Throughout our entire order, especial care is taken in all matters respecting your Majesty, and we shall still continue this, beseeching our Lord to protect your Majesty many years for us, as He may see is fitting for the welfare of His church and of the kingdoms of your Majesty. Manila, July 8, 1601.
Diego Garcia, visitor of the Society of Jesus.
Letter from the Fiscal to Felipe III
Sire:
I, the licentiate Geronimo de Salazar y Salcedo, fiscal for your Majesty in the royal Audiencia and Chancilleria of the Philipinas Islands, say that, as it has been heard in the islands that your Majesty has done them the favor of appointing Don Pedro de Acuña as governor and captain-general, and president of the royal Audiencia, this has greatly pleased and satisfied them, on account of the good reputation which he has of being an excellent soldier, and not at all self-seeking. Therefore his arrival is desired, because it is very necessary for all and [illegible in MS.] for the matters of war, in which many mistakes have been made up to the present time—which I will not mention, however, since the remedy is so soon expected with the arrival of Don Pedro de Acuña. If this had occurred a year ago, it is certain that a great misfortune would have been avoided which these islands suffered, and which was as follows.
On the sixteenth of October of the year 1600 just past, there entered the little bay of Aluay, which is in these islands, near the entrance to them, two vessels, which, from some people who went on board of them, were found to belong to strangers. After having robbed some vessels they came toward the port of Cavite, which is two leguas from this city, and is the place where vessels anchor. It was decided that some ships should be fitted out in the aforesaid port—namely, a ship built in the island of Cebu, called the "Sant Diego," which belonged to some private persons; a galicabra called the "Sant Bartolome," which belongs to your Majesty; a galley of twenty benches, also belonging to your Majesty; and a pataje belonging to some Portuguese from Malaca, who were in the port. [47]
It seemed to Don Francisco Tello, governor and captain-general of these islands and president of the royal Audiencia, and to the doctor Antonio de Morga and the licentiate Cristoval Tellez de Almacan, auditors therein, that it would be well, in order that the ships might be got ready in the best way and as quickly as possible, for the aforesaid Dr. Antonio de Morga to go to Cavite for that purpose, and so he went there early in November. Later, desiring to go as commander-in-chief of the expedition, he asked for that office from the president, who proposed it to the licentiate Cristoval Tellez de Almacan, desiring him to secure it through a session of the Audiencia, but the latter opposed it. I afterward spoke to him of the lack there was of auditors, and of some other matters, and suggested to him to write about this and let each one give his opinion. Yet, although the said president agreed to do so, he did not, but secretly gave the title of commander-in-chief of the fleet to the said Dr. Antonio de Morga, although your Majesty had here Don Juan Ronquillo, who was receiving a salary as commander-in-chief of the galleys, and who was a veteran soldier, together with many others who have well approved themselves on the occasions for service which have arisen. The doctor, fearing that the president might change his mind, made haste to leave the port; and, although he could have had the galeota fitted out, he did not do so. It was understood that the reason given was that Don Juan Ronquillo said that it should not go out because he was commander-in-chief of the galleys for your Majesty, and that the right to go in the galeota could not be taken from him. Likewise, although he could have taken the pataje from Malaca, for which he had received some supplies and artillery at your Majesty's expense, he did not wait for it; and some say that friends of the doctor said that he ought not to take the pataje, because the Portuguese on it said that he should not, although the victory would have been to their account.
So on the twelfth of December he set out from Cavite for the port of Mariveles, which is seven leguas distant, and there [MS. illegible] the flagship which was the ship "Sant Diego;" and on the following day, the thirteenth, at eleven or twelve o'clock of a very black night, he left the port of Mariveles, without informing his admiral's ship, which was the galicabra, and in which sailed as admiral the captain Juan de Alcega. However, after the flagship had been gone more than an hour, the other ship saw it by accident, and went after it. At daybreak our flagship recognized that of the enemy, which, together with its admiral's ship, was between the islands of Anacebu and Fortun. On account of the roughness of the weather, they were unable to unite; so the enemy's flagship kept up into the wind to wait for ours, which gained the windward of it and closed with it under full sail, while the admiral's ship of the enemy took to flight.
Meanwhile the two flagships were fighting. For each man of the enemy our ship had four Spaniards—not to mention the Indians and negroes, who helped very much—and a great deal of artillery, powder, and munitions and instruments of war; and they destroyed the enemy to such an extent that as many of our men as wished to do so entered it and took the banners and standards and other things belonging to the enemy, without having anyone appear on it, for they had retired to the bow. At this point our admiral's ship arrived, and with its artillery and arquebuses did some damage to the Dutch flagship; and our men on it, especially Alonso de Mansilla, the sargento-mayor's adjutant, called aloud, telling the others not to do them any damage, but to pass on to the admiral's ship of the enemy, because their flagship had already surrendered to your Majesty; whereupon our admiral's ship went in pursuit of the Dutch admiral's ship, which was more than two leguas away. The two flagships remained thus over three hours more, besides the two during which they had already been together. The enemy did not fight, and on our ship there was no one to order or govern, or command anyone to pass to the other ship. Then it was said that our ship was going to the bottom, and so loudly that the enemy heard it and took courage again. In our ship there was no one to command what was to be done, so that it did go to the bottom. There escaped on mattresses and on shields, and by swimming, Dr. Antonio de Morga and [illegible in MS.] other persons; but more than as many Spaniards again were lost, and more than a hundred Indians and negroes. The best artillery that there was in these islands, which had been taken from the fortresses for this purpose, was also utterly lost, besides all that the vessel carried, which was a great deal. That same day the admiral, Juan de Alcega, captured the Dutch admiral's ship, and sent its men to this city.
Then it was that they were found to be Dutch. They called themselves vassals of Mauricio, Prince of Orange and Count of Nasau; and they bore a patent, a copy of which is subjoined. The president thought it well to send after the enemy's flagship, and for this purpose he ordered that our admiral's ship should go, with Admiral Juan de Alcega as commander; and that the Dutch vessel should go as admiral's ship, with Captain Juan Tello de Aguirre as admiral, who had had the position over the infantry in our admiral's ship. They went where they were ordered, but did not find a trace of the Dutch flagship. The commander of this was Oliver van Noordt, and in command of the admiral's ship was Lanverto Viesman. They were heretics who, with other ships, had set out from the port of Nostradamus [i.e., Amsterdam] in Olanda, on the twelfth of September in the year 98; and had come by the Canaria Islands and by Brasil, through the Strait of Magallanes and along the coast of Chile, to these islands.