Volume 1

A new and complete collection of voyages and travels / [John Hamilton Moore].

  • John Hamilton Moore
Date:
[1785?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new and complete collection of voyages and travels / [John Hamilton Moore]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1570 '-V-' Treachery of the Mexican Viceroy, Great part of the crew land¬ ed on the A- merican coaft. Other voy¬ agers. But this continued not long ; for the viceroy, fome weeks after, regardlefs of an agreement which he might be inclined to confider as a matter of necef- fity, the Englifh being in abfolute pofleflion of the harbour on his arrival, ordered a fudden attack to be made on Sir John Hawkins’s fleet, while the officers were at dinner, and caufed the Englifh on fhore to be maflacred. In the fea-fight, out of four trading vef- fels 3 were funk. The Minion, Captain Hampton,- was boarded, but the aflailants were repulfed; and the Spanifh vice admiral blown up, after which two veflels were fet on fire, and turned adrift in order to burn the Englifh admiral’s fhip the Jefus, and alfo the Minion, from which they had before fuftered a repulfe ; the former was deftroyed, after having fhifted the commander and the crew on board the Judith; and the latter put to fea and got clear of them. But this efcape infured not fafety to Sir John Haw¬ kins who was diftrefled with the crews of two veflels on board a Angle one, which had not provifions for them, at the fame time that there was every thing to apprehend from the enemy, along whofe coaft they failed ; yet 100 of thefe men chofe to be landed on this hoftile fhore, all of whom except five, perifhed by fword, famine, ficknefs, or fatigue *. The Judith, however, with the remainder of the crew arrived in England, Mr. Drake having had the credit of contributing greatly by his prudent manage¬ ment to the lucky efcape of thofe who were removed from the Jefus on board his own veflel, and conduct¬ ing her under favour of the night from the fcene of aCtion. > This misfortune of Sir John Hawkins, could not but be felt by his relation, who made this period the sera of his refentment to the Spaniards, from whom no reparation could be gotten, as they alledged the Englifh carried on an illicit trade to their coafts, which could not be juftified by the queen of Great Britain f. Befides his refentments to Spain, Drake had his pri¬ vate interefts to gratify, which we fhall find he never loft fight of in all his undertakings, and to which he fometimes even facrificed juftice as will appear in the fequel. Thus ftimulated, he made a voyage in 1570 with two fhips under his command, called the Dragon and the Swan, and in 1571 with the Swan only. Both thefe voyages were undertaken chiefly on his own ac¬ count, but it feems that (experience excepted) they did not turn out much to his advantage. The next year, when the nation Was on the eve of a war with Spain, this adventurer however fitted out the Pafcha a letter of marque of 70 tuns, together with the Swan of 50, commanded by his brother John, having 73 men on board the two veffels, and embarked on another expedition. Theycleared theLand’s Endon the 12th of May, having favourable winds they pafled between Dominica and Guadalupe at the end of June, and, on the 6th of July came in fight of Santa Maria. Thefe veflels whofe deftination was for Nombre de Dios, came on the 15th day of the month to Port Pheafant, which lay at a convenient diftapce for the defigns they had formed, and where Drake intended to build two or three fmall pinnaces, the materials and frame-work of which he had had the caution to take with him. Going on fhore here, he was furprifedto find a plate of lead nailed to a tree, with a few lines engraven on Ijwarned to it by an Englifhman, of the name of Garet, who ynt that coaft. had Ieft that p]ace the day before> The fubftance of what he found fet down there, was to advife him to make no flay, as the Spaniards had by fome means found out that he intended to vifit them in thofe parts. Notwithftanding this friendly advertifcment, Drakej fortifying himfelf as well as he could, refolved to com- pleat the building of his pinnaces. Here he met with one Captain Raufe, who informed him of the fit na¬ tion of the Symerons, a fet of revolted negroes who had fettled themfelves on each fide of the neck of land which feparates Nombre de Dios from Panama, and had become a terror to the Spaniards. This captain being invited by the Englifh commander, agreed to fhare with him the dangers and advantages of the en- terprize wherein he v/as engaged. Accordingly they fet fail together, and having touched at the Hie of Pines on the night of the 28th of July, calling anchor unper¬ ceived under the fhore. Fearing that his men fliould be difpirited from the notions which they had con“ j r.(] -tRCnj^ ceived of the Spaniards being prepared for them; |(rc‘ jyj‘os> Drake refolved on an immediate attack, landed with¬ out oppofition, and poflefled himfelf of the quay; which though fortified with fix large pieces of ord¬ nance, had but one gunner to ferve them. He pre- fently afterwards engaged and defeated the forces drawn together to oppofe him, obliging fuch as he had taken prifoners to conduct him and his people to the gover¬ nor’s houfe, and to the ftorehoufe, where they found treafures to an amazing amount J. Yet the Gene¬ ral, in the midft of his fuccefs was not without his apprehenfions that the retreat of the conquererors might be cut off, if they were not fpeedy in executing and well prepared to enforce it. Their greedy defire of emalfing wealth was plainly an obftacle to his plan p but at lafi, by promifing to lead them to the king’s treafury, where there was more in amount, and yet lefs cumbrous in conveyance ; he thus perfuaded them every one to return with his bar of filver to the mar¬ ket place, where a body of men had been left, who ex- prefled their fears that the enemy might get pofleflion of the boats; but this proved a vain apprehenlion, and the commander led his troops forward, ftill entertain¬ ing the defign of plundering the royal treafury, which, was prefently entered by this adventurous company. But a wound which Drake had received in his leg at the beginning of the engagement, and which he Drabe had hitherto concealed, being now difcovered, he was pointed by a conveyed, to all appearance dead, on board of one of wound, the boats ; the plunderers feeing him in this fituation, were glad to embark at break of day with what trea- fure they could beft carry off, and taking with them a floop they found laden with wines in the harbour, with which and the fruits of the country, they re- frefhed themfelves at the Ifland of Baflimento. From hence the Englifh refolved to return to the Ifle of Pines, were they had left their fhips, and parted from Captain Raufe, the latter not judging it proper to bq any longer in their company. But Drake, who had been cured of his wounds, notwithftanding this refolution of his colleague, fleered along the coaft, and endeavoured to furprifeCarthagena, ^ but convinced by the voluntary information of an old aiarmej, man whom he found alone in a frigate, and by the firing of warning guns, that the enemy was aware of him, he defifted from this dangerous enterprize, but took a fhip of Seville, and two fmall frigates, with letters of advice relative to his expedition, the inter¬ cepting which could not but be ufeful to him in his defigns. Being now defirous of deftroying the Swan, as he qqlC gwa)1 feared that the project would be difagreeable to the deftroyed. officers, who muft be deprived of their commiffions, being feldom at a lofs for artifice, he perfuaded the carpenter to bore holes in her bottom one night, and the next morning having rowed up to her and invited his brother on board, he pretended to be furprifed at the hold filling fo faft with water, and in the end, urged * Sixty-five fell into the Spaniards hands, and were put to the torture, and three burnt alive in the inquifition. Only two of thefe lived to return home. f Sir John Hawkins eftablilhed the (lave trade to the coaft of Guinea. J It is faid that the filver was piled up in bars, the pile in length 70, in breadth 10, and ia feet in height. It was here that the mules bringing the treafure from Panama were ufually unloaded. § A Spanifh gentleman came on board before they failed, to know whether their Englifh arms were poifoned, or whether their Captain was that Drake who had before been on their coafts. To the former queftion he received a negative, to the latter i;a affirmative anfwer.
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