SECTION LXII.
All this second day, and the third day and night, our captaine and company susteined the fight, notwithstanding the disadvantage where with they fought; the enemie being ever to wind-ward, and wee to lee-ward, their shott much The disadvantage of ships to lee-ward. damnifying us, and ours little annoying them; for whensoever a man encountreth with his enemie at sea, in gayning the weather gage, hee is in possibilitie to sinke his contrary, but his enemie cannot sinke him; and therefore And the best remedie. hee which is forced to fight with this disadvantage, is to procure by all meanes possible to shoote downe his contraries masts or yards, and to teare or spoyle his tackling and sayles; for which purpose, billets of some heavy wood fitted to the great ordinance, are of great importance. And so are arrows of fire, to bee shott out of slur-bowes, and cases of small shott, joyned two and two together, with peeces of wyer, of five or sixe ynches long, which also shot out of muskets are of good effect, for tearing the sayles or cutting the tackling.
Some are of opinion that crosse barres and chaine-shot are of moment for the spoyling of masts and yards; but experience dayly teacheth them not to be of great importance, though neere at hand, I confesse, they worke great execution; but the round shott is the onely principall and powerfull meane to breake mast or yard.
The Spaniards fore-mast thrice shot through.
And in this our fight, the admirall of the Spaniards had his fore-mast shot through with two round shott, some three yardes beneath the head; had either of them entred but foure ynches further into the heart of the mast, without all doubt it had freed us, and perhaps put them into our hands. The third day, in the after-noone, which was the 22nd of June 1594, according to our computation, and which I follow in this my discourse, our sayles being torne, our mastes all perished, our pumpes rent and shot to peeces, and our shippe with fourteene shott under water and seven or eight foote of water in hold; many of our men being slaine, and the most part of them which remayned sore hurt, and in a manner altogether fruiteles, and the enemie offering still to receive us a buena querra, and to give us life and libertie, and imbarkation for our countrey;—our captaine, and those which remayned of our company, were all of opinion that our best course was to surrender our selves before our shippe suncke. And so by common consent agreed the second time to send a servant of mine, Thomas Sanders, to signifie unto mee the estate of our shippe and company: and that it was impossible by any other way to expect for hope of deliverance, or life, but by the miraculous hand of God, in using his Almighty power, or by an honourable surrender: which in every mans opinion was thought most convenient. So was I desired by him to give also my consent, that the captaine might capitulate with the Spanish generall, and to compound the best partido he could by surrendring our selves into his hands, upon condition of life and libertie. This hee declared unto me, being in a manner voyd of sence, and out of hope to live or recover; which considered, and the circumstances of his relation, I answered as I could, that hee might judge of my state, readie every moment to give up the ghost, and unable to discern in this cause what was convenient, except I might see the present state of the shippe. And that the honour or dishonour, the welfare or misery was for them, which should be partakers of life. At last, for that I had satisfaction of his valour and true dealing in all the time hee had served me, and in correspondence of it, had given him (as was notorious) charge and credit in many occasions, I bound him, by the love and regard hee ought me, and by the faith and duty to Almighty God, to tell me truely if all were as he had declared. Whereunto hee made answere, that hee had manifested unto mee the plaine and naked truth, and that hee tooke God to witnesse of the same truth; with which receiving satisfaction, I forced my selfe what I could to perswade him to annimate his companions, and in my name to intreate the captaine and the rest to persevere in defence of their libertie, lives, and reputation, remitting all to his discretion: not doubting but he would be tender of his dutie, and zealous of my reputation, in preferring his liberty, and the liberty of the company, above all respects whatsoever. As for the welfare hoped by a surrender, I was altogether unlikely to be partaker thereof, death threatning to deprive me of the benefit which the enemie offered; but if God would bee pleased to free us, the joy and comfort I should receive, might perhaps give me force and strength to recover health.
Which answere being delivered to the captaine, hee presently caused a flagge of truce to be put in place of our ensigne, and began to parley of our surrendry, with a Spaniard, which Don Beltran appointed for that purpose, from the poope of the admirall, to offer in his name, the conditions before specified; with his faithful promise and oath, as the king generall, to take us a buena querra, and to send us all into our owne countrey. The promise hee accepted, and sayd that under the same hee yeelded, and surrendred himselfe, shippe, and company. Immediately there came unto me another servant of mine, and told me that our captaine had surrendred himselfe, and our shippe; which understood, I called unto one Juan Gomes de Pineda, a Spanish pilote, which was our prisoner, and in all the fight we had kept close in hold, and willed him to goe to the generall Don Beltran de Castro from mee, to tell him that if he would give us his word and oath, as the generall of the king, and some pledge for confirmation, to receive us a buena querra, and to give us our lives and libertie, and present passage into our owne countrey, that we would surrender ourselves and shippe into his hands; otherwise, that he should never enjoy of us nor ours, any thing but a resolution every man to dye fighting.
With this message I dispatched him, and called unto me all my company, and encouraged them to sacrifice their lives fighting and killing the enemie, if he gave but a fillip to any of our companions. The Spaniards willed us to hoise out our boate, which was shott all to peeces, and so was theirs. Seeing that he called to us to amaine our sayles, which we could not well doe, for that they were slung, and wee had not men inough to hand them. In this parley, the vice-admirall comming upon our quarter, and not knowing of what had past, discharged her two chase peeces at us, and hurt our captaine very sore in the thigh, and maimed one of our masters mates, called Hugh Maires, in one of his armes; but after knowing us to be The English surrender. rendred, hee secured us: and we satisfying them that wee could not hoise out our boate, nor strike our sayles, the admirall layd us abourd; but before any man entred, John Gomes went unto the generall, who received him with great curtesie, and asked him what we required; whereunto he made answere that my demand was, that in the Kings name, he should give us his faith and promise to give us our lives, to keepe the lawes of fayre warres and quarter, and to send us presently into our countrey; and in confirmation hereof, that I required some pledge: whereunto the generall made answere: that in the Kings Majesties name, his master, hee received us a buena querra, and swore by God Almightie, and by the habit of Alcantara (whereof he had received knighthood, and in token whereof hee wore in his breast a greene crosse, which is the ensigne of that order), that he would give us our lives with good entreatie, and send us as speedily as he could into our owne countrey. In confirmation whereof, he took of his glove, and sent it to mee as a pledge.
With this message John Gomes returned, and the Spaniards entred and tooke possession of our shippe, every one crying, Buena querra, buena querra! oy por mi, maniana por ti:[235] with which our company began to secure themselves.
The generall was a principall gentleman of the ancient nobilitie of Spaine, and brother to the Conde de Lemos, whose intention no doubt was according to his promise; and therefore considering that some bad intreaty, and insolency, might be offered unto me in my shippe, by the common souldiers, who seldome have respect to any person in such occasions, especially in the case I was, whereof hee had enformed himselfe: for prevention, hee sent a principall captaine, brought up long time in Flaunders, called Pedro Alveres de Pulgar, to take care of me, and whilest the shippes were one abourd the other, to bring me into his ship; which he accomplished with great humanitie and courtesie; despising the barres of gold which were shared before his face, which hee might alone have enjoyed if he would. And truely hee was, as after I found by tryall, a true captaine, a man worthy of any charge, and of the noblest condition that I have knowne any Spaniard.
The mildnes of a generall after victorie.
The generall received me with great courtesie and compassion, even with teares in his eyes, and words of great consolation, and commaunded mee to bee accommodated in his owne cabbine, where hee sought to cure and comfort mee the best he could: the like hee used with all our hurt men, six and thirtie at least. And doubtlesse, as true courage, valour, and resolution, is requisit in a generall in the time of battle, so humanitie, mildnes, and courtesie, after victorie.