Chart of part of the Philippines; from map taken from a Dutch MS. of 1662 in Dalrymple’s Charts ([London], 1778)
[From copy in Library of Congress]
Commencing, then, our relation, and first as regards the loss of Hermosa Island, I say that it was and is a certain and notorious fact that the Dutch enemy, carried away by his evil desire and damnable intentions (as at the beginning has been stated), attacked Hermosa Island about September in the past year of 1641;[1] and, not being able to capture it, since God had blinded and hindered him, remained more obstinate and hardened in his first object and pretension. Accordingly, he desisted only until the following year, 1642, and about August he returned with a stronger force—so large a one that with it he could overcome ours; and so he seized the island, and made himself master of it, which occurred thus.
Having obtained a foothold, the said Dutch enemy spent part of April and almost all of May in that year, with two champans and a round sailing vessel called “filipote” [i.e., flyboat], near the headland which they call Punta del Diablo, in sight of our forts,[2] awaiting the succor which about that time was to come from Manila. They retired to the river of Tan-Chuy, with a prize which they made there, a small champan from China, which came from that kingdom to Hermosa Island to carry supplies and merchandise; in it was traveling a religious of St. Dominic, in the garb of a Sangley. With this prize, and for another reason, that a sharp north wind suddenly arose, they retired, as I have said, to Tan-Chuy. Just at this time came the succor which the governor of Manila was sending; this ship, arriving at the cape called Santa Catalina, received news that the enemy was expecting it. On this account, our people took refuge in the port of San Lorenzo, as they carried orders from Manila to do so, in case they encountered enemies. They remained there seven or eight days, until, having received information from the island that the enemy had gone away, they left that port, and pursuing their voyage, entered our harbor and fort.
Afterward (but not until the thirteenth of the month of August), one afternoon at nightfall there arrived at our port a little champan, so small that it made the Spaniards wonder at it when they saw it approach. This vessel came, despatched in all haste, from the island that they call Isla de Pescadores, which is twelve leguas from the Dutch fort. In that island is an excellent harbor, in which the great galleons of the Dutch anchor, because they cannot make an entrance at their forts on account of the shallow water there. The little champan came for the sole purpose of warning an infidel Sangley named Gui-nu—who was captain of a champan that had arrived not long before from Manila, to get wheat and cloth to carry to that city—that the Dutch were ready to attack Hermosa Island within four or five days. For this they had five ships, with five hundred Dutchmen, and large supplies of provisions, besides other ships which had not yet arrived; accordingly, word was sent to Gui-nu to leave our port at once. He who wrote and sent the despatch, who was a friend of the said Sangley, told him further to go away at all events, since the enemy was coming, not as in the previous year, but with a much greater force; and therefore it seemed to the writer that the Dutch would seize the island without fail.
With news so reliable as this, and with the information obtained from the Indians, the governor was persuaded of its truth, and that the enemy was returning with the strength and force that was stated; besides, he had heard of it in letters from Manila. Accordingly he immediately took measures to put himself in as good a state of defense as possible. As he was warned by Indians from the river of Tan-Chuy that this year the enemy would come from the east side, where there is a low sand-bank which extends from the sea to the harbor, and on it is a fort or small tower, not very strong, he ordered two pieces of artillery to be placed on an eminence which commands the said tower. While they were finishing this fortification, on the nineteenth of the month of August, the armada of the enemy appeared in sight. This was composed of four large ships, a patache, a large champan, and a flyboat; and besides all these vessels there were four other ships which had not arrived. Each vessel trailed two faluas astern, besides other and smaller boats which they carried for landing their men. On that day when the enemy appeared, about twelve or one o’clock, they stood inshore with the largest ship and the patache, making for the eminence to which our men had retired; but they tried to protect themselves from our artillery behind a small hill that stood there, in order thus to land their men more easily and safely. But as they could not shelter themselves as fully as they wished, on account of the currents which drove the ships beyond the hill, the artillery of our stronghold (the commander of which was Don Martin de Arechaga) compelled the enemy to retire to the sea—the chief pilot of their ship and other men having been killed, as the Dutch afterward told us. The ship being pierced with three or four cannon-balls, they retreated; on seeing this, the governor sent what men he could spare to the lookout station.
That night the enemy remained at anchor in the place to which they had retreated, until the morning of the next day. Then, having held a council, they set sail, and all five of their sailing-vessels directed their course toward the low sand-bank I have mentioned, which is at the eastern side of the island, in order to attempt a landing there, as we had already been informed. But the flagship, on approaching and reconnoitering the narrow entrance, saw that it had a new defense and guard in the tower below. The commander of this tower, who was Alférez Diego Felipe, commanded that a cannon-shot be fired; the enemy, seeing by this that they were recognized and their designs forestalled, and that now they could not gain any advantage there, turned the flagship back toward the sea, where the rest of the ships were waiting for it. Having reached their station, the Dutch commander called another council of the leaders and captains; the upshot of this was, that, considering that their antagonists there were already on the defensive, they should make an attack at once, come what might, as they knew very well, through the Sangleys, how many men we had. For even if they lost many of their own men they were not in absolute need of so many [as they had], and they might kill our men with but little loss; and, the lookout once gained, all would be theirs, for they would have such an advantage over us that they could always injure us, without our being able to harm them.
Their consultation being concluded about one o’clock, they forthwith proceeded to take men with the faluas from two of the ships, which remained with a few men, and with the champan and the flyboat, to guard the entrances to the harbor; and the three other ships, with many small boats which they carried for this purpose, approached near the land, behind the shelter of the hill, where they would be entirely out of the range of the artillery in our stronghold. Having cast anchor there, they proceeded to send ashore their soldiers with the faluas and small boats, landing them at the edge of the sea, because they feared some of our musketeers who were on land. On this account, having embarked the men [in the boats], they rowed rapidly toward the shore, and meanwhile kept the field clear, from the ships, with their artillery and musketry, while their trumpets sounded the attack. Thus they came to land, where our men awaited them—twelve of our Spanish soldiers, eight Pampangos, and thirty or forty Indian natives [i.e., of Formosa] who were bowmen. The governor had resolved to send this number of men into the field, and no more, for he suspected that the enemy would attempt to land more troops in another place. Our men made a brave stand, and went down to the shore, and killed many of the enemy as they landed, on account of the latter coming, as they did, so crowded together in their boats. Thus our men fired their guns at a crowd, and some used three balls at one shot; and the Indian bowmen, who were very skilful, also inflicted much damage on the Dutch, all the more as they came boldly on. They followed out their design until they landed their men; and then, as they were numerous and our men few, they steadily gained the upper hand and wounded some of our soldiers. Thereupon the latter began to retreat slowly, three of their men being seriously wounded—one of whom remained on the field, where he soon died; the two others made their way as best they could to the fort, where one died and the other recovered.
Thus the enemy proceeded to ascend the slope until they succeeded in obtaining possession of the lookout and the height, where they immediately stationed more than three hundred white men; this gave opportunity for the rest of their men, five hundred more, to disembark and come to land. Then they set up their tents, in a place where they could store much food, and immediately sent ashore all their supplies, on the side from which it could not be seen from our forts. Afterward they also sent ashore much artillery and a mortar; of these pieces they carried two to the lookout station—cannons of eight and ten pound balls—and with other small pieces with which they bombarded us, not only in the stronghold, but in the great fort below. Their balls reached everything, on all sides, and everything was visible and uncovered from the lookout station; this was very evident, since a cannon-ball [struck] the parapet of the fosse belonging to the great fort, and passed on, carrying away a stone from the cavalier of San Sebastian in the same fort.