From Bill Federer, the first Battle of Britain:
The invincible Spanish Armada sailed off this day, May 19, 1588, to conquer England. Queen Elizabeth relied on Sir Francis Drake, who used smaller, faster vessels and ingeniously sent burning ships at midnight downwind where the Spaniards were anchored, dispersing them in a panic. Aided by gale force winds half the Spanish fleet was wrecked.Had England lost, there would have been no Pilgrims, no New England, and
no United States. A coin minted after the event in the Netherlands, 1588, showed on one side the ships of the Spanish Armada sinking and on the other side men kneeling under the inscription "Man Proposeth, God Disposeth."
I'm no student of what-ifs, nor do I owe debt to the English crown. But thanking the obliging Providential quarters can't hurt every once in a while.