a. There is also remitted an account of
the voyage and its events. That fortified place is now open for your
Majesty's advantage; [44] and although its chief captain sent me no
request for aid, I know that it is necessary to send the same, as well
as to pacify the king of Terrenate. It is very important to understand
how desirable it is for that stronghold to prosper, as it is of the
greatest advantage for all Nueva Espana. Consequently, I have been
exceedingly troubled by the non-arrival of reenforcements from Nueva
Espana during the past two years. A large number of troops I have
assigned to several settlements, as I have already written at greater
length. In the shortest time possible I will send aid to Maluco;
and from time to time I shall advise what is done in this respect.

Your Majesty has already been informed how the English pirate [45] set
out for Maluco and the Xabas [Java]. In Maluco he formed a friendship
with the king of Terrenate, to whom he promised to return in a short
time with more forces. Consequently, I have considered how much more
reason there is to believe that they cannot return by the strait of
Magallanes--since I know that that strait is well guarded, and because,
since they have gone through it, both Piru and Nueva Espana are warned;
they could gain nothing in the expedition, and it would certainly
be lost. No one but the pirate himself knows the route which he took
and the channel which he followed to Maluco; and therefore no efforts
were made to check him. If Maluco should be considered in England as
of great value, and as a stronghold which can be taken and held with a
few men, then they would feel bound to place a large force in it. Your
Majesty should do much for its defense. These considerations impress me
so strongly that, if I were supplied with more troops and artillery, I
could by no means imagine a more necessary task. I will do what I can,
however, in your royal service, although it is not under my charge.

In my opinion, the spices should be sent from Maluco to Panama,
a voyage very safe and not too long. In this way the ships which
conduct it to Panama may touch at Nueva Espana and leave there the
amount necessary for that kingdom, and in Panama, what is needed for
Piru, the kingdom of Tierra Firme and the new kingdom of Granada. From
the port of Panama, where the ships coming from Maluco anchor, it is
but five or six leagues' journey by land to the river of Chagre. From
there