The Said Admiral Alvaro Flores Staid There, Under
Colour Of Taking Care Of The Silver, But Chiefly Because Of His Disease
And Fear Of The English.
He had for his part alone, above the value of
50,000 ducats in pearls, which he shewed us, and sought to sell or
barter them with us for spices or bills of exchange.
These two ships
sailed from Tercera with three or four hundred men, including those who
came with them from the Indies and soldiers; but while at sea in a
storm, the admiral split and sunk outright, not one man being saved; and
the vice-admiral, after cutting away her masts, ran aground hard by
Setubal, where she broke in pieces, some of the men saving themselves by
swimming, who brought the news of all the rest being drowned.
In the same month of November 1589, there came two great ships out of
the Spanish Indies, and when within half a mile of the road of Tercera,
they were met with by an English ship which fought them both together
for a long while, and took them both. About seven or eight months
before, there came an English ship to Tercera, pretending to be a
Frenchman come for traffic, and began to load woad, but being discovered
was confiscated to the king, both ship and cargo, and the men all made
prisoners, yet were allowed to roam up and down to get their livings, by
labouring like slaves, being considered in as safe custody in the island
at large as if in a prison. But at length, upon a Sunday, they all went
behind the hills called _Bresil_, where they found a fishing boat, in
which they rowed out to sea to the ships of the Earl of Cumberland, who
chanced for their good fortune to come to the island, and anchored with
his ships about half a mile from the road of Angra, close to two small
islands about a bare shot from the shore of Tercera, which are full of
goats, deer, and sheep, belonging to the inhabitants of Tercera. These
sailors knew this well, wherefore they rowed to these islands in their
boats, whence they took as many goats and sheep as they needed, which
was well seen by those of the town and main island, but they durst not
go forth to hinder them. By this exploit, there only remained behind the
master and merchant of the detained English ship. This master had a
brother-in-law in England, who, on hearing of his brothers imprisonment,
got a licence from the queen to fit out a ship, with which to endeavour
to recover his losses by cruizing against the Spaniards, by which to
redeem his brother from imprisonment in Tercera, and it was he who took
the two Spanish ships before the town: The before-mentioned merchant,
who was my intimate acquaintance, was standing on the shore along with
me, looking at them at the time. When these ships were taken, which were
worth 300,000 ducats, the brother sent all the men on shore, except only
two of the principal gentlemen, whom he kept to give in exchange for his
brother; and by the pilot of one of the captured ships he sent a letter
to the governor of Tercera, offering to send the two gentlemen on shore
if his brother were delivered up, otherwise he would carry them
prisoners into England, which indeed he did, as the governor would not
deliver up his brother, saying the gentlemen might make that suit to the
king of Spain.
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