mfiture of their enemies; and the Spaniards were
filled with a proportionate degree of despondency, as they reflected to
what extent their coasts and their commerce would be exposed to the
predatory incursions of the corsairs. Philip was especially anxious in
regard to the safety of his possessions on the African coast. The two
principal of these were Oran and Mazarquivir, situated not far to the
west of Algiers. They were the conquests of Cardinal Ximenes. The former
place was won by an expedition fitted out at his own expense. The
enterprises of this remarkable man were conducted on a gigantic scale,
which might seem better suited to the revenues of princes. Of the two
places Oran was the more considerable; yet hardly more important than
Mazarquivir, which possessed an excellent harbor,--a thing of rare
occurrence on the Barbary shore. Both had been cherished with care by
the Castilian government, and by no monarch more than by Philip the
Second, who perfectly understood the importance of these possessions,
both for the advantages of a commodious harbor, and for the means they
gave him of bridling the audacity of the African cruisers.[1276]

In 1562, the king ordered a squadron of four and twenty galleys, under
the command of Don Juan de Mendoza, to be got ready in the port of
Malaga, to carry supplies to the African colonies. But in crossing the
Mediterranean, the ships were assailed by a furious tempest, which
compelled them to take refuge in the little port of Herradura. The fury
of the storm, however, continued to increase; and the vessels, while
riding at anchor, dashed against one another with such violence, that
many of them foundered, and others, parting their cables, drifted on
shore, which was covered far and wide with the dismal wrecks. Two or
three only, standing out to sea, and braving the hurricane on the deep,
were so fortunate as to escape. By this frightful shipwreck, four
thousand men, including their commander, were swallowed up by the waves.
The southern provinces were filled with consternation at this new
calamity, coming so soon after the defeat at Gelves. It seemed as if the
hand of Providence was lifted against them in their wars with the
Mussulmans.[1277]

[Sidenote: WAR ON THE BARBARY COAST.]

The Barbary Moors, encouraged by the losses of the Spanish navy, thought
this a favorable time for recovering their ancient possessions on the
coast. Hassem, the dey of Algiers, in particular, a warli