plunder at once the ships which come to this city at that season. This
has really happened, because for almost two months two Dutch ships have
been in the place [13] [where they seized the ships from China. This
has caused much apprehension in this city--_V.d.A._] which last year
furnished so powerful a fleet; for then it had galleons with which
to defend itself. Now it has none, because six galleons were sent
to other islands in order that the injuries that they had received
in the late battle might be repaired. On the eleventh of October a
furious hurricane overtook the ships and, [since they had been pierced
by balls in the battle--_marginal note in MS.; also in V.d.A_.] they
parted in the middle and sank in the sea. The twenty-four pieces of
artillery which the galleons carried--four in each galleon--were lost
with the ships. They were, however, neither very large nor of much
value. Most of the people escaped by swimming, or upon some rafts;
but as many as four hundred persons, including Spaniards, Indians,
and Chinese, were drowned. And some of those who had escaped from the
storm by means of the rafts perished from hunger out at sea, after the
storm subsided. In this event the justice of God was evident, because
it is said that that many had embarked upon these galleons with their
concubines, purposely to live with them in the holds of the ships,
without fear of either God or man; therefore our Lord permitted men and
galleons to run aground. [Not only was the city deprived of these six
ships, but] it must be added the information received from his Majesty
that the fleet of galleons formed in Cadiz to come here, by way of the
cape of Buena Esperança, had been sent toward Saboya [_i.e._, Savoy]
to impede the expedition of Count Mauricio to that dukedom. This city,
seeing itself thus deprived of the forces that it had and of those
that it expected, resolved at once to build six galleons and some
galleys; this they are doing with all speed. But as these ships have
not yet been finished (and cannot be very soon) they were worthless