willingly gave him, after which he departed
without doing any injury, for which the inhabitants were very thankful,
praising his courtesy and faithfulness to his promise. The earl came
likewise at that time to Fayal, where at the first they begun to resist
him; but by reason of some controversy among themselves, they let him
land, when he razed the castle, throwing all the cannon into the sea,
and took with him certain caravels and ships that lay in the road, with
all such provisions as he wanted, and then departed. Thereupon, the king
caused the principal actors in that transaction to be punished, and went
thither a company of soldiers, which went from Tereera, with all kind of
warlike ammunition and great shot, rebuilding the cattle the better to
defend the island, and no more trusting to the Portuguese inhabitants.

The 9th of October 1589[381], there arrived in Tereera fourteen ships
from the Spanish West Indies, laden with cochineal, hides, gold, silver,
pearls, and other rich wares. When they departed from the harbour of the
Havannah, they were fifty in company; of which eleven sunk in the
channel [of Florida] by reason of foul weather, and all the rest were
scattered and separated from each other in a storm. Next day there came
another ship of the same fleet, which sailed close under the island
endeavouring to get into the road; when she was met by an English whip
that had not above three cast pieces [of ordnance], while the Spaniards
had twelve. They fought a long while together, which we in the island
could distinctly see. The governor of the island sent out two boats
filled with musketeers to aid the Spanish ship; but before they could
get up to her assistance; the English had shot her below water, so that
we saw her sink into the sea with all her sails up, and she entirely
disappeared. The Englishmens boat saved the Captain and about thirty
others, but not one pennyworth of the goods, which were to the value of
200,000 ducats, in gold, silver, and pearls. All the rest of the crew
were drowned, to the number of about fifty persons, among whom were some
friars and women, whom the English could not save. The English set all
the people they had saved on shore, and then sailed away. The 27th of
the same month of October 1589, these fourteen ships sailed from
Tercera, for Seville; and on coming to the coast of Spain, they were all
taken by some English ships that watched for them, two only excepted
which made their