BEing vnder the hight of 36. degrees, or afore the riuer of Lisbone vpon the tenth of Aprill. our Admirall Iacob Van Hemsterk and his coun­sell determined and fully re­solued, to enter into the said riuer withall our shippes to assaile and spoile the Caracts & Gallyons lying there, but being cer­tainely aduertised that the Carackts were gon and that the Gallyons being 8. or 9. were wholy vnrigged & their ordinance on shoare, so as it would bee two monthes before they could bee ready, the aforesaid resolution was for that time staied; & the rather for that diuers English and French shippes comming out of Saint Lucar & Cales, brought vs certaine newes that not long before their comming forth, fifteene Spanish [Page] shippes of warre of Saint Lucar and Cales, had put to sea and were gone to the straights of Gi­braltar, being eleuen Gallions and the rest smal­ler merchants ships as then made men of war: Whereupon we resolued to follow and finde thē out, but the winde being at East, wee met a Floshinger called Loy Sailemaker that came out of the straights the 22. of Aprill and shewed vs that the night before hee had beene in companie with the Spanish fleete, and that in the mor­ning finding himselfe alone without company, hee supposed they had taken their course for Cales for with an easterlie winde they might come out of the straights. Vpon the 24. of Aprill the winde comming westerly wee past close by the barre of Saint Lucar and Bay of Cales, but could not heare that the Gallions had put in ther, for wee were resolued to set vpon those Gallyons that lay within that Bay: But the same day hauing otherwise determined wee sailed for­wardes to the straights of Gibraltar intending to finde out those Gallions or Spanish Nauie and to assaile them. Vpon the 25 of Aprill com­ming before the towne of Tangier vpon the coast of Barbary lying in the mouth of the straights, and finding the Gallions not there, the Admiral sent for his Counsell abourd his shippe, where it was resolutely determined, that if the Spa­nish Nauie were in the Bay of Gibraltar they [Page] would set vpon them, although it were in their owne hauen and vnder shot both of the towne and Castle, and to end wee tooke order in what sort to assaile them, which was first our Admi­rall with Captaine Lambert Hindrickson of Rot­terdam being Rereadmirall should set vpon and bourd the Spanish Admirall and our Vice Ad­mirall and Captaine Bras of Horne should fight with the Spanish Vice Admirall and so euery one in order: At last comming to the Bay of Gi­bralter and finding the Spanish army there, pre­sently wee began with Gods helpe to proceede in our resolution in such order as time and place required, where wee found 21. shippes amongst which were some Frenchmen Emdeners and o­ther Merchants shippes, vpon our approach the Spanish Admira'l wayed Anchor and went neerer the town and lay by foure other Gallions but the Vice admiral lay stil hauing a bourd 450. men, as the prisoners after certified vs, the Ad­mirall had 100. Caueliers out of the towne that voluntarily came abourd to help him although hee was well prouided of men before, all this notwithstanding and although he had th'aduan­tage of th'ordnance of the towne and castels yet our Admirall and Captaine Lambert of Ro­terdam valiantly bourded him, and the rest of our ships aswell as they could set vpon the rest of the Gallions, and also vpon the Spanish Vice [Page] Admirall; And after wee had fought in that most furious assault both with ordinance and forceable bourding their Ships 4 howers or thereabouts by Gods helpe we got the victory, all the Gallions being spoiled batterd and burnt were driuē on ground & amōgst the rest the Admiral of 800 tonns, called S. Augustine wherin the generall called Don Iohn Alveres Dauila borne in Astorga was slaine, beeing an olde experien­ced Souldiour that had serued at Sea in Don Iohn de Austria his time, also the Vice Admirall was slaine and the Coronell of the Souldiors and all the Captaines of their Nauie, the Galli­ons and the rest of the Spanish ships were pre­sently burnt downe to the water, whereof two did driue on shore but so spoyled that they were altogether vnseruiceable, thi'n signes, streamers and pendants of the Admiral, Vice Admirall and other Gallions we tooke with vs and some other pillage, but by reason of the terrible fyer in the Spanish Vice Admirall and other Galli­ons that were on fire and ranne on ground wee could not bring any Ships or Ordnance away, for we were in great daunger of fire our selues, & diuers of vs had work enough to do to quench the fire that had gotten into thē, but God of his mercie preserued vs. Of all the men in the Spanish armie but fewe escaped, for the Bond of Gibralter shewed as if it had bin sowed with [Page] Spaniards that leapt ouer-boord, & those that we took confessed that they were 4000. men in the Nauie. We tooke 50. prisoners, one where­of was the Generalls sonne called Iohn Alueres Dauila Captaine of the Gallion called S Au­gustine. In this fight we lost our valiant Ge­nerall Iacob Van Hemsterk, who with an hono­rable and braue resolution vndertooke this fight and with the aide of the Vice Admirall Cap­taine Lambert of Rotterdam, and Captaine Peter Williamson brauely ouercame & by gods helpe vanquished there enemie. The 26. of A­prill we brought our ships from before the town and castell, for with their continual shooting they did vs much hurt, and being without their reach wee manned out some of our boates and sente, them to the burnt ships which lay vpon the shore, which the spaniards on land perceiuing wente themselues to set thadmiralls ship on fire, which lay all shotte and torne vpon the strande, and so they did that which we ment to haue doon. In this fight there was at least 8000. greate shotte discharged and was hardily & furiously fought, being fearefull and terrible to behould when the spanish gallions began to burne, especially when fire came to their powder, it shewed as if newe clouds and lightning had risen out of the sea and mounted into the skie by a sailer called Gouert an English man but gaue himselfe out for one of [Page] Embden, that was taken prisoner by the Spa­nish general and set at liberty vpon our approach to bee aduised and counselled by him what were best to bee don: wee were aduertised that the Admirall would not beleeue wee durst be so bold to bourd him in the Kings Bay or hauen, and es­pecially vnder the shot of the towne and Castle of Gibraltar, which contrary to their expectation wee made them feele. The Spanish Generall had certaine aduice before of our comming how many shippes of warre wee had and with pro­uant shippes and Souldiours. Amongst other thinges that wee tooke wee found the Kinges secret instructions signed with the King of Spaines owne hand Ioel Rey whereby we per­ceiue what vnaccustomed tyranny the said King had commaunded him to execute and to torment the naturall borne inhabitantes of the nether lands especially the Hollanders and Zelanders and all their adherents, so that other nations by this comm [...]ssion were not altogether exempted. The 27. of Aprill wee set saile and put out of the bay of Gibraltar, and made toward the coast of Barbary, first going to Chuta and entered so far into that bay that they shotte at vs both from the towne and other places of the shore, there the Portugalles in great numbers gott vppon their horses, fearing to bee dealt withall as they were at Gibraltar: but because of the vnfitnes and bad [Page] security of the place, we sayled further to the bay of Titnan five Miles from Chuta to rigge our ships for that many of them were vnfurnished of Boresprits, Masts, Sailes, Cordage and other things, and had beene shotte through and fired in bourding the Spanish Gallions: and comming beefore Titnan (a place vnder the Turks and Moores commaund) wee were very welcome vnto them; and vpon the 28. of April the gouer­nor with many Turkish gētlemen came abourd our ships bidding vs welcome offering vs all fa­vour and friendship hee could aforde vs, and to aide vs withall wee stoode in neede off for our wounded men or otherwise: hee and all his com­pany and country seeming to bee glad of the vic­tory which (by Gods helpe) we had obtained a­gainst the Spaniards. The fourth of May at Titnan sixe miles from Chuta vpon the coast of Barbary wee new rigged and prepared our ships (which were sore battred) of all necessaries, staying Gods pleasure for an Easterly winde to passe the straights, and once againe to seeke after our enemies, deuiding our Fleet into foure squadrons, the Admirall beeing accompanied with seuen other shippes of warre and the like in euery squadron. The Admirall Mounsieur Hemsterk that was slaine was a very wise and well experienced man, who with greate paine, labour and industry had beene twice in the could [Page] Streights of Weygattes, and at the East Indies, where in his last voyage he ouercame and took the great rich Carackts comming from Malacho in China, with whome of good will and affection toward him many men ventured their liues in this voyage, as amongst others Ioris Van Spil­berg that hath beene both in the East and West Indies and imployed in this Fleete as Commisa­ry, and one of the Counsell of warre, generall captaine of the Zeland Souldiers, and diuerse other captaines.