Sir Francis Drakes real role in this process of glorification of the English/British race and deification of its alleged protagonists? These are the chiaroscuros of history that this book tries to rethink.