The governor, having returned to the bay of Manila with his galleons, was notified from Macao, before he had disembarked, that four Dutch vessels had been sighted, whose intention was to make prizes and prevent the commerce. He sent two galleons as a convoy for the Portuguese galleys of that port; but when they reached Macao the Dutch vessels were no longer there, the battle having already occurred which was referred to in the preceding document.
The two galleons having been freed [from the convoy] went—after suffering a severe storm in which they were nearly wrecked, from the effects of which they had to be repaired—in accordance with the orders of the governor, to scour all the coast as far as Malaca in pursuit of the Dutch. For that purpose they equipped a patache before leaving Macao, while another patache was despatched from Manila to join them. During the eight months while the voyage lasted, those four boats scoured all the places where the Dutch are accustomed to go, without omitting any save to enter Jacatra[10] itself. They went first to the island of Aynao [i.e., Hainan], which has four cities, and is the pearl fishery of Great China. Then they skirted the coast of Cochinchina, where the king sent to request them, through a Spaniard who was there and the superior of the mission which the fathers of the Society have there, not to attack them, since he was our friend. They did not meddle with his possessions, but, before leaving the coast, captured a junk belonging to the king of Siam, which was coming from Canton laden with silks, earthenware, and tobacco, which was valued at more than fifty thousand ducados.
Between the islands of Pulo Condor and Puluibi, which are opposite the kingdom of Camboja, one of the two pataches met a very large Dutch ship, which it was thought was going to Siam, where the galleons were awaiting it. But it was not so, and it was believed to have gone to Japon.
The raid of the fleet, and especially of those galleons, was feared by all the kings of the coast and by those of Java and Borneo, and they desired peace with the Spaniards. Even the mandarin of Fo-chiu thought that the fleet was going to attack China, and ordered an agent to go to the island of Hermosa to find out about it.
The relief expedition sent to Maluco had the outcome mentioned in the preceding document.
During that year, the old king of Ternate died at Manila. He had been captured at the recovery of the Malucas. He was a Moro, of royal appearance and speech; and died in the Moro belief, of which he had always been most observant. He thoroughly understood the teachings of our holy faith, and said that the only reason that he did not embrace it was because it was not fitting for a king to change his religion because he had been captured.
This document refers to the invasion of the islands by the king of Jolo, in the same manner as the preceding document; and concludes by saying that after he had been punished, the Spaniards began to build three galleys, four brigantines, and forty large caracoas at the order of the governor; and that they must be preparing themselves to take vengeance on the Moros of Borneo, and the Camucones and Joloans, for the damages sustained from them during the preceding years.
[1] La Concepción states (Hist. de Philipinas, v, p. 131) that Tavora desired, through martial ardor, to undertake some important expedition (for which he had made all possible preparations during the winter and spring); and that in a council of war three such were proposed—“to dislodge the Dutch from the port of Taiban [i.e., Taiwan, in Formosa]; to Maluco, from [the fort of] Malayo, to punish their insolent acts; or to obtain satisfaction from Siam for the death of Don Fernando de Silva”—of which the first was chosen. But, through various delays, Tavora’s voyage was begun too late, and defeated by the stormy weather that ensued.
[2] The following note is a part of the original document: