A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Vii Part 29

And after that, Sir John Norris marched from Peniche in Portugal with a handful of soldiers to the gates of Lisbon, being above 40 English miles: Where the earl of Ess.e.x himself, and other valiant gentlemen, braved the city of Lisbon, encamping at the very gates: from whence, after many days abode, finding neither promised parley nor provision wherewith to batter, they made their retreat by land, in spite of all their garrisons both of horse and foot. In this sort I have a little digressed from my first purpose, only by the necessary comparison of their and our actions: the one covetous of honour, without vaunt or ostentation; the other so greedy to purchase the opinion of their own affairs, and by false rumours to resist the blasts of their own dishonours, as they will not only not blush to spread all manner of untruths, but even for the least advantage, be it but for the taking of one poor adventurer of the English, will celebrate the victory with bonefires in every town, always spending more in f.a.ggots than the purchase they obtained was worth. Whereas, we never thought it worth the consumption of two billets, when we have taken eight or ten of their Indian s.h.i.+ps at one time, and twenty of their Brazil fleet. Such is the difference between true valour and vain ostentation, and between honourable actions and frivolous vain-glorious boasting. But to return to my purpose:

NARRATIVE.

The Lord Thomas Howard, with six of her majestys s.h.i.+ps, six victuallers of London, the bark Raleigh, and two or three pinnaces, riding at anchor near Flores, one of the western islands called the Azores, on the last of August 1591, in the afternoon, had intelligence by one captain Middleton, of the approach of the Spanish armada. This Middleton, being in a very good sailing s.h.i.+p, had kept them company for three days before, of good purpose, both to discover their force, and to give the lord admiral advice of their approach. He had no sooner communicated the news, when the Spanish fleet hove in sight; at which time, many belonging to our s.h.i.+ps companies were on sh.o.r.e in the island of Flores, some providing ballast for the s.h.i.+ps, others filling water, and others refres.h.i.+ng themselves from the land with such things as they could procure either for money or by force. Owing to this, our s.h.i.+ps were all in confusion, pestered, rummaging, and every thing out of order, very light for want of ballast; and what was most of all to their disadvantage, the half of the men in every s.h.i.+p was sick and unserviceable. For in the Revenge, there were ninety sick; in the Bonaventure, not so many in health as could hand her mainsail, insomuch, that unless twenty men had been taken from a bark of Sir George Careys which was sunk, and appointed into her, she had hardly been able to get back to England. The rest of the s.h.i.+ps for the most part were in little better state.

The names of her majestys s.h.i.+ps were as follows: The Defiance, admiral, the Revenge, vice-admiral, the Bonaventure commanded by captain Crosse, the Lion by George Fenner, the Foresight by Thomas Vavasour, and the Crane by Duffild. The Foresight and Crane were small s.h.i.+ps, the other four were of the middle size. All the others, except the bark Raleigh, commanded by captain Thin, were victuallers, and of small or no force.

The approach of the Spanish fleet being concealed by means of the island, they were soon at hand, so that our s.h.i.+ps had scarce time to weigh their anchors, and some even were obliged to slip their cables and set sail. Sir Richard Grenville was the last to weigh, that he might recover the men who were a land on the island, who had otherwise been lost. The lord Thomas Howard, with the rest of the fleet, very hardly recovered the wind, which Sir Richard was unable to do; on which his master and others endeavoured to persuade him to cut his main sail and cast about, trusting to the swift sailing of his s.h.i.+p, as the squadron of Seville was on his weather bow. But Sir Richard absolutely refused to turn from the enemy, declaring he would rather die than dishonour himself, his country, and her majestys s.h.i.+p, and persuaded his company that he would be able to pa.s.s through the two squadrons in spite of them, and force those of Seville to give him way. This he certainly performed upon divers of the foremost, who, as the sailors term it, sprang their luff, and fell under the lee of the Revenge. The other course had certainly been the better, and might very properly have been adopted under so great impossibility of prevailing over such heavy odds; but, out of the greatness of his mind, he could not be prevailed on to have the semblance of fleeing.

In the meantime, while Sir Richard attended to those s.h.i.+ps of the enemy that were nearest him and in his way, the great San Philip being to windward of him, and coming down towards him, becalmed his sails in such sort that his s.h.i.+p could neither make way nor feel the helm, so huge and high was the Spanish s.h.i.+p, being of fifteen hundred tons, and which presently laid the Revenge on board. At this time, bereft of his sails, the s.h.i.+ps that had fallen under his lee, luffed up and laid him on board also, the first of these that now came up being the vice-admiral of the Biscay squadron, a very mighty and puissant s.h.i.+p, commanded by Brittandona. The San Philip carried three tier of ordnance on a side, and eleven pieces in each tier, besides eight pieces in her forecastle chase, and others from her stern-ports. After the Revenge was thus entangled by the huge San Philip, four others laid her on board, two to larboard and two to starboard. The fight thus began at three in the afternoon, and continued very terribly the whole of that evening. But the great San Philip, having received a discharge from the lower tier of the Revenge, loaded with cross-bar shot, s.h.i.+fted herself with all diligence from her side, utterly disliking this her first entertainment.

Some say the San Philip foundered, but we cannot report this for a truth, not having sufficient a.s.surance. Besides the mariners, the Spanish s.h.i.+ps were filled with companies of soldiers, some having to the number of two hundred, some five hundred, and others as far even as eight hundred. In ours, there were none besides the mariners, except the servants of the commanders, and some few gentlemen volunteers.

After interchanging many vollies of great ordnance and small shot, the Spaniards deliberated to enter the Revenge by boarding, and made several attempts, hoping to carry her by the mult.i.tudes of their armed soldiers and musketeers, but were still repulsed again and again, being on every attempt beaten back into their own s.h.i.+ps or into the sea. In the beginning of the fight, the George n.o.ble of London being only one of the victuallers, and of small force, having received some shot through her from the Spanish _armadas_, fell under the lee of the Revenge, and the master of her asked Sir Richard what he was pleased to command him; on which Sir Richard bad him save himself as he best might, leaving him to his fortune. After the fight had thus continued without intermission, while the day lasted, and some hours of the night, many of our men were slain and hurt; one of the great galeons of the armada and the admiral of the hulks both sunk, and a great slaughter had taken place in many of the other great Spanish s.h.i.+ps. Some allege that Sir Richard was very dangerously hurt almost in the beginning of the fight, and lay speechless for a time ere he recovered: But two men belonging to the Revenge, who came home in a s.h.i.+p of Lyme from the islands, and were examined by some of the lords and others, affirmed, that he was never so much wounded as to forsake the upper deck till an hour before midnight, and being then shot in the body by a musket ball, was shot again in the head as the surgeon was dressing him, the surgeon himself being at the same time wounded to death. This also agrees with an examination of four other returned mariners of the same s.h.i.+p, taken before Sir Francis G.o.dolphin, and sent by him to master William Killegrue of her majestys privy chamber.

To return to the fight: As the Spanish s.h.i.+ps which attempted to board the Revenge were wounded and beaten off, so always others came up in their places, she never having less than two mighty galeons by her sides and close on board her; so that ere morning, from three o'clock of the day before, she had been successively a.s.sailed by no less than fifteen several armadas or great s.h.i.+ps of war; and all of them had so ill approved their entertainment, that, by break of day, they were far more willing to hearken to a composition, than hastily to make any more a.s.saults or entries for boarding. But as the day advanced, so our men decreased in number, and as the light grew more and more, by so much more increased the discomforts of our men. For now nothing appeared in sight but enemies, save one small s.h.i.+p called the Pilgrim, commanded by Jacob Whiddon, who hovered all night to see what might be the event; but, bearing up towards the Revenge in the morning, was hunted like a hare among so many ravenous hounds, yet escaped.

All the powder of the Revenge was now spent to the very last barrel, all her pikes broken, forty of her best men slain, and most part of the rest wounded. In the beginning of the fight, she had 90 of her men lying sick on the ballast in the hold, and only 100 capable of duty, a small crew for such a s.h.i.+p, and a weak garrison to resist so mighty an army. By this brave hundred was the whole of this hot fight sustained, the volleys, boardings, a.s.saults, and entries, from fifteen great s.h.i.+ps of war all full of men, besides those which had cannonaded her from a distance. On the contrary, the Spanish s.h.i.+ps were always supplied with fresh soldiers from the several squadrons of this vast fleet, and had all manner of arms and powder at will; while to our men there remained no hope or comfort, no supply either of s.h.i.+ps, men, weapons, or powder.

The masts were all beaten overboard; all her tackle was cut asunder; her upper works all battered to pieces, and in effect evened with the water, nothing but the hull or bottom of the s.h.i.+p remaining, nothing being left over-head for flight or for defence.

Finding his s.h.i.+p in this distress, and altogether unable for any longer resistance, after fifteen hours constant fighting against fifteen great s.h.i.+ps of war which a.s.sailed him in turns, having received by estimation 800 shot of great ordnance, besides many a.s.saults and entries; and considering that he and his s.h.i.+p must now soon be in possession of the enemy, who had arranged their s.h.i.+ps in a ring round about the Revenge, which was now unable to move any way, except as acted on by the waves; Sir Richard called for his master gunner, whom he knew to be a most resolute man, and commanded him to split and sink the s.h.i.+p, that nothing of glory or victory might remain to the enemy, who with so great a navy, and in so long a time, were unable to take her. They had fifty-three s.h.i.+ps of war, and above 10,000 men, and had been engaged against this single s.h.i.+p for fifteen hours. At the same time, Sir Richard endeavoured to prevail upon as many of the company as he could influence, to commit themselves to the mercy of G.o.d, and not of their enemies, since they had like valiant men repulsed so many enemies, urging them not now to obscure their honour and that of their nation, for the sake of prolonging their lives a few days. The master gunner and various others of the crew readily a.s.sented to this desperate resolution; but the captain and master were quite of an opposite opinion, and conjured Sir Richard to desist from his desperate proposal; alleging that the Spaniards would be as ready to agree to a capitulation as they to offer it; and begged him to consider, that there still were many valiant men still living in the s.h.i.+p, and others whose wounds might not be mortal, who might be able to do acceptable service to their queen and country hereafter. And, although Sir Richard had alleged that the Spaniards should never have the glory of taking one s.h.i.+p of her majesty, which had been so long and valiantly defended; they answered, that the s.h.i.+p had six feet water in her hold, and three shot holes under water, which were so weakly stopped, that she must needs sink with the first labouring of the sea, and was besides so battered and bruised, that she could never be removed from the place.

While the matter was thus in dispute, Sir Richard refusing to listen to any reasons, the captain won over the most part to his opinion, and the master was conveyed on board the Spanish general, Don Alfonso Bacan.

Finding none of his people very ready to attempt boarding the Revenge again, and fearing lest Sir Richard might blow up both them and himself, as he learned from the master his dangerous disposition; Don Alfonso agreed that all their lives should be saved, the s.h.i.+ps company sent to England, and the better sort to pay such reasonable ransom as their estate could bear, all in the meantime to be free from prison or the gallies. He so much the rather consented to these terms, lest any farther loss or mischief might accrue to themselves, and for the preservation of Sir Richard, whose notable valour he greatly honoured and admired. On receiving this answer, in which the safety of life was promised; the common sort, now at the end of their peril, mostly drew back from the proposal of Sir Richard and the master gunner, it being no hard matter to dissuade men from death to life. Finding himself and Sir Richard thus prevented and mastered by the majority, the master gunner would have slain himself with his sword, but was prevented by main force, and locked up in his cabin.

Then the Spanish general sent many boats on board the Revenge, and several of her men, fearing Sir Richards disposition, stole away on board the general and other s.h.i.+ps. Thus constrained to submit, Sir Richard was desired by a message from Alfonso Bacan to remove from the Revenge, as it was filled with blood and the bodies of the slain, and with wounded men, like a slaughter-house. Sir Richard gave for answer, that he might do now with his body what he pleased; and while removing from the s.h.i.+p, he fainted away, and on recovering he requested the company to pray for him. The Spanish general used Sir Richard with all humanity, leaving no means untried that tended towards his recovery, highly commending his valour and worthiness, and greatly bewailing his dangerous condition; seeing that it was a rare spectacle, and an instance of resolution seldom met with, for one s.h.i.+p to withstand so many enemies, to endure the batteries and boardings of so many huge s.h.i.+ps of war, and to resist and repel the a.s.saults and entries of such numbers of soldiers. All this and more is confirmed, by the recital of a Spanish captain in that same fleet, who was himself engaged in this action, and, being severed from the rest in a storm, was taken by the Lion, a small s.h.i.+p belonging to London, and is now prisoner in London.

The general commanding this great armada, was Don Alphonso Bacan, brother to the Marquis of Santa Cruz. Britandona was admiral of the squadron of Biscay. The Marquis of Arumburch [Aremberg] commanded the squadron of Seville. Luis Coutinho commanded the hulks and flyboats.

There were slain and drowned in this fight, as the before-mentioned Spanish captain confessed, near a thousand of the enemy, with two special commanders, Don Luis de San Juan, and Don George de Prunaria de Mallaga, besides others of special account whose names have not yet been reported. The admiral of the hulks and the Ascension of Seville were both sunk at the side of the Revenge. One other s.h.i.+p, which got into the road of San Miguel, sank there also; and a fourth s.h.i.+p had to run on sh.o.r.e to save her men. Sir Richard, as it is said, died the second or third day on board the general, much bewailed by his enemies; but we have not heard what became of his body, whether it were committed to the sea or buried on land. The comfort remaining to his friends is, that he ended his life honourably, having won great reputation for his nation and his posterity, and hath not outlived his honour.

For the rest of her majestys s.h.i.+ps, that entered not into the fight like the Revenge, the reasons and causes were these: There were of them only six in all, two whereof were only small s.h.i.+ps; and they could be of no service, as the Revenge was engaged past recovery. The island of Flores was on one side; 53 sail of Spanish s.h.i.+ps were on the other, divided into several squadrons, all as full of soldiers as they could contain.

Almost one half of our men were sick and unable to serve; the s.h.i.+ps were grown foul, _unroomaged_[374], and hardly able to bear any sail for want of ballast, having been six months at sea. If all the rest of the s.h.i.+ps had entered into the action, they had been all lost; for the very hugeness of the Spanish s.h.i.+ps, even if no other violence had been offered, might have crushed them all into s.h.i.+vers between them; by which the loss and dishonour to the queen had been far greater, than any injury the enemy could have sustained. It is nevertheless true, that the Lord Thomas Howard would have entered between the squadrons of the enemy, but the others would on no account consent; and even the master of his own s.h.i.+p threatened to leap into the sea, rather than conduct the admirals s.h.i.+p and the rest to be a certain prey to the enemy, where there was no hope or possibility of victory or even of defence. In my opinion, such rashness would have ill a.s.sorted with the discretion and trust of a general, to have committed himself and his charge to a.s.sured destruction, without any hope or likelihood of prevailing, thereby to have diminished the strength of her majestys navy, and to have increased the pride and glory of the enemy.

[Footnote 374: This singular antiquated sea term may signify, not in sailing _trim_.--E.]

The Foresight, one of her majestys vessels, commanded by Thomas Vavasour, performed a very great service, and staid two hours as near the Revenge as the weather would permit, not forsaking the fight till well nigh encompa.s.sed by the squadrons of the enemy, and then cleared himself with great difficulty. The rest gave diverse vollies of shot, and engaged as far as the place and their own necessities permitted, so as to keep the weather-gage of the enemy, till night parted them.

A few days after this fight, the prisoners being dispersed among the Spanish s.h.i.+ps of war and s.h.i.+ps from the Indies, there arose so great a storm from the W. and N.W. that all the fleet was dispersed, as well the fleet of the Indies then come to them as the rest of the armada that had attended their arrival, of which 14 sail, together with the Revenge having 200 Spaniards on board of her, were cast away upon the island of St Michael. Thus they honoured the obsequies of the renowned Revenge, for the great glory she had achieved, not permitting her to perish alone. Besides these, other 15 or 16 of the Spanish s.h.i.+ps of war were cast away in this storm upon the other islands of the Azores: And, of an 100 sail and more of the fleet of the Indies, which were expected this year in Spain, what with the loss sustained in this tempest, and what before in the bay of Mexico and about the Bermuda islands, above 70 were lost, including those taken by our London s.h.i.+ps; besides one very rich s.h.i.+p of the Indies, which set herself on fire being boarded by the Pilgrim, and five others taken by the s.h.i.+p belonging to Mr Wats of London between the Havannah and Cape St Antonio. On the 4th of November this year, we had letters from Tercera, affirming that 3000 dead bodies had been thrown upon that island from the perished s.h.i.+ps, and that the Spaniards confessed to have lost 10,000 men in this storm, besides those who perished between the main and the islands. Thus it hath pleased G.o.d to fight for us, and to defend the justice of our cause, against the ambitious and b.l.o.o.d.y pretences of the Spaniards, who seeking to devour all nations are themselves devoured: A manifest testimony how unjust and displeasing are their attempts in the sight of G.o.d, who hath been pleased to witness, by the evil success of their affairs, his mislike of their b.l.o.o.d.y and injurious designs, purposed and practised against all Christian princes, over whom they seek unlawful and unG.o.dly rule and supreme command.

A day or two before this terrible catastrophe, when some of our prisoners desired to be set on sh.o.r.e on the Azores islands, hoping to be thence transported into England, and which liberty had been formerly promised by the Spanish general; one Morice Fitz John, (son of old John of Desmond, a notable traitor, who was cousin-german to the late earl of Desmond,) was sent from s.h.i.+p to s.h.i.+p to endeavour to persuade the English prisoners to serve the king of Spain. The arguments he used to induce them were these. Increase of pay to treble their present allowance; advancement to the better sort; and the free exercise of the true catholic religion, ensuring the safety of all their souls. For the first of these, the beggarly and unnatural behaviour of those English and Irish rebels that served the king of Spain in that action was a sufficient answer; for so poor and ragged were they, that, for want of apparel, they stripped the poor prisoners their countrymen of their ragged garments, worn out by six months service, not even sparing to despoil them of their b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+rts from their wounded bodies, and the very shoes from their feet; a n.o.ble testimony of their rich entertainment and high pay. As to the second argument, of hope of advancement if they served well and continued faithful to the king of Spain; what man could be so blockishly ignorant ever to expect promotion and honour from a foreign king, having no other merit or pretension than his own disloyalty, his unnatural desertion of his country and parents, and rebellion against his true prince, to whose obedience he is bound by oath, by nature, and by religion? No! such men are only a.s.sured to be employed on all desperate enterprizes, and to be held in scorn and disdain even among those they serve. That ever a traitor was either trusted or advanced I have never learnt, neither can I remember a single example. No man could have less becomed the office of orator for such a purpose, than this Morice of Desmond: For, the earl his cousin, being one of the greatest subjects in the kingdom of Ireland, possessing almost whole counties in his large property, many goodly manors, castles, and lords.h.i.+ps, the county palatine of Kerry, 500 gentlemen of his own family and name ready to follow him, all which he and his ancestors had enjoyed in peace for three or four hundred years: Yet this man, in less than three years after his rebellion and adherence to the Spaniards, was beaten from all his holds, not so many as ten gentlemen of his name left living, himself taken and beheaded by a gentleman of his own nation, and his lands given by parliament to her majesty and possessed by the English. His other cousin, Sir John Desmond, taken by Mr John Zouch; and his body hung up over the gates of his native city to be devoured by ravens. The third brother, Sir James, hanged, drawn, and quartered in the same place. Had he been able to vaunt of the success of his own house, in thus serving the king of Spain, the argument might doubtless have moved much and wrought great effect: the which, because he happened to forget, I have thought good to remember in his behalf.

As for the matter of religion, to which he adverted, it would require a separate volume, were I to set down how irreligiously they cover their greedy and ambitious pretences with that veil of pretended piety. But sure I am, there is no kingdom or commonwealth in all Europe that they do not invade, under pretence of religion, if it be reformed. Nay if it even be what they term catholic, they pretend a t.i.tle, as if the kings of Castile were the natural heirs of all the world. Thus between both, no kingdom is exempted from their ambition. Where they dare not invade with their own forces, they basely entertain the traitors and vagabonds of all nations; seeking by their means, and by their runagate Jesuits, to win other parts to their dominion, by which they have ruined many n.o.ble houses and others in this land, extinguis.h.i.+ng their lives and families. What good, honour, or fortune, any one hath ever yet achieved through them, is yet unheard of. If our English papists will only look to Portugal, against which they have no pretence of religion; how their n.o.bility are imprisoned and put to death, their rich men made a prey, and all sorts of people reduced to servitude; they shall find that the obedience even of the Turk is ease and liberty, compared to the tyranny of Spain. What have they done in Sicily, in Naples, in Milan, in the low countries? Who hath there been spared even for religion? It cometh to my remembrance of a certain burgher at Antwerp, whose house was entered by a company of Spanish soldiers when they sacked that city. He besought them to spare him and his goods, being a good catholic, and therefore one of their own party and faction. The Spaniards answered, they knew him to be of a good conscience in himself; but his money, plate, jewels, and goods, were all heretical, and therefore good prize. So they abused and tormented the foolish Fleming, who thought that an _Agnus Dei_ had been a sufficient safeguard against all the force of that holy and charitable nation.

Neither have they at any time, as they protest, invaded the kingdoms of Mexico and Peru and elsewhere, being only led thereto to reduce the people to Christianity, not for gold or empire: Whereas, in the single island of Hispaniola, they have wasted and destroyed thirty hundred thousand of the natives, besides many millions else in other places of the Indies: a poor and harmless people, created of G.o.d, and might have been won to his service, as many of them were, even almost all whom they endeavoured to persuade thereto. The story of these their enormities, has been written at large by Bartholomew de las Casas[375], a bishop of their own nation, and has been translated into English and many other languages, under the t.i.tle of _The Spanish Cruelties_. Who therefore would repose trust in such a nation of ravenous strangers, and more especially in those Spaniards, who more greedily thirst after the blood of the English, for the many overthrows and dishonours they have received at our hands; whose weakness we have discovered to the world, and whose forces, at home, abroad, in Europe, in the Indies, by sea and by land, even with mere handfuls of men and s.h.i.+ps on our sides, we have overthrown and dishonoured? Let not therefore any Englishman, of what religion soever, have other opinion of these Spaniards or their abettors, but that those whom they seek to win of our nation, they esteem base and traiterous, unworthy persons, and inconstant fools; and that they use this pretence of religion, for no other purpose but to bewitch us from the obedience due to our natural prince, hoping thereby to bring us in time under slavery and subjection, when none shall be there so odious and despised, as those very traitors who have sold their country to strangers, forsaking their faith and obedience, contrary to the laws of nature and religion, and contrary to that humane and universal honour, not only of Christians but of heathen and unbelieving nations, who have always sustained every degree of labour, embracing even death itself, in defence of their country, their prince, and their commonwealth.

[Footnote 375: He was bishop of Chiapa in New Spain, and computes the Indians destroyed by the Spaniards in about fifty years, at no fewer than twenty millions.--Astley, I. 221. a.]

To conclude, it hath ever to this day pleased G.o.d to prosper and defend her majesty, to break the purposes of her malicious enemies, to confound the devices of forsworn traitors, and to overthrow all unjust practices and invasions. She hath ever been held in honour by the worthiest kings, served by faithful subjects, and shall ever, by the favour of G.o.d, resist, repell, and confound all attempts against her person and kingdom. In the mean time, let the Spaniards and traitors vaunt of their success; while we, her true and obedient subjects, guided by the s.h.i.+ning light of her virtues, shall always love, serve, and obey her, to the end of our lives.

SECTION XI

_Note of the Fleet of the Indies, expected in Spain this year 1591; with the number that perished, according to the examination of certain Spaniards, lately taken and brought to England[376]._

The fleet of New Spain, at their first gathering together, consisted of 52 sail. The admiral and vice-admiral s.h.i.+ps were each of 600 tons burden. Four or five of the s.h.i.+ps were of 900 and 1000 tons each; some were of 400 tons, and the smallest of 200. Of this fleet 19 were cast away, containing by estimation 2600 men, which happened along the coast of New Spain, so that only 33 sail came to the Havannah.

[Footnote 376: Hakluyt, II. 670.]

The fleet of Terra Firma, at its first departure from Spain, consisted of 50 sail, bound for Nombre de Dios, where they discharged their loading, and returned thence for their health sake to Carthagena, till such time as the treasure they were to take in at Nombre de Dios were ready. But before this fleet departed, some were gone by one or two at a time, so that only 23 sail of this fleet arrived at the Havannah.

There met at the Havannah,

33 sail from New Spain, 23 from the Terra Firma, 12 belonging to San Domingo, 9 from Honduras.

Thus 77 s.h.i.+ps joined and set sail from the Havannah, on the 17th of July 1591, according to our account, and kept together till they arrived in the lat. of 35 N. which was about the 10th of August. There the wind, which had been at S.W. changed suddenly to N. so that the sea coming from the S.W. and the wind violent from the N. they were put in great extremity, and then first lost the admiral of their fleet, in which were 500 men; and within three or four days after, another storm rising, five or six others of their largest s.h.i.+ps were cast away with all their men, together with their vice-admiral.

In lat. 38 N. and about the end of August, another great storm arose, in which all their remaining s.h.i.+ps, except 48, were lost. These 48 s.h.i.+ps kept together till they came in sight of the islands of Corvo and Flores, about the 5th or 6th of September, at which time they were separated by a great storm; and of that number, 15 or 16 sail were afterwards seen by three Spanish prisoners, riding at anchor under Tercera, while 12 or 14 more were observed to bear away for San Miguel.

What became of them after these Spaniards were taken, cannot yet be certified; but their opinion is, that very few of this fleet escaped being either taken or cast away. It has been ascertained of late by other means of intelligence, that of this whole fleet of 123 sail, which should have come to Spain this year, there have only 25 yet arrived.

This note was extracted from the examinations of certain Spanish prisoners, brought to England by six of the London s.h.i.+ps, which took seven of these men from the before-mentioned fleet of the Indies near the islands of the Acores.

SECTION XII.

_Report of a Cruizing Voyage to the Azores in 1591, by a feet of London s.h.i.+ps sent with supplies to the Lord Thomas Howard. Written by Captain Robert Flicke_[377].

PRELIMINARY REMARKS[378].

The following voyage is extracted from a letter, dated at Plymouth the 24th of October 1591, and sent thence by Captain Flicke to Messrs Thomas Bromley, Richard Staper, and ---- Cordall, three of the contractors, as we apprehend, for the s.h.i.+ps, and is t.i.tled, "Concerning the success of a part of the London supplies sent to the isles of the Azores to my Lord Thomas Howard." In this letter no mention is made of the number of s.h.i.+ps employed, nor of the names of more than two captains besides Flicke, namely, _Brothus_ and _Furtho_, the latter of whom was bearer of the letter. We also find the name of four of the s.h.i.+ps; the Costly, Centurion, Cherubim, and the Margaret and John, but not the names of their commanders, neither the name of the s.h.i.+p in which Flicke sailed, and which, for distinctions sake, we call the admiral. These omissions may be excuseable in a private letter, written only to acquaint the merchants of particulars they had not before learnt, and not designed as a formal narrative of the voyage to be laid before the public. As these, however, are essential to narratives of this kind, it might have been expected of Mr Hakluyt to have supplied such defects. We may judge, however, that the number of s.h.i.+ps was seven, as in the preceding account of the fleet of the Indies, six London s.h.i.+ps are mentioned as having fallen in with it, which were probably those separated from the admiral or commodore, which s.h.i.+p will make the seventh.--_Astley._

[Footnote 377: Hakluyt, II. 671. Astley, I. 221.]

[Footnote 378: Astley, I. 221.]

NARRATIVE[379].

Wors.h.i.+pful, my hearty commendations to you premised.--By my last letter, dated 12th August from this place, I advertised you particularly of the accidents which had befallen our fleet till then. It now remains to relate our exertions for accomplis.h.i.+ng our orders for endeavouring to join my Lord Thomas Howard, and the success we have had. We departed from hence on the 17th August, the wind not serving before. Next day I summoned a council by signal, on which the captains and masters of all the s.h.i.+ps came on board, when I acquainted them with my commission, confirmed by the lords of her majestys council, and with the advertis.e.m.e.nt of Sir Edward Denny, that my lord had determined to remain 60 leagues west of Fayal, spreading his squadron north and south between 37 30' and 38 30' north. But, if we did not there find him, we were to repair to the islands of Flores and Corvo, where a pinnace would purposely wait our coming till the last day of August; with the intent, after that day, to repair to the coast of Spain, about the heighth of the rock [_of Lisbon?_], some twenty or thirty leagues off sh.o.r.e. This being advisedly considered, and having regard to the shortness of time occasioned by our long delay at this place, and the uncertainty of favourable weather for us, it was generally concluded, as the best and surest way to meet my lord, to bear up for the heighth of _the rock_, without making any stay upon the coast, and thence to make directly for the foresaid islands, which was accordingly fully agreed to and performed.

[Footnote 379: In pursuance of our uniform plan, of drawing from the original sources, this article is an exact transcript from Hakluyt, only modernizing his antiquated language and orthography, and not copied from the abridgement of Astley.--.E]

The 28th of August we had sight of the Burlings, and being on the 29th athwart of Peniche, and having a favourable wind, we directed our course west for the Azores, without making any stay off the coast of Portugal.

The 30th we met the Red Rose, Captain Royden, formerly called the Golden Dragon, which had separated from my lord in a storm. He informed us of 50 sail of the king of Spains armada having sailed for the islands, but could not give us any intelligence of my lord, otherwise than supposing him to remain about the islands, wherefore we continued our course, the wind remaining favourable. The 4th of September we had sight of Tercera, and ranged along all the islands, both on their south, and north sides, for the s.p.a.ce of four days, during which time we met with no s.h.i.+ps whatever, so that we could learn no intelligence, either of my lord or of the fleet of the Indies; wherefore we directed our course to the west of Fayal, according to the instructions of Sir Edward Denny. When plying to the westwards on the 11th, we descried a sail from our main-top, and by two or three in the afternoon raised her hull, but the weather fell so calm that we could not fetch her. I therefore sent off my skiff well manned, and furnished with shot and swords, the Cherubim and the Margaret and John doing the like. Upon this the sail stood off again, and on the approach of night our boats lost sight of her and so returned. During this pursuit the Centurion was left astern, so that we missed her next morning, and spent all that day plying up and down in search of her: And, as all our s.h.i.+ps were directed, in case of separation by stress of weather or other mischance, to meet and join at Flores, we, according to the instructions of Sir Edward Denny, proceeded for the purpose of finding my Lord Thomas Howard, and being in the heighth appointed, and not able to remain there in consequence of extreme tempests, which forced us to the isles of Flores and Corvo, which we made on the 14th in the morning, and there rejoined the Centurion. She informed us, that on the 12th day, being the same on which she lost us, she had met 45 sail of the fleet of the Indies.

The same night, in consequence of this intelligence, we came to anchor between Flores and Corvo, and next morning at day-break, I convened a council of all the captains and masters on board my s.h.i.+p, by a signal flag. For satisfying our desire to learn some intelligence of my lord, as also for the purpose of procuring a supply of water, it was thought good to send our boats on sh.o.r.e armed, under the command of Captain Brothus; besides which, it was agreed, after our departure thence, to range along the south sides of the islands, that we might either procure some intelligence of my lord, or fall in with the fleet of the Indies; and, in case of missing both objects, to direct our course for Cape St Vincent. The boats being sent on sh.o.r.e, according to this determination, it chanced that the Costely, which rode outermost at our anchoring ground, having weighed to bring herself nearer among us to a.s.sist in protecting our boats, discovered two sail in opening the land, which we in the road-stead could not perceive. Upon this she fired a shot of warning, which caused us to _wave_ all our boats back; and before they could recover their s.h.i.+ps, the two s.h.i.+ps seen by the Costely appeared to us, on which we made all sail towards them, and in a happy hour as it pleased G.o.d. We had no sooner cleared the land and spoken one of them, which was a bark belonging to Bristol, also seeking my lord ineffectually at the place appointed, when so violent a storm arose that we had been in great danger of peris.h.i.+ng if we had continued in the road. This storm continued in its utmost violence for sixty hours, during which I was separated from all our fleet except the Cherubim, and Costely, which continued in company. After it subsided, sailing in among the islands, I viewed the road of Fayal, and finding no roaders there, I went thence for the isle of Tercera.

On the 19th day of September in the morning, coming to Tercera, and intending to edge into the road, a tempest arose and so scanted the wind that we could not get in. Being accordingly driven to leeward, we fell in among some of the fleet of the Indies, which had been dispersed by the storm, and driven from the road. Upon this our s.h.i.+p and the two others then with me gave several chases, by which we parted company.