A briefe relation of the notable service performed by Sir
Francis Drake upon the Spanish Fleete prepared in the
Road of Cadiz: and of his destroying of 100. saile of
barks; Passing from thence all along the coast to
Cape Sacre, where also hee tooke certaine Forts: and
so to the mouth of the River of Lisbon, and thence
crossing over to the Isle of Sant Michael, supprized a
mighty Carack called the Sant Philip comming out of
the East India, which was the first of that kinde that
ever was seene in England: Performed in the yeere
1587.
HER Majestie being informed of a mightie preparation
by Sea begunne in Spaine for the invasion of England,
by good advise of her grave and prudent Counsell thought
it expedient to prevent the same. Whereupon she caused
a Fleete of some 30. sailes to be rigged and furnished
with all things necessary. Over that Fleete she appointed
Generall sir Francis Drake (of whose manifold former
good services she had sufficient proofe) to whom she
caused 4. ships of her Navie royall to be delivered, to
wit, The Bonaventure
wherein himselfe went as General;
the Lion under the conduct of Master William Borough
Controller of the Navie; the Dreadnought under the
command of M. Thomas Venner; and the Rainebow,
captaine whereof was M. Henry Bellingham: unto which
4. ships two of her pinasses were appointed as handmaids. There were also added unto this Fleet certaine
tall ships of the Citie of London, of whose especiall good
service the Generall made particular mention in his
private Letters directed to her Majestie. This Fleete set
saile from the sound of Plimouth in the moneth of April
towards the coast of Spaine.
The 16. of the said moneth we mette in the latitude
of 40. degrees with two ships of Middleborough, which
came from Cadiz
; by which we understood that there was
great store of warlike provision at Cadiz
& thereabout
ready to come for Lisbon
. Upon this information our
Generall with al speed possible, bending himselfe thither
to cut off their said forces and provisions, upon the 19.
of April entered with his Fleet into the Harbor of Cadiz:
where at our first entring we were assailed over against
the Towne by sixe Gallies, which notwithstanding in short
time retired under their fortresse.
There were in the Road 60. ships and divers other
small vessels under the fortresse: there fled about 20.
French ships to Port Real, and some small Spanish
vessels that might passe the sholdes. At our first comming in we sunke with our shot a ship of Raguza of
a 1000. tunnes, furnished with 40. pieces of brasse and
very richly laden. There came two Gallies more from
S. Mary port, and two from Porto Reale, which shot
freely at us, but altogether in vaine: for they went away
with the blowes well beaten for their paines.
Before night we had taken 30. of the said ships, &
became Masters of the Road, in despight of the Gallies,
which were glad to retire them under the Fort: in the
number of which ships there was one new ship of an
extraordinary hugenesse in burthen above 1200. tunnes,
belonging to the Marquesse of Santa Cruz being at that
instant high Admiral of Spaine. Five of them were great
ships of Biskay, whereof 4. we fired, as they were taking
in the Kings provision of victuals for the furnishing of
his Fleet at Lisbon
: the fift being a ship about 1000.
tunnes in burthen, laden with Iron-spikes, nailes, yron
hoopes, horse-shooes, and other like necessaries bound
for the West Indies we fired in like maner. Also we
tooke a ship of 250. tunnes laden with wines for the
Kings provision, which wee caried out to the Sea with
us, and there discharged the said wines for our owne
store, and afterward set her on fire. Moreover we tooke
3 Flyboats of 300. tunnes a piece laden with biscuit,
whereof one was halfe unladen by us in the Harborow,
and there fired, and the other two we tooke in our company to the Sea. Likewise there were fired by us ten
other ships which were laden with wine, raisins, figs,
oiles, wheat, & such like. To conclude, the whole number
of ships and barkes (as we suppose) then burnt, suncke,
and brought away with us, amounted to 30. at the
least, being (in our judgement) about 10000. tunnes of
shipping.
There were in sight of us at Porto Real about 40.
ships, besides those that fled from Cadiz
.
We found little ease during our aboad there, by reason
of their continuall shooting from the Gallies, the for
tresses, and from the shoare: where continually at places
convenient they planted new ordinance to offend us with:
besides the inconvenience which wee suffered from their
ships, which, when they could defend no longer, they set
on fire to come among us. Whereupon when the flood
came wee were not a little troubled to defend us from
their terrible fire, which neverthelesse was a pleasant
sight for us to beholde, because we were thereby eased
of a great labour, which lay upon us day and night, in
discharging the victuals, and other provisions of the
enemie. Thus by the assistance of the Almightie, and
the invincible courage and industrie of our Generall, this
strange and happy enterprize was atchieved in one day
and two nights, to the great astonishment of the King
of Spaine, which bread such a corrasive in the heart of
the Marques of Santa Cruz high Admiral of Spaine, that
he never enjoyed good day after, but within fewe moneths
(as may justly be supposed) died of extreame griefe and
sorrow.
Thus having performed this notable service, we came
out of the Road of Cadiz on the Friday morning the
21. of the said moneth of April, with very small losse not
worth the mentioning.
After our departure ten of the Gallies that were in the
Road came out, as it were in disdaine of us, to make
some pastime with their ordinance, at which time the
wind skanted upon us, whereupon we cast about againe,
and stood in with the shoare, & came to anker within a
league of the towne; where the said Gallies, for all their
former bragging, at length suffred us to ride quietly.
We now have had experience of Gally-fight: wherein I
can assure you, that onely these 4. of her Majesties ships
will make no accompt of 20. Gallies, if they may be alone,
and not busied to guard others. There were never
Gallies that had better place and fitter opportunitie for
their advantage to fight with ships: but they were still
forced to retire, wee riding in a narrow gut, the place
yeelding no better, and driven to maintaine the same,
untill wee had discharged and fired the shippes, which
could not conveniently be done but upon the flood, at
which time they might drive cleare off us. Thus being
victualed with bread and wine at the enemies cost for
divers moneths (besides the provisions that we brought
from home) our Generall dispatched Captaine Crosse into
England with his letters, giving him further in charge to
declare unto her Majestie all the particularities of this our
first enterprize.
After whose departure wee shaped our course toward
Cape Sacre, and in the way thither wee tooke at severall
times of ships, barkes, and Caravels well neere an
hundred, laden with hoopes, gally-oares, pipe-staves, &
other provisions of the king of Spaine, for the furnishing
of his forces intended against England, al which we
burned, having delt favorably with the men and sent
them on shoare. We also spoiled and consumed all the
fisher-boats and nets thereabouts, to their great hinderance: and (as we suppose) to the utter overthrow of the
rich fishing of their Tunies for the same yere. At length
we came to the aforesaid
Cape Sacre, where we went on
land; and the better to enjoy the benefite of the place,
and to ride in harborow at our pleasure, we assailed the
same castle, and three other strong holds, which we tooke
some by force and some by surrender.
Thence we came before the haven of Lisbon
ankering
nere unto Cascais
, where the Marques of Santa Cruz was
with his Gallies, who seeing us chase his ships a shoare,
& take and cary away his barks and Caravels, was content
to suffer us there quietly to tary, and likewise to depart,
and never charged us with one Canon-shot. And when
our Generall sent him worde that hee was there ready to
exchange certaine bullets with him, the marques refused
his chalenge, sending him word, that he was not then
ready for him, nor had any such Commission from his
King.
Our Generall thus refused by the Marques, and seeing
no more good to be done in this place, thought it convenient to spend no longer time upon this coast: and
therefore with consent of the chiefe of his Company he
shaped his course toward the
Isles of the Acores, and
passing towards the
Isle of Saint Michael, within 20. or
30. leagues thereof, it was his good fortune to meete
with a Portugale Carak called Sant Philip, being the
same shippe which in the voyage outward had caried the
3. Princes of Japan, that were in Europe, into the Indies.
This Carak without any great resistance hee tooke,
bestowing the people thereof in certaine vessels well
furnished with victuals, and sending them courteously
home into their Countrey: and this was the first Carak
that ever was taken comming foorth of the East Indies;
which the Portugals tooke for an evil signe, because the
ship bare the Kings owne name.
The riches of this prize seemed so great unto the whole
Company (as in trueth it was) that they assured themselves every man to have a sufficient reward for his travel:
and thereupon they all resolved to returne home for
England: which they happily did, and arrived in
Plimouth the same Sommer with their whole Fleete and this
rich booty, to their owne profite and due commendation,
and to the great admiration of the whole kingdome.
And here by the way it is to be noted, that the taking
of this Carak wrought two extraordinary effects in England: first, that it taught others, that Caracks were no
such bugs but that they might be taken (as since indeed
it hath fallen out in the taking of the Madre de Dios,
and fyreing and sinking of others) and secondly in
acquainting the English Nation more generally with the
particularities of the exceeding riches and wealth of the
East Indies: whereby themselves and their neighbours of
Holland
have bene incouraged, being men as skilfull in
Navigation and of no lesse courage then the Portugals
to share with them in the East Indies: where their
strength is nothing so great as heretofore hath bene
supposed.
