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 ships 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 deg. 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 ships were cast away with all their men, together with their vice-admiral.

In lat. 38 deg. N. and about the end of August, another great storm arose, in which all their remaining ships, except 48, were lost. These 48 ships 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 ships, 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 ships 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 ships, and is titled, "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 ships 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 ships; the Costly, Centurion, Cherubim, and the Margaret and John, but not the names of their commanders, neither the name of the ship 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 ships was seven, as in the preceding account of the fleet of the Indies, six London ships are mentioned as having fallen in with it, which were probably those separated from the admiral or commodore, which ship will make the seventh. - _Astley._

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

[Footnote 378: Astley, I. 221.]

NARRATIVE[379].

Worshipful, 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 accomplishing 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 ships came on board, when I acquainted them with my commission, confirmed by the lords of her majestys council, and with the advertisement of Sir Edward Denny, that my lord had determined to remain 60 leagues west of Fayal, spreading his squadron north and south between 37 deg. 30' and 38 deg. 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 shore. 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.

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