WHEREIN IS SHOWED THE DAY AND TIME OF OUR DEPARTURE FROM THE COAST OF
AFRICA, WITH THE DAY AND TIME OF OUR ARRIVAL IN THE WEST INDIES, ALSO
OF OUR TRADE AND TRAFFIC THERE, AND ALSO OF THE GREAT CRUELTY THAT THE
SPANIARDS USED TOWARDS US, BY THE VICEROY HIS DIRECTION AND
APPOINTMENT, FALSIFYING HIS FAITH AND PROMISE GIVEN, AND SEEKING TO
HAVE ENTRAPPED US.
All things being made in a readiness at our General his appointment,
upon the 3rd day of February, 1568, we departed from the coast of
Africa, having the weather somewhat tempestuous; which made our passage
the more hard, and sailing so for the space of twenty-five days, upon
the 27th March, 1568, we came in sight of an island called Dominique,
upon the coast of America, in the West Indies, situated in fourteen
degrees of latitude, and two hundred and twenty-two of longitude. From
thence our General coasted from place to place, ever making traffic
with the Spaniards and Indians, as he might, which was somewhat hardly
obtained, for that the king had straitly charged all his governors in
those parts not to trade with any. Yet notwithstanding, during the
months of April and May, our General had reasonable trade and traffic,
and courteous entertainment in sundry places, as at Marguerite,
Corassoa, and elsewhere, until we came to Cape de la Vela, and Rio de
la Hacha (a place from whence all the pearls do come). The governor
there would not by any means permit us to have any trade or traffic,
nor yet suffer us to take in fresh water; by means whereof our General,
for the avoiding of famine and thirst, about the beginning of June was
enforced to land 200 of our men, and so by main force and strength to
obtain that which by no fair means he could procure; and so recovering
the town with the loss of two of our men, there was a secret and
peaceable trade admitted, and the Spaniards came in by night, and
bought of our negroes to the number of 200 and upwards, and of our
other merchandise also. From thence we departed for Cartagena, where
the governor was so strait that we could not obtain any traffic there,
and so for that our trade was near finished, our General thought it
best to depart from thence the rather for the avoiding of certain
dangerous storms called the huricanoes, which accustomed to begin there
about that time of the year, and so the 24th of July, 1568, we departed
from thence, directing our course north, leaving the islands of Cuba
upon our right hand, to the eastward of us, and so sailing towards
Florida, upon the 12th of August an extreme tempest arose, which dured
for the space of eight days, in which our ships were most dangerously
tossed, and beaten hither and thither, so that we were in continual
fear to be drowned, by reason of the shallowness of the coast, and in
the end we were constrained to flee for succour to the port of St. John
de Ullua, or Vera Cruz, situated in nineteen degrees of latitude, and
in two hundred and seventy-nine degrees of longitude, which is the port
that serveth for the city of Mexico. In our seeking to recover this
port our General met by the way three small ships that carried
passengers, which he took with him, and so the 16th of September, 1568,
we entered the said port of St. John de Ullua. The Spaniards there,
supposing us to have been the King of Spain's fleet, the chief officers
of the country thereabouts came presently aboard our General, where
perceiving themselves to have made an unwise adventure, they were in
great fear to have been taken and stayed; howbeit our General did use
them all very courteously. In the said port there were twelve ships,
which by report had in them in treasure, to the value of two hundred
thousand pounds, all which being in our General his power, and at his
devotion, he did freely set at liberty, as also the passengers which he
had before stayed, not taking from any of them all the value of one
groat, only we stayed two men of credit and account, the one named Don
Lorenzo de Alva, and the other Don Pedrode Revera, and presently our
General sent to the Viceroy to Mexico, which was threescore leagues
off, certifying him of our arrival there by force of weather, desiring
that forasmuch as our Queen, his Sovereign, was the King of Spain his
loving sister and friend, that therefore he would, considering our
necessities and wants, furnish us with victuals for our navy, and
quietly to suffer us to repair and amend our ships. And furthermore
that at the arrival of the Spanish fleet, which was there daily
expected and looked for, to the end that there might no quarrel arise
between them and our General and his company for the breach of amity,
he humbly requested of his excellency that there might in this behalf
some special order be taken. This message was sent away the 16th of
September, 1568, it being the very day of our arrival there. The next
morning, being the 17th of the same month, we descried thirteen sail of
great ships; and after that our General understood that it was the King
of Spain's fleet then looked for, he presently sent to advertise the
General hereof of our being in the said port, and giving him further to
understand, that before he should enter there into that harbour, it was
requisite that there should pass between the two Generals some orders
and conditions, to be observed on either part, for the better
contriving of peace between them and theirs, according to our General's
request made unto the Viceroy. And at this instant our General was in
a great perplexity of mind, considering with himself that if he should
keep out that fleet from entering into the port, a thing which he was
very well able to do with the help of God, then should that fleet be in
danger of present shipwreck and loss of all their substance, which
amounted unto the value of one million and eight hundred thousand
crowns. Again, he saw that if he suffered them to enter, he was
assured they would practise all manner of means to betray him and his,
and on the other side the haven was so little, that the other fleet
entering, the ships were to ride one hard aboard of another; also he
saw that if their fleet should perish by his keeping them out, as of
necessity they must if he should have done so, then stood he in great
fear of the Queen our Sovereign's displeasure; in so weighty a cause,
therefore, did he choose the least evil, which was to suffer them to
enter under assurance, and so to stand upon his guard, and to defend
himself and his from their treasons, which we were all assured they
would practise, and so the messenger being returned from Don Martine de
Henriquez, the new Viceroy, who came in the same fleet, and had
sufficient authority to command in all cases both by sea and land in
this province of Mexico or New Spain, did certify our General, that for
the better maintenance of amity between the King of Spain and our
Sovereign, all our requests should be both favourably granted and
faithfully performed; signifying further that he heard and understood
of the honest and friendly dealing of our General towards the King of
Spain's subjects in all places where he had been, as also in the said
port; so that to be brief our requests were articled and set down in
writing, viz.--
1. The first was that we might have victuals for our money and license
to sell as much wares as might suffice to furnish our wants.
2. The second, that we might be suffered peaceably to repair our
ships.
3. The third, that the island might be in our possession during the
time of our abode there, in which island our General, for the better
safety of him and his, had already planted and placed certain ordnance,
which were eleven pieces of brass; therefore he required that the same
might so continue, and that no Spaniard should come to land in the said
island having or wearing any kind of weapon about him.
4. The fourth and the last, that for the better and more sure
performance and maintenance of peace, and of all the conditions, there
might twelve gentlemen of credit be delivered of either part as
hostages.
These conditions were concluded and agreed upon in writing by the
Viceroy and signed with his hand, and sealed with his seal, and ten
hostages upon either part were received. And farther, it was concluded
that the two Generals should meet and give faith each to other for the
performance of the promises. All which being done, the same was
proclaimed by the sound of a trumpet, and commandment was given that
none of either part should violate or break the peace upon pain of
death. Thus, at the end of three days all was concluded, and the fleet
entered the port, the ships saluting each other as the manner of the
seas doth require. The morrow after being Friday, we laboured on all
sides in placing the English ships by themselves and the Spanish ships
by themselves; the captains and inferior persons of either part
offering and showing great courtesy one to another, and promising great
amity upon all sides. Howbeit, as the sequel showed, the Spaniards
meant nothing less upon their parts. For the Viceroy and the governor
thereabout had secretly on land assembled to the number of one thousand
chosen men, and well appointed, meaning the next Thursday, being the
24th of September, at dinner time to assault us, and set upon us on all
sides. But before I go any further, I think it not amiss briefly to
describe the manner of the island as it then was, and the force and
strength that it is now of. For the Spaniards, since the time of our
General's being there, for the better fortifying of the same place,
have upon the same island built a fair castle and bulwark very well
fortified; this port was then, at our being there, a little island of
stones, not past three foot above water in the highest place, and not
past a bow's shot over any way at the most, and it standeth from the
mainland two bow-shots or more, and there is not in all this coast any
other place for ships safely to arrive at; also the north winds in this
coast are of great violence and force, and unless the ships be safely
moored in, with their anchors fastened in this island, there is no
remedy, but present destruction and shipwreck. All this our General,
wisely foreseeing, did provide that he would have the said island in
his custody, or else the Spaniards might at their pleasure have but cut
our cables, and so with the first north wind that blew we had had our
passport, for our ships had gone ashore. But to return to the matter.
The time approaching that their treason must be put in practice, the
same Thursday morning, some appearance thereof began to show itself, as
shifting of weapons from ship to ship, and planting and bending their
ordnance against our men that warded upon the land with great repair of
people; which apparent shows of breach of the Viceroy's faith caused
our General to send one to the Viceroy to inquire of him what was meant
thereby, who presently sent and gave order that the ordnance aforesaid
and other things of suspicion should be removed, returning answer to
our General in the faith of a Viceroy that he would be our defence and
safety from all villainous treachery. This was upon Thursday, in the
morning. Our General not being therewith satisfied, seeing they had
secretly conveyed a great number of men aboard a great hulk or ship of
theirs of nine hundred tons, which ship rode hard by the Minion, he
sent again to the Viceroy Robert Barret, the master of the Jesus--a man
that could speak the Spanish tongue very well, and required that those
men might be unshipped again which were in that great hulk. The
Viceroy then perceiving that their treason was thoroughly espied,
stayed our master and sounded the trumpet, and gave order that his
people should upon all sides charge upon our men which warded on shore
and elsewhere, which struck such a maze and sudden fear among us, that
many gave place and sought to recover our ships for the safety of
themselves. The Spaniards, which secretly were hid in ambush on land,
were quickly conveyed over to the island in their long boats, and so
coming to the island they slew all our men that they could meet with
without any mercy. The Minion--which had somewhat before prepared
herself to avoid the danger--hailed away, and abode the first brunt of
the three hundred men that were in the great hulk; then they sought to
fall aboard the Jesus, where was a cruel fight, and many of our men
slain; but yet our men defended themselves, and kept them out: so the
Jesus also got loose, and, joining with the Minion, the fight waxed hot
upon all sides; but they having won and got our ordnance on shore, did
greatly annoy us. In this fight there were two great ships of the
Spaniards sunk and one burnt, so that with their ships they were not
able to harm us; but from the shore they beat us cruelly with our own
ordnance in such sort that the Jesus was very sore spoiled, and
suddenly the Spaniards, having fired two great ships of their own, came
directly against us; which bred among our men a marvellous fear.
Howbeit, the Minion, which had made her sails ready, shifted for
herself without consent of the General, captain, or master, so that
very hardly our General could be received into the Minion; the most of
our men that were in the Jesus shifted for themselves, and followed the
Minion in the boat, and those which that small boat was not able to
receive were most cruelly slain by the Spaniards. Of our ships none
escaped save the Minion and the Judith, and all such of our men as were
not in them were enforced to abide the tyrannous cruelty of the
Spaniards. For it is a certain truth, that whereas they had taken
certain of our men at shore, they took and hung them up by the arms
upon high posts until the blood burst out of their fingers' ends; of
which men so used there is one Copstowe and certain others yet alive,
who, through the merciful Providence of the Almighty, were long since
arrived here at home in England, carrying still about with them (and
shall to their graves) the marks and tokens of those their inhuman and
more than barbarous cruel dealing.