Sir William Monson, in Churchills collection, says there
were _five_ ships; and indeed we find a fifth, called the Saucy Jack,
mentioned in the narrative.
- E.]
[Footnote 359: The Victory was of 800 tons, carrying 32 guns and 400
men; of whom, according to Sir William Monson, 268 were mariners, and
100 sailors, the remaining 32 being probably soldiers, or as we now call
them marines. The distinction between mariners and sailors is not
obvious; perhaps what are now called ordinary and able seamen, - E.]
[Footnote 360: Sir William Monson was author of some curious Naval
Tracts, giving an account of the Royal Navy of England in the reigns of
Queen Elizabeth and James I. which are preserved in Churchills
Collection, Vol. III. pp. 147 - 508. - E.]
About three days after our departure from Plymouth, we met with three
French ships, one of which belonged to Newhaven[361], and another to St
Maloes; and finding them to be leaguers[362], and therefore lawful
prizes, we took them, and sent two of them home to England with all
their loading, being mostly fish from Newfoundland, having first
distributed among our ships as much of the fish as they could find
stowage room for; and in the third ship we sent all the prisoners home
to France. On that day and the next we met some other ships, but finding
them belonging to Rotterdam and Embden, bound for Rochelle, we dismissed
them. On the 28th and 29th, we met several of our English ships
returning from an expedition to Portugal, which we relieved with
victuals. The 13th July, being in sight of the coast of Spain in lat.
39 deg. N. we descried eleven ships, on which we immediately prepared to
engage them, sending the Meg commanded by Captain Monson to ascertain
what and whence they were. On the approach of the Meg some shots were
exchanged, and as their admiral and vice-admiral displayed their flags,
we perceived that some fighting was likely to follow. Having therefore
prepared for battle, we made all haste towards them, always taking care
to get to windward, and between ten and eleven o'clock A.M. we came up
with them in the Victory, when they all yielded after a slight
resistance. The masters all came on board our admiral, and shewed their
several passports from Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen, Pomerania, and Calais.
They had certain bags of pepper and cinnamon, which they confessed to
belong to a Jew in Lisbon, which they had charge of to deliver to his
factor in their country; and finding this to be lawful prize by their
own confession, the same was taken and divided among our whole company,
the value being estimated at L.4500, at two shillings the pound[363]. We
dismissed these ships on the 17th of July, but seven of their men,
having volunteered as sailors in our fleet, were taken to reinforce our
crew. After this we held on our course for the Azores or Western
islands.
[Footnote 361: Probably that port now called Havre de Grace. - E.]
[Footnote 362: Alluding to the _Catholic League_, then in alliance with
Spain, and in rebellious opposition to their lawful sovereign, for the
purpose of excluding the king of Navarre, afterwards Henry IV. from the
crown of France. - E.]
[Footnote 363: Sir William Monson, who gives a short account of this
expedition in the Naval Tracts already quoted, says that spices to the
value of L.7000 were taken out of these vessels. - E.]
In the morning of the 1st August we got sight of St Michael, one of the
eastermost of the Azores, towards which we made sail all that day; and,
putting up a Spanish flag at our maintop that we might not be suspected
for enemies, we approached at night to the chief town and road of the
island, where we espied three ships and some other vessels at anchor,
all of which we determined to take during the darkness of the night.
Accordingly about ten or eleven o'clock P.M. our boats were sent well
manned to cut their cables and hawsers and tow them out to sea. On
coming to them, one of the largest of these ships was found to be the
Falcon of London, commanded by a Scots pilot who passed her off as his
own. But our men let loose three other smaller ships, which they towed
towards us, most of their men leaping overboard and swimming on shore
with loud outcries, which were answered from the town, which was all in
an uproar on hearing what was going forwards. The castle discharged some
shots at our boats, but being unable to see them by reason of the
darkness, did us no harm. The Scotsman too, to make the Spaniards
believe him their friend, fired a few shots in the air. Shortly after,
he and some others came on board our admiral, offering their services.
The three ships brought out were laden with wine and sallad oil from
Seville. The same day our caravel chaced a Spanish caravel on shore,
which carried letters by which we learnt that the caraks had departed
from the island of Tercera eight days before.
The 7th of August we got sight of a small ship which we chased towards
Tercera with our pinnace, the weather being calm, and overtook her
towards evening, when we found in her 30 tons of good Madeira wine,
besides woollen cloth, silk, taffeta, and other goods. Coming on the
14th to the island of Flores, it was determined to take in fresh water,
and such fresh provisions as the island afforded; wherefore manning our
boats with about 120 men, we rowed towards the shore, where the
inhabitants, who were assembled at the watering-place, hung out a flag
of truce, and we did the like. On coming to them, the earl gave them to
understand, by means of his Portuguese interpreter, that he was a friend
to their king Don Antonio, and came not with any intention to injure
them, meaning only to procure water and fresh provisions, by way of
exchange for oil wine and pepper, to which they readily agreed, and sent
off some of their people immediately for beeves and sheep.
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