EliZ, Naval Expeditions, &c of the English, Book I!

J 597*

^ BrafilShip taken .

chad's, with some Impatience, discover-ed at Sea an Eajl-India Carrack, and asmall Brasl-S hip. The Commander ofthe Carrack perceiving, by the firing ofGuns from on Board one of the DutchShips, which set Sail and fired, contraryto the Orders and Instructions given,that an Enemy was near, and presentlyafter discovering the Ships which lay inWait for her, run her on Shoar, justunder the Town, where her Cargo be-ing taken out, with all postible Haste,she was let on Fire, and burnt for twoDays together.

This Carrack (fays Sir Arthur Gor-ges) was a Ship of Eighteen HundredTuns Burden (/) of infinite Wealth,which watering at St. Hellen's, as shecame from the Eajl-Indies, put over toBrajil, and so coasted along the Wejl-Indies, and was freighted with theRiches both of the West and the East.The Brafil -man was taken, and theShip being found leaky, the Goodswere taken out, and put into the Eng-lijh Ships.

As Fortune seemed to declare herselfagainst thsEnglijh, by frustrating so ma-richShip on n y Opportunities of doing great Things,V >oar l and (s) in this Expedition, they now resolv-urn er. ec j ma j- e t p e best of their Way home,

and setting Sail accordingly from St.Michael's, on the ninth of Ocioher, theymet, three Days after, with a violentStorm, which dispersed the Fleet forseveral Days.

Spanish About the fame Time, the SpanijhShips lost in p] ee( - w bich lay at Ferrol, having ,putfrom thence, with great Deligns andPreparations against the Coast of Eng-land, suffered very much in the sameStorm. Several of their Ships werelost, and one was forced into Dartmouth,by Stress of Weather, with her Men al-most famished. According to the Re-port of these Men, the Design of theEnen>y was to have seized some Port inCorstwal, as being most convenient, byReason of it’s Situation, at the Mouthof the Britijh Channel.

This Port, when taken, they pro-posed to have kept, in Order to findthe Englijh a Diversion at Home, andfacilitate their Conveyance of Succours

The Spani-aads run a

from Spain to Ireland, by having a i r97-

Harbour to retreat to, in Case of badWeather. '

The Fleet returned to England, a- ^tJrns'nbout. the End of Ocioher , in a better England.Condition than the Spanijh Ships did,without having lost so much as one singleShip, and only a little ditabled by hav-ing been out so late in the Year. Thusreturned this considerable Fleet, with-out having performed any Action ofNote, or at least none answerable tothe great Expence it cost fitting out.

Sir William Monfon's Account ofthese Transactions, and especially ofthe Escape of the India Fleet, and ofthe Circumstances which attended, andwere the Consequences of it, in whichhe was a principal Actor, containingseveral Particulars not mentioned by o-ther Authors, I shall give it the Readerat large fropn his own Tracts, in Manu-script, in the Cotton Library.

“ The Lord General (says he) hav- SirWiWfi®" ing sent some Men of good Account If" into the Island (of Graciofa) to fee the Escape ." there should be no evil Measures of the Jndfr" offered to the Portuguese, having pas- Fleet ’

" ed his Word to the Contrary, those" Men advertised him of four Sail of“ Ships descried from the Shoar, and“ one of them shewing greater than" theRest, seemed to be a Carrack: My" Lord received great Joy upon this“ News, and divided hisFleet into three" Squadrons, to be commanded by" himself, the Lord Thomas Howard,

“ and Sir Walter Raleigh. The next“ Ship to my Lord of the Queen’s was" the Rainbow, wherein Sir William" Monson went, who receivedDirection“ from my Lord to steer away South,

“ that Night, and if he should meet" with any Fleet, to follow them, Car-“ tying Lights, Shooting off his Ord-“ nance, or any other Sign that he" could make; And, if he met with no“ Ships to direct his Course, the next“ Day, to the Island of St. Michael's ;

“ But promising, that Night, to send“ twelve Ships after him. Sir William“ besought my Lord, by the Pinnace“ that brought him this Direction, that“ above all Things he should have a

“ Care

(/) Sir William Monson fays, but fourteenHundred, and, as for her Loading, fays only, ihewas loaded with Sugar, as we lhall fee below.

(i) CamdeN justly observes, that tho'nothingis more common than odd Changes, and Turns of

Fortune at Sea, yet the Disappointments of theEnglish seemed to have been of their own Creat-ing, and their ill Success chiefly owing to . a pee-vish Spirit among them, which studied to preventor eclipse the Honour of any glorious Attempt