THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA.
[Sidenote: The Armada expected.]
On the death of Jacques Wingfield, Perrott had granted the Mastership
of the Ordnance to his son, Sir Thomas. It appeared, however, that
there had been a grant in reversion passed to Sir William Stanley,
which was voidable, but not void, by that officer's treason. On the
place becoming legally vacant it was conferred upon Sir George Carew,
the late Master's nephew. He reported that almost everything in the
Dublin store was rusty and rotten, and that the small remainder would
soon be as bad, since no allowance was made for maintaining it in a
serviceable state. The gunners and armourers were no better than the
stores; while Cork, Limerick, and other places were as ill-provided
as the capital. Yet the Spaniards were daily expected, and the whole
population, exhausted by their late sufferings, stood at gaze, waiting
in fear and trembling for the great event.[163]
[Sidenote: The Spanish ships appear.]
[Sidenote: Admiral Recalde.]
On the 2nd of August Drake made up his mind that the enemy could not
land in any part of Great Britain, and left the Armada to contend with
the elements only. The rumours of English defeat which reached Spain
were industriously propagated in Ireland also, but on the 26th the
discomfiture of the invaders was known as far west as Athlone, though
no letter had yet arrived. In the first days of September the flying
ships began to tell their own story. From the Giant's Causeway to the
outermost point of Kerry the wild Atlantic seaboard presented its
inhospitable face, and the Spaniards who landed met with a reception
to match. At first they were the objects of great anxiety, and if the
fleet had kept together, the crews, sick and hungry as they were,
might have made some dangerous combination with the natives. But the
Duke of Medina Sidonia, with fifty-two ships, managed to weather the
Irish coast. This was owing to the advice of Calderon, who was the only
officer with him that knew our shores, and who had a proper horror of
the terrible west coast of Ireland. Admiral Recalde, a distinguished
sailor, but with less local knowledge, parted company with the Duke
off the Shetlands. When the storm moderated he had twenty-seven sail
with him, but by the time he reached Kerry these were reduced to three.
There were twenty-five pipes of wine on board, but no water except what
had come from Spain, 'which stinketh marvellously.' There was very
little bread, and the thirsty wretches could not eat their salt beef.
Recalde anchored between the Blaskets and the main land, and sent for
water. But Smerwick was close by, and no Kerry Catholic cared to run
the risk of comforting the Queen's enemies. Recalde's ship, 'The Don
John of Oporto,' was one of the largest in the whole Armada, containing
500 men, but of these 100 were ill; some died daily, and the strongest
were scarcely able to stand. The masts were injured by the English shot
and would not bear a press of canvas, yet there was nothing for it but
to trust once more to those crazy spars. When Slea Head was passed, the
immediate danger was over, and Recalde ultimately reached Corunna, but
only to die of exhaustion four days after. He seems to have had some
presentiment of disaster. When Medina Sidonia was appointed to command
the expedition, his Duchess wished him to decline the perilous honour.
If he succeeded, she philosophically remarked, he could be no more than
Duke of Medina Sidonia; whereas he would lose his reputation if he
failed. 'Yes,' said Recalde significantly, 'if he returns.'[164]
[Sidenote: Misery of the Spaniards.]
[Sidenote: Wreck off Kerry.]
[Sidenote: Spaniards hanged at Tralee.]
The noble landsman to whom Philip, with extraordinary folly, entrusted
the greatest fleet which the world had yet seen, had probably no
choice but to make his way homewards as best he might. Unable to cope
with the English or to co-operate with Parma, a great seaman might
perhaps have been equally unsuccessful in attaining the objects of the
expedition. But a chief of even ordinary capacity might have managed
to ship some fresh water on the Faroes or the Shetlands. Neither on
those islands nor on the Norwegian coast could any serious resistance
have been offered; but the chance was lost and the consequences of this
neglect were frightful. Wine was but a poor substitute, and some of
the victuals were as unwholesome as the foul water. Among other things
lime had been mixed with the biscuit, and for this many bakers in Spain
were afterwards hanged. The ships were so much damaged, and the men
so weak, that it was often impossible to keep clear of the coast. One
unfortunate vessel, named 'Our Lady of the Rose,' foundered in the
Sound of Blasket, in sight of the open water which Recalde had reached.
The Genoese pilot had probably no local knowledge, and steered her on
to a sunken rock, where she went down with 500 men on board; but not
before an officer had killed the poor Italian for supposed treason. The
pilot's son alone escaped, by swimming, to tell the tale. Among the
doomed was the young prince of Ascoli, said to be a son of Philip's,
who had originally sailed with Medina Sidonia and had taken a boat at
Calais, had failed to regain the admiral's ship, and had sought refuge
upon that which had now gone to the bottom. A small vessel, which
seems to have had no boat, was driven into Tralee Bay. Three men swam
ashore and offered to surrender, saying they had friends at Waterford
who would ransom them; but the names of those friends they refused to
disclose. Lady Denny hanged the whole crew, consisting of twenty-four
Spaniards, on the ground that there was no way of keeping them safely.
Norris afterwards regretted that this had been done, but he also at
first dreaded a landing in force.[165]
[Sidenote: Wrecks off Clare.]
Seven ships were driven into the Shannon, and lay for a short time
off Carrigaholt. The Spaniards burned one which was too leaky to go
to sea again. Another was wrecked in Dunbeg Bay, on the other side of
Loop Head, and between 200 and 300 men were drowned. Another was lost
at Trumree, a few miles farther north, and the names of Spanish Point
and Mal Bay are believed to commemorate the impression which these
disasters left upon the native mind. 300 men who landed were slain by
the sheriff, in obedience to Bingham's orders. Another ship lay for a
time at Liscannor, where there is little or no shelter, but the crew
were unable to land; one of her two boats was washed ashore, and a
large oil-jar found in her showed that water was the Spaniards' great
want. Other ships were seen off the Arran Islands, and one of 200 tons
came within a mile of Galway. It is not recorded that any of these were
lost; but neither does it appear that any were relieved. They drifted
away in misery, the men dying daily, and the survivors having to work,
though themselves in a condition very little better than that of the
fabulous Ancient Mariner.[166]
[Sidenote: Wreck in Clew Bay.]
[Sidenote: Spaniards slaughtered by the Irish.]
The ocean waves which roll into Clew Bay are partly broken by the
island of Clare, which belonged in the sixteenth century to the
O'Malleys--a clan famous as sea-rovers and fishermen. The western
half of the island consists of a heathery mountain, which is said to
harbour grouse, though other grouse are so far away. The eastern half
is cultivated; but as late as 1870 there were no roads in the island,
no wheeled vehicles, and only a single saddle, reserved for the annual
visit of the agent. A native leaning on his spade, and lamenting the
badness of the potatoes, asked a stray visitor if there were any news
of the world. Upon these lonely rocks a large ship, commanded by Don
Pedro de Mendoza, foundered with 700 men. Less than 100 had landed two
days before, and these were all slaughtered by Dowdary Roe O'Malley,
for the sake of the gold which they had brought with them. Mendoza
tried to escape with some fishing-boats, but he shared the fate of his
men, much to Bingham's regret. One poor Spaniard and an Irishman of
Wexford were spared out of 800. At Ormonde's village of Burrishoole
farther up the bay a ship of 1,000 tons and fifty-four guns was driven
ashore. Most of those on board were lost, but sixteen landed with gold
chains and surrendered to the Earl's tenant. It was reported in London
that the Duke of Medina Sidonia was among them, and Ormonde sent over
a special messenger with orders to seize all that was valuable, to let
the Duke ride his own horse, and not to put him in irons, but to treat
him as the greatest prince in Spain. But Ormonde was not fortunate
enough to capture this rich prize, nor is it likely that any of the
plunder was reserved for him.[167]
[Sidenote: Wrecks in Connemara.]
[Sidenote: Spaniards executed.]
In the western part of Galway two vessels were wrecked, one of them
being the 'White Falcon' with Don Luis de Cordova and his company.
The O'Flaherties were at first disposed to shelter and befriend the
strangers, but Bingham made proclamation that anyone who harboured
Spaniards for more than four hours would be reputed as traitors. Many
were brought to Galway accordingly, where 300 were straightway executed
by the Provost Marshal, who was then sent to exercise his office in
O'Flaherty's country and to do what he could towards saving ordnance
and munitions; and other officers were sent into Mayo with similar
instructions. Of the prisoners at Galway forty picked men were reserved
for Bingham's decision, of whom thirty were afterwards executed. Don
Luis and nine others were spared, as likely to be worth ransom, or to
be able to give useful information.[168]
[Sidenote: Alonso de Leyva.]
The most famous Spaniard in the Armada was Alonso de Leyva, who was
in command of the troops, and who would have acted as general had the
invaders effected a landing in force. Even at sea he was the second
in command, and had a commission to take supreme direction in case
anything should happen to the Duke of Medina Sidonia. De Leyva had
been suspected of intriguing for the command during the life of Santa
Cruz, and even of thwarting that great seaman's preparations. He had
served under Don John in Flanders, where he raised a famous battalion
consisting entirely of half-pay officers, and afterwards in Sicily and
Italy; and had resigned command of the cavalry at Milan on purpose to
take part in the expedition against England. When the Armada actually
sailed he had charge of the vanguard, and had pressed the Duke hard to
attack the English in Plymouth Sound, where their superior seamanship
would avail them little. The guns of the fort, he said, would be
silent, for their fire would do as much harm to one side as to the
other. This bold advice was probably wise, but Medina Sidonia was not
the man to take it. At a later period De Leyva is said to have directly
accused the Duke of cowardice, and to have been threatened by him with
the penalty of death--his only answer to every criticism.
[Sidenote: His ship and followers.]
He himself sailed on board the 'Rata,' a ship of 820 tons, 35 guns,
and 419 men, of whom only 84 were seamen. Among the landsmen were many
noble adventurers, who were desirous of seeing war under so famous
a captain. When the fleet parted company the 'Rata' remained with
Recalde, and went as far as 62° north latitude; the object being to
reach Ireland and to refit there. The increasing cold frustrated this
plan, and the half-sinking ships staggered southward again in the
direction of Spain.[169]
[Sidenote: Alonso de Leyva wrecked in Mayo,]
[Sidenote: and again in Donegal.]
The 'Rata' was driven, much disabled, into Blacksod Bay, and anchored
off Ballycroy. The sailing-master was Giovanni Avancini, an Italian,
who, with fourteen of his countrymen, being ill-treated by the
Spaniards, stole the ship's only boat and wandered off into the
country, where they were robbed and imprisoned by the 'Devil's Hook's
son' and others of the Burkes. De Leyva then sent men ashore on casks,
who recovered the boat, and the whole ship's company were brought safe
to land. They then entrenched themselves strongly in an old castle near
the sea. Two days later, the 'Rata' was driven on to the beach. A boat
full of treasure, besides such unaccustomed wares as velvet and cloth
of gold, fell into the hands of the natives, and the ill-fated ship
was fired where she lay. Meanwhile the transport 'Duquesa Santa Ana,'
of 900 tons, drifted to the same remote haven. She had 300 or 400 men
on board, who had been specially levied in honour of the Duchess of
Medina Sidonia, but room was somehow made for all De Leyva's people,
and the transport set sail for Spain. The overladen craft had no chance
against a head wind, and was driven into Loughros Bay, in Donegal.
The shelter was bad, the cables parted, and the 'Santa Ana' went on
the rocks; but here, again, no lives were lost. The shipwrecked men
encamped for several days, and heard that the 'Gerona,' one of the
four great Neapolitan galleasses which the luckless Hugo de Moncada
had commanded, was lying in Killybegs Harbour. De Leyva had been hurt
in the leg by the capstan during the confusion on board the 'Santa
Ana,' and could neither walk nor ride. He was carried nineteen miles
across the mountains between four men, and encamped at Killybegs for a
fortnight, while the galeass was undergoing repairs. He despaired of
reaching Spain in such a crazy bark, and determined, if possible, to
land in Scotland. The Spaniards were, in the meantime, dependent on
MacSwiney Banagh for food, and that chief was afraid of bringing famine
on his country. At first, the unbidden guests had beef and mutton, but
afterwards they were obliged to buy horseflesh.[170]
[Sidenote: Alonso de Leyva sails a third time,]
Some of the Irish pressed De Leyva to stay and to be their general
against the English heretics, but he pleaded that he had no commission
to do any such thing. He does, however, seem to have had some idea
of wintering in Ulster, which he abandoned either on account of the
difficulty of getting provisions, or because he saw no chance of
defeating Fitzwilliam, whose arrival in Ulster was constantly expected.
And he may have thought that the MacSwineys were not altogether to be
trusted. The 'Gerona' had been made seaworthy with MacSwiney's help,
and by using the materials of another wreck, but she would not hold
anything like the whole of his people. The bulk of them were willing
to take their chance of a passage to Scotland, and, in the meanwhile,
to make friends with the natives, and to join their fortunes to those
of their shipwrecked countrymen. The galeass originally carried 300
galley-slaves, who could not be dispensed with, and less than that
number of soldiers and sailors combined. It may be therefore assumed
that she put off from Killybegs with not far short of 600 men on board.
Her pilots were three Irishmen and a Scot.
[Sidenote: but is finally lost off Antrim.]
The noble volunteers all shared the fortunes of their chief. The
'Gerona' was a floating castle rather than a ship, built for the
Mediterranean, and for fine weather, and utterly unsuited for the work
required. Nevertheless she weathered Malin Head, and may even have
sighted the Scotch coast. The wind came ahead, or the leaks gained
upon the pumps--no one will ever know exactly what happened. For some
time the fate of Don Alonso was doubtful; but about the beginning of
December it became certainly known that the galeass had gone to pieces
on the rock of Bunboys, close to Dunluce. But five persons, of no
consequence, escaped, nor were any of the bodies identified. Hidalgos
and galley-slaves shared the same watery grave.[171]
[Sidenote: Importance of De Leyva.]
Alonso de Leyva is described as 'long-bearded, tall, and slender, of a
whitely complexion, of a flaxen and smooth hair, of behaviour mild and
temperate, of speech good and deliberate, greatly reverenced not only
of his own men, but generally of all the whole company;' and Philip
said that he mourned his loss more than that of the Armada. It was well
for England that the sovereign who rated Don Alonso so highly had not
given him the supreme command, for the 'brag countenance,' which stood
Lord Howard in such good stead would not then have been allowed to pass
unchallenged. The loss of the 'Gerona' brought mourning into many of
the noblest houses in Spain and Italy. 'The gentlemen were so many,'
says a Spanish castaway, who visited the fatal spot, 'that a list of
their names would fill a quire of paper.' Among them were the Count
of Paredes, and his brother Don Francisco Manrique, and Don Thomas de
Granvela, the Cardinal's nephew.[172]
[Sidenote: Wrecks in Sligo.]
[Sidenote: Great loss of life.]
Three large ships were wrecked on the seaboard immediately to the north
of Sligo Bay. A survivor recorded their failure to double the 'Cabo
di Clara,' owing to a head wind. Erris Head was probably the actual
promontory, and the Spaniards must have thought it was Cape Clear.
Their ignorance of the coast is evident, and it seems certain that
they mistook the north-west corner of Connaught for the south-west
corner of Munster. Cape Clear was well known by name, and they would
have been in no danger after doubling it. As it was, the west coast was
a trap into which they drifted helplessly. Even of those who succeeded
in rounding the Mullet we have seen that few escaped. Of the three who
were lost near Sligo, one was the 'San Juan de Sicilia,' carrying Don
Diego Enriquez, son of the Viceroy of New Spain and an officer of high
rank. They anchored half a league from shore. For four days the weather
was thick, and on the fifth a stiff nor'-wester drove them all aground.
The best anchors lay off Calais, and there was no chance of working
her off shore, for sails and rigging were injured by the English shot.
The beach was of fine sand, but there were rocks outside, and in one
hour the three ships, badly fastened in the best of times, and kept
afloat only by frequent caulking, had completely broken up. Don Diego,
foreseeing this, got into a decked boat with the Count of Villafranca's
son, two Portuguese gentlemen, and more than 16,000 ducats in money and
jewels, and ordered the hatches to be battened down. With a proper crew
she might have reached land safely, but more than seventy despairing
wretches flung themselves into her, and the first great wave swept
them all into the sea. The imprisoned hidalgos had no control over
the boat, which was driven on to the beach bottom upwards. More than
thirty-six hours later the natives came to rifle her, and dragged out
the bodies. Three were dead, and Don Diego expired immediately after
his release. According to the Spanish account more than 1,000 were
drowned altogether, and less than 300 escaped, and this agrees pretty
well with what we learn from English sources. 'At my late being at
Sligo,' says Fenton, 'I numbered in one strand of less than five miles
in length above 1,100 dead corpses of men which the sea had driven upon
the shore, and, as the country people told me, the like was in other
places, though not of like number.'[173]
[Sidenote: The survivors are stripped and robbed by the Irish,]
[Sidenote: who rejoice over their prey.]
[Sidenote: But some are more humane.]
The smallest of the three ships was that which carried Don Martin de
Aranda, who acted as judge-advocate-general or provost-marshal to the
Armada, and who had been ordered by the Duke of Medina Sidonia to hang
Don Cristobal de Avila and Captain Francisco de Cuellar for leaving
their places in the line. The first was actually hanged, and carried
round the fleet at the yard-arm of a despatch boat to encourage the
rest. Cuellar was spared at the provost-marshal's earnest request,
and with him he remained until the loss of the ship. He stood on the
poop to the last, whence he saw hundreds perish and a few reach the
shore astride on barrels and beams, to be murdered in many cases, and
stripped in all, by '200 savages and other enemies,' who skipped and
danced with joy at the disaster which brought them plunder. Don Martin
de Aranda came to Cuellar in tears, both sewed coin into their clothes
and after some struggles found themselves together upon the floating
cover of a hatchway. Covered with blood and injured in both legs,
Cuellar was washed ashore, but Don Martin was drowned. 'May God pardon
him,' says the survivor, and perhaps he needed pardon, for it was he
who had signed the order to kill all the French prisoners after the
fight at Terceiras. Unobserved by the wreckers, Cuellar crawled away,
stumbling over many stark naked Spanish corpses. Shivering with cold
and in great pain he lay down in some rushes, where he was joined by
'a cavalier, a very gentle boy,' who was afterwards discovered to be a
person of consequence, stripped to the skin, and in such terror that
he could not even say who he was. He himself was a mere sponge full
of blood and water, half-dead with pain and hunger; and in this state
he had to pass the night. Two armed natives who chanced to pass took
pity on them, covered them with rushes and grass which they cut for the
purpose, and then went off to take their part in the wrecking. Green
as the covering was, it probably saved Cuellar's life, but at daybreak
he found, to his great sorrow, that the poor, gentle lad was dead.[174]
[Sidenote: Adventures of Francisco de Cuellar.]
[Sidenote: A devout damsel.]
Slowly and painfully Cuellar made his way to what he calls a monastery,
probably the round tower and church of Drumcliff, which is about five
miles from the scene of the shipwreck. He found no living friends in
this ancient foundation of St. Columba, but only the bodies of twelve
Spaniards, hanged 'by the Lutheran English' to the window gratings
inside the church. An old woman, who was driving her cows away for fear
of the soldiers, advised him to go back to the sea, where he was joined
by two naked Spaniards. Miserable as they were, they picked out the
corpse of Don Diego from among more than 400, and buried him in a hole
dug in the sand, 'with another much-honoured captain, a great friend
of mine.' Two hundred savages came to see what they were doing, and
they explained by signs that they were saving their brethren from the
wolves and crows, which had already begun their ghastly work. As they
were looking for any chance biscuits which the sea might have cast up
four natives proposed to strip Cuellar, who alone had some clothes,
but another of higher rank protected him. While on his way to this
friendly partisan's village, he met two armed young men, an Englishman
and a Frenchman, and a 'most extremely beautiful' girl of twenty, who
prevented the Englishman from killing, but not from stripping, the
wretched Spaniard. A gold chain worth 1,000 reals was found round his
neck, and forty-five ducats sewn up in his doublet, being two months'
pay received before leaving Corunna. He protested that he was only a
poor soldier, but it was nevertheless proposed to detain him as worth
ransom. Cuellar records, with some complacency, that the girl pitied
him much, and begged them to return his clothes and to do him no more
harm. His doublet was restored, but not his shirt, nor a relic of great
repute which he had brought from Lisbon, and which 'the savage damsel
hung round her neck, saying, by signs, that she meant to keep it, and
that she was a Christian, being as much like one as Mahomet was.' A
boy was ordered to take him to a hut, to put a plaster of herbs on his
wound, and to give him milk, butter, and oatmeal cake.[175]
[Sidenote: A visit to O'Rourke.]
[Sidenote: Cuellar is enslaved by a smith;]
[Sidenote: but escapes to MacClancy.]
Cuellar was directed towards the territory of O'Rourke, narrowly
escaped a band of English soldiers, was beaten and stripped naked by
forty 'Lutheran savages' not easily identified, mistook two naked
Spaniards for devils in the dark, joined them, and at last, after
enduring almost incredible hardships, reached the friendly chief's
house, partly wrapped in straw and fern. O'Rourke had many houses. This
one may have been Dromahaire, near to the eastern extremity of Lough
Gill. It was a castle, and Cuellar calls it a hut, the probability
being that thatched outhouses were generally occupied, and that the
stone keep was little used except for defence. Everyone pitied the
stranger, and one man gave him a ragged old blanket full of lice.
Twenty other Spaniards came to the same place, reporting a large ship
not far off. Cuellar was unable to keep up with them, and thus failed
to embark on a vessel which was soon afterwards wrecked. All that
escaped the sea were killed by the soldiers. Cuellar then fell in with
a priest, who was dressed in secular habit for fear of the English, and
who spoke in Latin. Following his directions the Spaniard sought the
castle of MacClancy, a chief under O'Rourke who held the country south
and west of Lough Melvin, and who was a great enemy of Queen Elizabeth.
A savage whom he met enticed him to his cabin in a lonely glen. The man
turned out to be a smith, who set his prisoner to blow the bellows.
This lasted for eight days, and as the old man of the sea refused to
let Sindbad go, so did this old man of the mountains declare that
Cuellar should stay all his life with him. The Spaniard worked steadily
for fear of being thrown into the fire by this 'wicked, savage smith
and his accursed hag of a wife.' The friendly priest then appeared,
and owing to his exertions, four natives and one Spaniard were sent
by MacClancy to release Cuellar. He found ten of his shipwrecked
countrymen with MacClancy, and everyone pitied him, especially the
women, for he had no covering but straw. 'They fitted me out,' he says,
'as well as they could with one of their country mantles, and during my
stay of three months I became as great a savage as they were.' Cuellar
seems to have been susceptible to female influences, for he remarks
that his host's wife was extremely beautiful and very kind to him, and
he spent a good deal of time in telling her fortune and those of her
fair relatives and friends. This was amusing at first, but when men
and less interesting women began to consult him he was forced to apply
to his host for protection. MacClancy would not let him go, but gave
general orders that no one should annoy him.[176]
[Sidenote: A wild Irish household.]
An account of an Irish household by a foreigner who had lived among
the people for months, and whose sight was not coloured by English
prejudice, is so rare a thing that Cuellar's may well be given in full.
[Sidenote: The men.]
[Sidenote: The women.]
[Sidenote: The Irish rob the Spaniards, but save their lives.]
'The habit of those savages is to live like brutes in the mountains,
which are very rugged in the part of Ireland where we were lost. They
dwell in thatched cabins. The men are well-made, with good features,
and as active as deer. They eat but one meal, and that late at night,
oat-cake and butter being their usual food. They drink sour milk
because they have nothing else, for they use no water, though they have
the best in the world. At feasts it is their custom to eat half-cooked
meat without bread or salt. Their dress matches themselves--tight
breeches, and short loose jackets of very coarse texture; over all they
wear blankets, and their hair comes over their eyes. They are great
walkers and stand much work, and by continually fighting they keep the
Queen's English soldiers out of their country, which is nothing but
bogs for forty miles either way. Their great delight is robbing one
another, so that no day passes without fighting, for whenever the
people of one hamlet know that those of another possess cattle or other
goods, they immediately make a night attack and kill each other. When
the English garrisons find out who has lifted the most cattle, they
come down on them, and they have but to retire to the mountains with
their wives and herds, having no houses or furniture to lose. They
sleep on the ground upon rushes full of water and ice. Most of the
women are very pretty, but badly got up, for they wear only a shift
and a mantle, and a great linen cloth on the head, rolled over the
brow. They are great workers and housewives in their way. These people
call themselves Christians, and say Mass. They follow the rule of the
Roman Church, but most of their churches, monasteries, and hermitages
are dismantled by the English soldiers, and by their local partisans,
who are as bad as themselves. In short there is no order nor justice
in the country, and everyone does that which is right in his own eyes.
The savages are well affected to us Spaniards, because they realise
that we are attacking the heretics and are their great enemies. If it
was not for those natives who kept us as if belonging to themselves,
not one of our people would have escaped. We owe them a good turn for
that, though they were the first to rob and strip us when we were cast
on shore. From whom and from the three ships which contained so many
men of importance, those savages reaped a rich harvest of money and
jewels.'[177]
[Sidenote: Wanderings of Cuellar.]
[Sidenote: A narrow escape.]
[Sidenote: A friendly bishop.]
Cuellar helped MacClancy to defend his castle against the Lord Deputy,
and the chief was as unwilling to let him go as the smith had been. He
escaped with four other Spaniards, during the first days of the new
year, and after three weeks' hardship in the mountains found himself
at Dunluce in Antrim, where Alonso de Leyva had been lost. He was
told that his only chance of a passage to Scotland was by some boats
belonging to O'Cahan, which were expected to sail soon. The wound in
his leg had broken out afresh, and he was unable to stand for some
days. His companions left him to shift for himself, and after a painful
walk to Coleraine he found that the boats had gone. There was a
garrison there, and he had to take shelter in a mountain hut, where
some women compassionately nursed him. In six weeks his wound was
well enough to enable him to seek an interview with O'Cahan, but that
chief, who was afraid to help any Spaniard, had gone upon a foray with
the soldiers. 'I was now,' he says, 'able to show myself in the town,
which was of thatched houses, and there were some very pretty girls,
with whom I struck up a great friendship and often visited their house
to converse. One afternoon when I was there, two young Englishmen came
in, and one of them, who was a sergeant, asked me if I was a Spaniard,
and what I did there. I said yes, and that I was one of Don Alonso de
Luzon's soldiers who had surrendered, that my bad leg had prevented me
from going with the rest, and that I was at their service to do their
bidding. They said they hoped soon to take me with them to Dublin,
where there were many Spaniards of note in prison. I replied that I
could not walk, but was very willing to accompany them. They then
sent for a horse, and their suspicions being set at rest, they began
to romp with the girls. The mother made me signs to leave, which I
did very quickly, jumping over ditches and going through thick covert
till I came within view of O'Cahan's castle. At nightfall I followed a
road which led me to a great lagoon.' This was probably Lough Foyle,
and here he was befriended by herdsmen, one of whom, after a visit to
Coleraine, told him that he had seen the two Englishmen 'raging in
search' of him. He kept his counsel, but advised Cuellar to remove into
the mountains. He was conducted to the hiding-place of a bishop, 'a
very good Christian,' who prudently dressed like the country folk. 'I
assure you,' writes the devout Spaniard, 'that I could not restrain my
tears when I came to kiss his hand.' It seems almost certain that this
was Redmond O'Gallagher, papal bishop of Derry and acting Primate, one
of the three Irish prelates who had attended the Council of Trent. He
had twelve other Spaniards with him, and by his help Cuellar managed to
reach Scotland. 'He was a reverend and just man,' says the latter; 'may
God's hand keep him free from his enemies.'
[Sidenote: Final escape of Cuellar.]
Four shiploads of castaways from the Armada were ultimately despatched
from Scotland, and were not molested by the English, to whom they were
no longer dangerous; but Cuellar was wrecked once more near Dunkirk,
and saw 270 of his companions butchered by the Dutch. At last, in
October 1589, fourteen months after his narrow escape from swinging at
the Duke of Medina Sidonia's yard-arm, did this much-enduring man reach
Antwerp, which was then in the hands of Alexander Farnese, and from
thence he wrote the account which has been so largely used.[178]
[Sidenote: More than twenty ships lost in Ireland]
It is not possible to trace the history of every ship lost on the
Irish coast. Bingham, in a letter written when all was over, says
twelve ships were wrecked in his province, which included Clare, and
that probably two or three more foundered about various islands. He
particularly excluded those lost in Ulster and Munster. In a paper
signed by Secretary Fenton the total number of vessels lost is given
as eighteen, but full accounts had not yet come in, and that number
certainly falls short of the truth. Cuellar says that more than twenty
were lost in the kingdom of Ireland, with all the chivalry and flower
of the Armada.[179]
[Sidenote: Great loss of life.]
[Sidenote: Donegal.]
[Sidenote: Connaught.]
[Sidenote: Munster.]
According to Fenton's account 6,194 men belonging to the eighteen ships
whose loss he records, were 'drowned, killed, and taken.' This does not
include those who escaped, nor the men belonging to ships not comprised
in his list. At the end of October the number of Spaniards alive in
Donegal alone was not far short of 3,000. About 500 escaped from
Ulster to Scotland--'miserable, ragged creatures, utterly spoiled by
the Irishry'--and some of their descendants remain there to this day,
and preserve the tradition of their origin. Very few of them reached
Spain, and on the whole, we may believe that the number of subjects
lost to Philip II. out of that part of the fleet which was lost in
Ireland, cannot have been much short of 10,000. 'In my province,' says
Bingham, 'there hath perished at the least 6,000 or 7,000 men, of which
there hath been put to the sword by my brother George, and executed
one way and another, about 700 or 800, or upwards. Bingham spared some
Dutchmen and boys, as probably engaged against their wills, but these
were executed by the Lord Deputy himself when he visited Athlone.
Twenty-four survivors from a wreck were executed at Tralee, but this
was done in a panic, and was quite unnecessary. Munster was indeed too
thoroughly subdued to make the presence of a few Spaniards dangerous.
In Ulster the arm of the Government scarcely reached the castaways
until they were no longer of much importance. Even the native Irish did
not always spare those who had come to deliver them. The MacSwineys
killed forty at one place in Donegal. Plunder was no doubt the object,
as it had been in Tyrawley and in Clare island, but a desire to curry
favour with the Government had also a good deal to say to it. It was
only in those parts of Ulster and Connaught where the power of the
chiefs was still unbroken, that the Spaniards received any kind of
effectual help.[180]
[Sidenote: Tyrone and O'Donnell.]
[Sidenote: The Spaniards powerless.]
Tyrone did what he could for the Spaniards by sending them provisions,
and he bitterly reproved O'Donnell, who with his eldest son had helped
the Government against them. Other O'Donnells joined the strangers,
and the chief does not seem to have carried his country with him.
His MacDonnell wife made no secret of her intention to employ the
foreigners for her own purposes. Tyrone himself was careful not to
commit any overt act, and indeed professed the utmost loyalty, but he
took the opportunity to renew his complaints against Tirlogh Luineach.
Two brothers named Ovington or Hovenden, who were partly in his service
and partly in the Queen's, skirmished with the Spaniards wrecked
in Innishowen and brought most of them prisoners to Dungannon; but
many of their soldiers ran away, and their own good faith was much
suspected. The MacSwineys all helped the Spaniards more or less, and
O'Dogherty complained that they transferred them to his country as soon
as their own had been eaten up. With men and boats he had saved many
hundreds from a wreck, but this was little more than common humanity
demanded. There were at one time about 3,000 Spaniards alive in Ulster.
O'Rourke had given them arms; MacClancy interrupted the communications;
Ballymote, where George Bingham had a house, was burned by the
O'Connors, O'Dowds, and O'Harts, who said they were making way for King
Philip, and it was thought that Sligo must inevitably fall into their
hands. Bingham's vigour disconcerted the plans of the confederates,
and a good many of the Spaniards made their way to Scotland. A few
continued to lurk in different parts of Ireland, down to 1592 at least,
but it is hardly possible to believe, what is so often stated, that
they were in numbers sufficient to leave traces upon the features and
complexions of the natives. Spanish blood there may be in Ireland, but
it is surely more reasonable to attribute it to the commerce which
existed for centuries between a land of fish and a land of wine.[181]
[Sidenote: Wreck in Lough Foyle.]
[Sidenote: Officers ransomed.]
The ship wrecked in O'Dogherty's country was the 'Trinidad Valencera'
of Venice. She had on board about 600 men--Spaniards, Greeks, and
Italians; and of these 400, including more than 100 sick, were brought
to shore, some of them with arms, but 'without even one biscuit.'
'The natives, who are savages,' had retired into the mountains, but
they found some horses at grass, which they killed and ate. They were
attacked by Tyrone's foster-brethren, Richard and Henry Hovenden, who
made much of the glorious victory of 140 over 600. The Spaniards said
that they had surrendered on promise of their lives and of decent
treatment; but that their captors nevertheless stripped them naked and
killed a great many, not more than eighty being reserved as prisoners.
Among these was one who seemed to carry 'some kind of majesty.' This
was probably Don Alonso de Luzon, chief of the tercio or brigade of
Naples, who was distinguished by a pointed beard and a large moustache.
De Luzon with several other officers was brought to Drogheda, where
they were told that those who had plundered them were not Englishmen
but sons of the soil. Don Diego de Luzon and two others died after
their arrival, and several had perished on the road. Don Alonso and
Rodrigo de Lasso, who were both knights of Santiago, were sent to
London for ransom, as well as Don Luis de Cordova and his nephew, the
only prisoners whom Fitzwilliam allowed to live of those which Bingham
had saved. More than fifty others were afterwards sent over, and
something like 800_l._ appears to have been paid by way of ransom for
them all.[182]
[Sidenote: The Irish got the plunder.]
[Sidenote: Small gain to the Queen.]
[Sidenote: Relics and traditions.]
The amount of plunder secured did not at all satisfy expectation. Much
treasure fell into the hands of the Irish, who regarded the wreckage
as a godsend. The small arms and the lighter pieces of artillery were
appropriated in the same way. The larger cannon were not so easily
moved, and a few were recovered by Carew and others. One wedge of gold
found its way to the Queen, and there were rumours of various costly
articles which had been seized by officers or adventurers. The guns
rescued for her Majesty hardly exceeded a dozen, and a few others were
sent into Scotland by the MacDonnells, who also got hold of a good many
doubloons. The relics which have been handed down to us are very few,
but the memory of the invincible Armada is preserved by the names which
have clung to some points of the Irish coast.[183]
[Sidenote: The Armada a crusade.]
[Sidenote: Irish priests on board.]
[Sidenote: Other Irishmen.]
By a strange reading of history it has lately been attempted to divest
the Armada of its religious character. It is very true that some of
Queen Elizabeth's subjects were conspicuous by their loyalty, though
they adhered to the communion of Rome: they were Englishmen first and
Catholics afterwards. But it was against heresy and against the queen
of heresy that Philip shot his bolt. One Spanish poem in honour of
the Armada begins with an invocation of the Virgin 'conceived without
sin,' and ends with some lines about turning the Lutherans into good
Christians. Another poet laments that the wise, powerful, and warlike
island of Britain had been changed from a temple of faith into a temple
of heresy. The land which produced the Arthurs, the Edwards, and the
Henrys, was now, he says, condemned to eternal infamy for submitting
to a spindle instead of the sceptre and sword; and he apostrophises
Elizabeth as anything but a virgin queen, but rather as the wolfish
offspring of an unchaste mother. Lope de Vega, who served in the
Armada, contents himself with calling Philip the Christian Ulysses,
and the Queen of England a false siren; and he avers that faith only
despatched the vast fleet from the Spanish shore. 180 Spanish and
Portuguese friars sailed in the Armada, Franciscans, Dominicans,
Carmelites, Augustinians, and Theatins being all represented; and there
were certainly some Irish ecclesiastics. 'Tomas Vitres' is probably
Thomas White of Clonmel, who became a Jesuit in 1593. There was also a
friar named James ne Dowrough, who originally went to Spain with James
Fitzmaurice, and who was cast upon the coast of Donegal, where the
people paid him much respect. Some few Irish laymen there were also on
board, of whom the most important was a son of James Fitzmaurice, who
died at sea and who was buried with a great ceremonial in Clew Bay. One
or two other Desmond Geraldines are also mentioned. There were a few
who belonged to good families of the Pale, the most important being
Baltinglas's brother, Edmund Eustace. Eustace was reported dead, but
he got back to Spain. Cahil O'Connor, who killed Captain Mackworth,
was another, and he also was afterwards alive in Spain. James Machary,
a native of Tipperary, said he was impressed at Lisbon. On the whole
it is clear that there was no thought at all of a descent on Ireland,
though some Spaniards taken in Tralee Bay said that on board the
Duke of Medina's ship was an Englishman called Don William, a man of
a reasonable stature, bald, and very like Sir William Stanley. But
Stanley had not left the Netherlands, and there were other Englishmen
in the Spanish fleet.[184]
[Sidenote: Rumours from Spain.]
[Sidenote: A tradition.]
As late as February, 1589, Irish merchants spread flattering reports in
Spain. Alonso de Leyva was alive, they said, and held Athlone against
the Lord Deputy with 2,000 men; but an Irish bishop at Corunna said
there were no Spaniards in Ireland, and the tellers of both tales were
arrested until the truth should be known. Norris had recommended that
Irish auxiliaries should be used in retaliating on the coast of Spain,
and when he visited Corunna with Drake they lamented that the advice
had not been taken. 'Had we had either horse on land, or some companies
of Irish kerne to have pursued them, there had none of them escaped.'
There is a tradition in Munster, and the local historian fixes the date
in 1589, that Drake was pursued by Spaniards into Cork harbour, that he
took refuge among the woods in the secluded Carrigaline river, and that
the foreigners sailed round the harbour and departed without being able
to find him. It is not easy to say when this happened, but the place is
called 'Drake's hole' unto this day.[185]
[Sidenote: The last of the Armada.]
The Scotch Government did what it could to get rid of the Spaniards
peaceably, but some were not shipped off until July 1589, and even then
a remnant was left. They hung about the Orkneys, taking stray English
vessels and even committing some murders on Scottish soil. In the
correspondence to which they gave rise Bothwell's name is frequently
mentioned, and they continued to give trouble for some years. The few
who lingered in Ireland could do but little harm, and the years which
followed Philip's great enterprise were unusually quiet.[186]
FOOTNOTES:
[163] Carew to Burghley, July 18 and Aug. 2, 1588; to Walsingham, July
18, Aug. 4 and Sept. 18; to Heneage, July 18 and Aug. 4, all in _Carew_.
[164] Examination of Emanuel Fremoso and Emanuel Francisco, Sept. 12,
1588; James Trant, sovereign of Dingle, to Sir Edward Denny, Sept.
11; Bingham to Burghley, Aug. 26; Ormonde to Mr. Comerford, Sept.
18. Recalde's ship was burned by Drake at Corunna in April 1589;
she had then sixty-eight pieces of brass cannon. See Duro's _Armada
Invencible_, ii. 446. 'Cuando torne' were Recalde's words.
[165] Examination of Juan Antonio of Genoa, Sept. 15; Vice-President
Norris to Walsingham, Sept. 8 and 9; William Herbert to Fitzwilliam,
Feb. 1589; Peter Grant's news under Feb. 28.
[166] Nicholas Kahane to the Mayor of Limerick, Sept. 12; George
Woodloke to the Mayor of Waterford, Sept. 10; Boetius Clancy, sheriff
of Clare, to Bingham, Sept. 6. Mr. James Frost, of Limerick, writes as
follows:--'One ship was driven upon the rocks at a place called Spanish
Point (_Rinn na Spainig_) near Miltown Malbay.... The tradition is that
the other ship was driven ashore at a place called Ballagh-a-line, not
far from Lisdoonvarna. Boetius Clancy of Knockfime, a place one mile
distant from the scene, was sheriff of Clare in that year. He ordered
such of the crew as came alive on the shore to be hanged, and they were
buried in one pit near the church of Killilagh. The place of execution
has been long since called Knockacroghery (the hangman's hill) and
the tumulus of earth heaped over the dead Spaniards is called _Tuaim
na Spainig_. In a few years afterwards, peace being restored between
England and Spain, a request was made to the English Government for
permission to exhume the body of the son of one of the first grandees
of Spain, who had been on board the lost ship, in order to its removal
home for burial. Consent was given, but the body having been placed
with the rest in one grave, could not be found. Clancy was greatly
blamed by all parties for his inhumanity.'
[167] Edwarde Whyte to Walsingham, Sept. 30; Ormonde to Comerford,
Sept. 18.
[168] Edwarde Whyte to Walsingham, with discourse enclosed, Sept. 30;
examination of Don Luis de Cordova, Oct. 1.
[169] _Duro_, i. 34, 44, 200, ii. 374, 440, _ib._ 66-70 for the names
of the noble volunteers, among whom is 'Manuel Paleologo,' with two
followers.--_Froude_, xii. 503.
[170] The most circumstantial account of De Leyva's adventures, so far,
is the deposition, taken on Dec. 29, of James Machary, a Tipperary
man who was on board the 'Santa Ana.' Other particulars are in the
'discourse' sent by E. Whyte to Walsingham on Sept. 30. See also
Fitzwilliam to Burghley, Oct. 27, with the enclosures; _Duro_, i. 171
Gerald Comerford to Bingham, Sept. 13.
[171] Bingham to the Queen, Dec. 3; Fitzwilliam, &c., to the Privy
Council, Dec. 31; _Duro_, ii. 65; advertisement by Henry Duke, Oct. 26.
[172] Machary's examination, Dec. 29, and that of George Venerey, a
Cretan. _Duro_, ii. 66-70, 364. The gentleman-adventurers who sailed
both on the 'Rata' and 'Santa Ana' were doubtless collected on board
the 'Gerona.' Captain Merriman, writing to Fitzwilliam on Oct. 26,
says 260 bodies were washed ashore, as well as certain wine, which
was appropriated by Sorley Boy MacDonnell. A small cove close to the
Giant's Causeway is still called _Port-na-Spania_. There is a local
tradition that the fallen pillars of basalt on the height were knocked
down by the Spanish gunners, who mistook them for Dunluce Castle; but
they were not thinking of bombarding castles just then.
[173] Cuellar's narrative in _Duro_, ii. 342; Sir Geoffrey Fenton to
Burghley, Oct. 28. The following is from Col. Wood Martin's _History
of Sligo_, 1882: 'The largest of the galleons struck on a reef (from
that circumstance called _Carrig-na-Spania_, or the Spaniard's Rock)
situated off the little island of Derninsh, parish of Ahamlish. On the
map of the Sligo coast (A.D. 1609) is placed opposite to this island
the following observation:--"Three Spanish ships here cast away in A.D.
1588."' The bodies lay on Streedagh strand, and cannon-balls and bones
have been cast up there within the last few years.
[174] _Duro_, i. 123, ii. 343-347.
[175] _Duro_, ii. 347-350.
[176] _Duro_, ii. 350-358. The chief who sheltered Cuellar is called by
him Manglana, and in the State Papers MacGlannagh or MacGlannahie. 'The
barony of Rossclogher in Leitrim,' says O'Donovan, 'was the territory
of the family of Mag-Flannchadha, now anglicised MacClancy.'--_Irish
Topographical Poems_, xxxvii. 268.
[177] _Duro_, ii. 358-360. Cuellar calls all the Irish--men and women,
chiefs and kerne--by the same name, 'salvajes.'
[178] The work quoted is _La Armada Invencible_, by Captain Cesareo
Fernandez Duro of the Spanish navy, Madrid, 1885. For my first
acquaintance with this book, which deserves translation, I am indebted
to a charming article by Lord Ducie in the _Nineteenth Century_ for
September 1885. Neither Captain Duro nor Lord Ducie can explain the
words 'D. Reimundo Termi Obispo de Times,' nor can I. The Irish word
Termon may have something to do with it, but whatever 'Termi' and
'Times' may mean, 'Reimundo' is good enough Spanish for Redmond. A
year later Bishop O'Gallagher is mentioned in a State paper as 'Legate
to the Pope and custos Armaghnen ... using all manner of spiritual
jurisdiction throughout all Ulster ... these twenty-six years past
and more.' The Spanish captain's prayer was heard till 1601, when
the bishop was killed by the English not far from the place where
Cuellar had kissed his hand. Brady's _Episcopal Succession_, s.v.
_Four Masters_, 1601. Note of Popish bishops, &c. by Miler Magrath,
calendared at Dec. 17, 1590.
[179] From a careful comparison of accounts I venture to distribute the
wrecks as follows:--
1. To the south of Slea Head ('in Desmond' Fenton says);
1. 'Nuestra Señora della Rosa' (945 tons, 26 guns, and 297 men),
between Slea Head and the Blaskets;
1. Deserted and burned near Carrigaholt in Clare;
1. At Dunbeg in Clare;
1. At Trumree in Clare;
1. The 'White Falcon' (500 tons, 16 guns, 197 men), in Connemara;
2. In Clew Bay (of which one was the 'Rata,' 820 tons, 35 guns, 419
men);
1. In Tyrawley;
3. Near Sligo, the 'San Juan de Sicilia,' one of them (800 tons, 26
guns, 342 men);
2. At uncertain places in Connaught;
2. At Killybegs;
1. The transport 'Duquesa Santa Ana' (900 tons, 23 guns, 357 men), at
Loughros Bay;
1. In Boylagh, Donegal;
1. The 'Trinidad Valencera' (1,100 tons, 42 guns, 360 men), on the
Innishowen side of Lough Foyle;
1. The 'Gerona' galeass (50 guns, 290 men), between Dunluce and the Bann.
This makes twenty, and there were probably two or three more lost.
The 'Barca de Amburg' (600 tons, 23 guns, 264 men) sank off the coast
somewhere.
The numbers of men given in this note are from the Spanish official
list (_Duro_, ii. 60), but we know that many were transferred from
one vessel to another. See, besides the authorities already cited,
Fenton's note calendared at Sept. 19, 1588, and Bingham to the Queen,
Dec. 3. Other ships mentioned in Spanish accounts as having been lost
in Ireland are the galleon 'San Juan Battista' (750 tons, 24 guns, 243
men); the 'Anunciada' (703 tons, 24 guns, 275 men), and the transports,
'Gran Grifon' (650 tons, 38 guns, 286 men), and 'Santiago' (600 tons,
19 guns, 86 men).--_Duro_, ii. 328.
[180] Note by Fenton, Sept. 19; Bingham to Fitzwilliam, Sept. 21 and
Oct. 10; to the Queen, Dec. 3; Norris to Walsingham, Sept. 8 and 9;
advertisements from Henry Duke, Oct. 26; Fitzwilliam, Loftus, and
Fenton to the Privy Council, Dec. 31.
[181] Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy Council, Oct. 12, with
twenty enclosures; Fitzwilliam to Burghley, Oct. 27, with six
enclosures; Solomon Farenan to Fitzwilliam, Feb. 18, 1589; Bingham to
Fitzwilliam, Jan. 3, 1592; Fitzwilliam to Burghley, May 9, 1592.
[182] _Duro_, ii. 450 sqq.; examination of Don Alonso de Luzon,
&c., Oct. 13, 1588; Fitzwilliam to Burghley, Dec. 31. Sir Horatio
Pallavicino arranged with Walsingham for the ransoms; see his accounts,
Dec. 1589, No. 85, and Oct. 31, 1591, also G. B. Guistiniano to
Burghley, April 8, 1591. On March 14, 1594, Tyrone made it an article
against Fitzwilliam that neither he nor the Hovendens had been rewarded
for their service.
[183] Bingham to Fitzwilliam, Sept. 21, 1588; Sir W. Herbert to
Walsingham, Dec. 27, 1588; Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy
Council, Dec. 31 and Jan. 30, 1588-9; see also several letters in
_Carew_ from June 2 to Aug. 1, 1589. The most important relic that I
know is a very handsome table preserved at Dromoland; it was washed
ashore near Miltown Malbay, and tradition says that it was 'in the
admiral's cabin;' but Sidonia never went near the coast of Clare.
Lord Inchiquin writes that a letter, supposed to be still extant,
accompanied the table to Dromoland, but that he has been unable to find
it. An iron chest washed ashore near the Giant's Causeway is in Lord
Antrim's possession. The Macnamara family formerly possessed cups, a
watch, crosses, &c., out of the Armada, brought from the Arran Islands,
but these I have been unable to trace; guns have been recovered, but
not many, and the rudder of a ship was cut into gateposts near Westport!
[184] For the poems see _Duro_, i. 237, and ii. 85; examination of
Spaniards taken at Tralee, Sept. 9, 1588; Fitzwilliam to Burghley, Oct.
27, with enclosures; examination of James Machary, Dec. 29, &c.
[185] Fitzwilliam to Burghley, March 14, 1589, with enclosures; Drake
and Norris to the Privy Council, May 7, printed in Barrow's _Life of
Drake_ Smith's _Cork_, i. 216.
[186] Notices in the Calendar of S. P. _Scotland_, especially Oct. 28,
1588.