Chronological History of the West Indies

upon their approach. On the 29th Sir Thomas Baskervil, with 750 men, set off for Panama; and on the last of December, Sir Francis Drake set fire to Nombre de Dios, and burnt the town, with all the vessels in the harbour.

1596.

Captain Laurence Keymis sailed in the Darling, January 26th, from Portland roads, upon his voyage of discovery to Guianaduring which voyage, he says, he found a free and open entrance into Raleana, or Oronoco, and "fourtie severall great rivers:"-he then crossed over to Trinidad, touched at Tobago, Grenada, Saint Lucie, Saint Vincent, Martinico, and Dominica, and from thence to England. Of Guiana he says, "The riches of this place are not fit for any private estate ;" and, "I can discerne no sufficient impediment to the contrary, but that, with a competent number of men, her Majestie may, to her and her successors, enjoy this rich and great empire; and having once planted there, may for ever (by the favour of God) holde and keepe it, contra Judæos et Gentes. Subjects, I doubt not, may, through her Majestie's gracious sufferance, joyning their strength together, invade, spoyle, and overrunne it, returning with golde and great riches."

January the 2d, Sir Thomas Baskervil returned to Sir Francis Drake, having given up all hopes of crossing to Panama, and lost twenty men in the attempt. On the 5th the fleet weighed, and stood to the westward. On the 10th they made the island of Escudo, and came to an anchor on its south side: here they captured a dispatch boat, that had been sent from Nombre de Dios to give notice of the enemy's approach. On the 15th Sir Francis Drake was confined to his cabin, with the flux. On the 23d the fleet stood back towards Puerto Bello. On the 28th, at 4 A.M., Sir Francis died. On the same day the fleet anchored off Puerto Bello, which was deserted by the inhabitants: at this time it contained only eight or ten houses. Sir Francis Drake was buried in the sea.

On the 7th of February, by a general muster, they had sick and well 2000 persons: the next day, all the prisoners and Negroes were sent on shore, and the fleet got under weigh. The Spaniards now sent off a flag of truce, to say that they had eighteen English prisoners, whom, if the fleet would wait eight or ten days, should be sent from Panama. The Spanish fleet was daily expected, and this was a pretence to delay the departure of the English: the fleet, therefore, stood off on the 8th of February. On the 25th they made the Grand Caymains, and on the 26th they saw Cuba. At one P.M. twenty sail hove in sight, part of a fleet sent from Spain

to attack the English. The Spaniards failed in their attempt to weather the English fleet, which bore down upon them, and after an action of two hours obliged their van to tack. The English then kept their course to the westward, round Cape Corrientes, the Spanish fleet standing to the eastward. About half an hour after the action was over, one of the largest of the Spanish ships caught fire and was burnt. The next day, the Spanish fleet were on the weather quarter of the English, but only fourteen sail of them— three of their best sailors came up with the Salomon: she had been obliged to make a tack to weather Cape Corrientes. Some of the English tacking to support her, the Spaniards returned to their fleet, which tacked and stood from the English, who kept their course for Cape Antonio. On the 10th, they saw the Cape of Florida, and made the best of their way to England, where they arrived about the beginning of May.

The Spanish admiral claimed a victory upon this occasion, to the great annoyance of Captain Henry Saville, who commanded the Adventure in the action, and who answers Don Bernaldino Delgadillo de Avellaneda's letter about the action, not in the most courteous manner. Among other things he says, "Some simple Indian slave, hearing the like repetition of his long and tedious name, might suppose it to be an armie of Spaniards, and for feare runne away; but the commanders and captaines of the English navie were men of such resolution, that no Spanish bragges could dismay them (for they have often met them with their pikes in their Spanish beardes), nor the countenance of Don Bernaldino quaile them, although he were acowtred in his gilt leather buskins and his Toledo rapier."

Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 597.

1 Thomas Baskervil, Knight, his approbation of the Discourse of Captain Savile.

"I, Thomas Baskervill, Knight, Generall of Her Majestie's late Indian Armada, in the late conflict had betweene the Spanish fleete and us, having perused the Spanish letter written by Don Bernaldino Delgadillo de Avellaneda, Generall of the King of Spaine's navie, and also having perused Captaine Henrie Savile his answeres unto the sixe exceptions in the general's letter, with his discourse of the manner of our fight with the Spanish fleete, doe say, that the said Henrie Savile hath answered the letter, and set downe the order of the fight sincerely, according to truth; for testimonie of which, I have hereunto set my hand.

"And if Don Bernaldino Delgadillo de Avellaneda, the generall, shall take any exceptions to this my approbation, or stand in the justification of his lying letter written

Contractation House for the Indies, and by him, for Bernaldino's glorie, lately put in print; I then say, that he falsely lyed, and that I will maintaine against him with whatsoever armes he shall make choyce of. And because the kingdomes wherein we abide are enemies (by reason of which there is no meanes, in either of them, to maintaine that I have written), let him make choise of any indifferent kingdome, of equall distance from either realme, and I will be readie to maintaine as much as I have written. But if, by my imployments into France, I be so stayed by Her Majes tie's commandements that I cannot out of that realme meete him in any other, I cannot see why he should take any exception to that, considering the equalitie of the place, and that the armies of both our princes be there resident.

"THOMAS BASKERVILE."

October the 17th, Sir Anthony Sherley in the Bevice, of 300 tons; the Galeon, of 240; the George, of 160; the George Noble, of 140; the Wolfe, of 70; with a galley and pinnace, arrived at Dominica. Upon the passage out he had captured the town of Saint Jago, in the Cape de Verdes, but did not effect his retreat back to his ships without great loss. At Dominica they were kindly received by the Indians, and remained there, to refresh the men, until the 25th of November. From thence they went to Margarita, but failed in taking any of the pearl fishers: then coasting along the main land, off Cape de la Vela, they captured a frigate, with 500 pounds in specie on board. On the 12th of December they landed in a bay two leagues west of the town of Santa Martha, of which place they took possession without any opposition, the inhabitants Ĥying before them. At the intercession of Don Martin de Castilla, the town was saved from destruction without being ransomed, and one of Sir Francis Drake's men was released from being a prisoner. Here Sir Anthony passed his Christmas, and remained until New Year's day.

March the 6th, the Earl of Cumberland sailed from Plymouth with a fleet of twenty sail, and after cruizing off Lisbon and the Canaries, arrived at Dominica the 23d of May, where they refreshed their crews until the 1st of June: from hence the earl went to the Virgin Islands, intending, as he says, "again to muster my men, the island of Dominica being so woodie as that there I could not doe it."

June the 6th, he landed at Puerto Rico, some leagues to windward of the town, with about 1000 men. Some of his captains wished him, upon leaving the Virgin Islands, to have passed through that passage, as Sir Francis Drake had done; but the earl," finding the way through the passages more certaine and safe, tooke that course; more desiring to be the first that tooke Puerto Rico, than the second that passed through the Virgines." After a fatiguing march, the English found themselves, at dusk, upon the shore of an arm of the sea, which divided them from the forts and the town, and which arm was fordable, at low water, by a causeway connected to the fort by a draw-bridge, defended by a barricado, and a fort with ordnance. The tide not answering for crossing, the English laid down to refresh themselves, until within two hours of daylight on the 7th, when they proceeded to the causeway, headed by the earl and Sir John Barkeley: the causeway was purposely made so rugged, that many of the English preferred wading alongside it. The bearer of the earl's target fell, and threw down the earl; who being heavily armed, was with great difficulty taken out of the water by the serjeant-major, and laid upon the causeway, where he was forced to lie down until his sickness was over, he had swallowed so

Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 598. 600, 601. 1154. 1160.

Purchas, part iv. L. 6. C. 2. p. 1151. 1153, Purchas, L. 6. C. 3. p. 1161.

much salt water. Sir John Barkeley led the assailants, who began with bills to hew the gates; but the firing from seven guns, besides musketry, that played upon the causeway, and the tide flowing fast, being now up to their middle, they retreated, and got back before daylight to the place where they had rested before, with the loss of between forty and fifty killed and wounded — among whom were Lieutenants Cholmley and Belings, the only officers who were hurt.

The Earl of Cumberland now ordered one of the ships to run in on the other side of the second fort; and if it was necessary, the captain was to run her aground, that the men might land and attack the fort on that side, while the boats landed 200 pikemen, under the command of Captains Coach and Orrell, to attack it upon the other. "This plot tooke very good effect; for within an houre, that the attempt was given, partly the ship and partly the musketeers had so beaten the fort, that the boates had good leisure to land; whereupon, within short space, the enemy quitted the place." The English lodged in it that night. By the time the boats came back to the earl, the water had fallen "to so dead an ebbe, that there was no hope of passage till the next flood." In the fort that commanded the causeway, there was not any light or match to be seen, which induced the earl to suppose that the Spaniards had abandoned it also: and "Captain Rukesby was sent, and brought certaine intelligence that the enemy was gone." After the English had refreshed themselves, they began their march to the town, which was a mile and a half from the fort, along a passage "wooddie on either side, and so narrow, that not passing three, at the most, can march in ranke." They arrived at the town by day break upon Thursday, June 8th, and found it abandoned by all the inhabitants that were able to walk. The soldiers had retired to a fort to the sea-ward called Mora.

Monday, June the 18th, the earl had erected two batteries against the Mora, and armed them with two culverins and two demi-culverins, landed from the Scourge, and with four other pieces that he found in the town. At one o'clock upon Tuesday, the Spanish governor sent to demand a parley, a breach having been made in the "cavalero:" his demands were, that the garrison should march out with colours flying, " match in their cocks, and bullets in their mouth," and to "be set beyond the point at the bridge, to goe whither they would." Further they demanded all the prisoners to be delivered without ransom, and that no man's Negroes or slaves should be taken from him. His lordship utterly refused any such composition, but wrote to the governor as follows:

"A resolution which you may trust to I am content to give yourselfe and all your people their lives: yourselfe, with your captaines and officers, to passe with your armes; all the rest of your souldiers with their rapiers and daggers onely.

"You shall all stay here with me, till I give you passage from the iland, which shall be within thirtie dayes.

"Any one of you which I shall choose, shall goe with me into England, but shall not stay longer there than one moneth; but being well fitted for the purpose, shall bee safely sent home into Spaine without ransome.'

As it was doubted whether there was any person in the fort that could speak English, some of the earl's followers wished the articles to be translated into Spanish; "but his lordship peremptorily refused to seeke their language, but would have them to find out his."

On the next day, June the 21st, the fort surrendered, and the governor and 400 soldiers were marched into a strong castle in the town, called Fortileza.

July the 11th, the Spanish soldiers were embarked on board two vessels, and sailed for Carthagena - the governor and some of the principal officers going in two other vessels, that were to proceed to England, after convoying the soldiers to Carthagena, as it was the earl's intention to keep the island; but the flux attacked his men, and before he left the island, on the 13th of August, 400 of them had died, and as many more were too weak to walk to the boat.'

All the brass guns on the island, about eighty pieces, were embarked, and what hides, ginger, and sugar could be collected. Fort Mora was razed; but Sir John Barkeley, who was left with seven

Purchas, L. 6. C. 3. p. 1164. 1166. 1169. 1168.

List of the Earl of Cumberland's Fleet, in his Twelfth Voyage.