What if the English Armada was successful?

I've heard several times discussions of the Spanish Armada landing in England, but what if we move the POD a bit later and imagine Elizabeth's counter-Armada achieving its three aims of burning the Spanish Atlantic fleet, starting a revolt in Portugal, and capturing the Azores?
 
My problem is I picture an English army of the 16th century against the Hapsburgs and fail to see it ending in an English victory.
 
Look, the problem both sides had in the entire Anglo-Spanish War was that neither had a coherent strategy or a realistic grasp of their capabilities. Which is why you see the English hatching hare-brained schemes like backing a political pretender whose shining moment has already passed, while Spain tries "Armada 2: Armada Harder!" and "Armada 3: Armada Hard With a Vengeance."

Really, it's no mystery why the war finally ended with Philip and Elizabeth's successors were both finally in control of their respective countries and could make a clean slate of things.
 
Really, it's no mystery why the war finally ended with Philip and Elizabeth's successors were both finally in control of their respective countries and could make a clean slate of things.

Eh, what's armada with England's goals? Breaking off Portugal would be very useful.
 
I can imagine breaking off Portugal to be difficult, but they could certainly burn the Spanish fleet and take the Azores.
 
The question is, what actualy can the English Armada accomplish? Can it be a threat to Spain itself? No. Can it capture some of the Spanish islands? Maybe, but permanently? I doubt it. I don't think England is strong in this age enough to defend them against Spain indefinately. Can it accomplish Portuguese independence? No, I don't think so either. What it can do is provide a distraction. I beleive that in these days both France and the Netherlands were fighting Spanish troops. I think there lie the permanent changes. Maybe this causes the Spanish to be distracted enough that the Dutch manages to do slightly better in their war against Spain (this was the time during which the Dutch started to be able to manage to push back the Spanish forces). Less Spanish troops to defend a city, because they are needed elsewhere or one more mutiny of Spanish troops because of lack of money, could mean the Dutch manages to capture a couple more cities than OTL, pushing the border somewhat more to the south (for example they might manage to connect Ostend to the rest of the Netherlands and thus keeping it Dutch and protestant). I have no doubt the same is true for France, although I know less about the wars of religion.
 
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