Spain could not place every fighting ship in the invasion fleet. The monarchy was conducting operations around a global empire and needed warships in other theatres. That force-allocation problem helps explain why transports and storeships made up so much of the Armada. A seeming weakness in fleet composition followed from the scale of Spain's worldwide commitments.
Notable Point · 28:47-29:06
Spain's global commitments limited Armada strength
Spain could not place every warship in the Armada because its empire still required naval operations and protection elsewhere.