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.
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