To this fortification is added another, and of no less importance, the necessity of which was made evident by warnings; and the plan of its structure was thought out by experience. For, having noted in less than fifty years the repeated ravages caused in this port, on the north side, by the violence of the sea when driven by the north winds—which indicated its entire destruction in the future—the superior government decided to construct a stable barrier, by which the so great damage that was feared might be prevented. This was carried out by the engineer then in charge, by constructing in the water a barrier of stone and mortar, large enough to be able to resist such attacks, and of height equal to that of the highest tides, on a foundation of pile-work and beams. This work extended from the point of the Ribera, on the side which was endangered, until it reached the northern tower of the curtain which is mentioned in the preceding paragraph—that is, the entire length of Cavite. Upon this breakwater he raised a parapet with its banquette, in which were formed the bastions, demi-bastions, flanks and curtains, as this line gave opportunity, and in the plan of Cavite they are indicated; but all these works were at the level of the water. For its greater permanency, command was given to cast into the water outside, at the foot of the pile-work, a number of stone-heaps; since these are always multiplying themselves, an evident benefit has resulted.
The arms and supplies for the maintenance of these forts are those which here are scheduled.
Artillery, mounted and dismounted, in the port of Cavite, with all that is necessary for its handling
| Bronzecannons | Caliber | Iron cannons | Caliber | ||
| 10 | 1 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 2 | 43 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 3 | 9 | 3 | ||
| 1 | 4 | 21 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 46 | 6 | ||
| 26 | 8 | 25 | 8 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 35 | 10 | ||
| 15 | 12 | 15 | 12 | ||
| 4 | 14 | 8 | 14 | ||
| 1 | 16 | 1 | 16 | ||
| 19 | 18 | 41 | 18 | ||
| 10 | 25 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 7 | 30 | ||||
| 2 | 35 | ||||
| 2 | 40 | ||||
| 1 | stone-mortar, of 300 libras. | ||||
| 109 | bronze cannons. | 257 | iron cannons. | ||
Military supplies kept in reserve, independent of those used in actual service
| 2 | esmerils of bronze, of 8-onza caliber. |
| 4 | small iron cannon, of the same caliber. |
| 101 | swivel-guns, with 216 chambers and quoins, of iron. |
| 16,905 | iron cannon-balls, suitable for the said artillery. |
| 207 | bar-shots of iron, “diamond point.” |
| 67 | iron crowbars. |
| 22 | iron angelots.[4] |
| 190 | iron grenades. |
| 142 | muskets. |
| 221 | match-lock arquebuses. |
| 16 | guns, some with bayonets. |
| 9 | pistols. |
| 1 | blunderbuss. |
| 6,672 | balls corresponding to these weapons—2,910 of iron, 62 angel—[i.e., double-headed] shot, and the rest of lead. |
| 480 | hand-weapons—Turkish swords, broadswords, cutlasses [machetes], lances, pikes, halberds, partisans, half-moons, spears, languinatas, and spontoons. |
| 400 | arrobas of gunpowder, kept in reserve. |
The fighting men of the said port of Cavité and its fortress (who are in one body, just as the above-mentioned supplies are considered collectively) comprise three companies of Spanish infantry—one commanded by the warden, another by the sargento-mayor, and another by a captain—with 180 soldiers in all, with their leading officers and minor posts. There is also a captain of artillery, with twenty-four artillerymen; the deputy of the castellan; three orderlies; two carpenters for the gun-carriages of the artillery; and one military notary. There is, besides, a company of Pampango infantry with its master-of-camp, sargento-mayor, and other officers, with two hundred and twenty regular soldiers, one hundred and twenty of whom are assigned to work as sawyers. All the officers and soldiers, both Spaniards and Pampangos (except the warden and the notary) receive a suitable ration of rice and their pay in cash monthly. The wages amount to 11,500 pesos, and the rations to 3,084 fanegas of rice. These are furnished from the royal treasury and the storehouses in Manila, according to the list here set down.
Officers: The warden, 100 pesos; the sargento-mayor, 25 p.; one captain of Spanish infantry, 15 p.; the alferezes, each 4 p.; the sergeants, each 3 p.; one captain of artillery, 15 p.; the deputy of the castellan, 15 p.; three orderlies, each 6 p.; one military notary, 8 p.; the Pampango master-of-camp, 10 p.; the sargento-mayor of that people, 6 p., 4 t.; the alférez, sergeant, and adjutant of the said nation, each 2 p., 4 t.
Soldiers: The Spanish soldiers, each 2 pesos; the pages, standard-bearers, drummers, and fifer, each 2 p.; the artillerymen, each 2 p.; two carpenters for the artillery, each 2 p.; minor posts in the Pampango company—standard-bearer, fifer, and drummer—each [blank] p., 6 t.; 220 Pampango soldiers, each 1 p., 2 t. Of the Pampangos the following receive extra pay, with the title of sawyers: three each, 4 p.; another, 2 p., 4 t.; another, 2 p.; and eighteen others, each 1 p., 4 t.