spaniola. Uncertain as to his
reception, Hawkins on his arrival pretended that he had been driven in
by foul weather, and was in need of provisions, but without ready money
to pay for them. He therefore requested permission to sell "certain
slaves he had with him." The opportunity was eagerly welcomed by the
planters, and the governor, not thinking it necessary to construe his
orders from home too stringently, allowed two-thirds of the cargo to be
sold. As neither Hawkins nor the Spanish colonists anticipated any
serious displeasure on the part of Philip II., the remaining 100 slaves
were left as a deposit with the Council of the island. Hawkins invested
the proceeds in a return cargo of hides, half of which he sent in
Spanish vessels to Spain under the care of his partner, while he
returned with the rest to England. The Spanish Government, however, was
not going to sanction for a moment the intrusion of the English into the
Indies. On Hampton's arrival at Cadiz his cargo was confiscated and he
himself narrowly escaped the Inquisition. The slaves left in San Domingo
were forfeited, and Hawkins, although he "cursed, threatened and
implored," could not obtain a farthing for his lost hides and negroes.
The only result of his demands was the dispatch of a peremptory order to
the West Indies that no English vessel should be allowed under any
pretext to trade there.[47]

The second of the great Elizabethan sea-captains to beard the Spanish
lion was Hawkins' friend and pupil, Francis Drake. In 1567 he
accompanied Hawkins on his third expedition. With six ships, one of
which was lent by the Queen herself, they sailed from Plymouth in
October, picked up about 450 slaves on the Guinea coast, sighted
Dominica in the West Indies in March, and coasted along the mainland of
South America past Margarita and Cape de la Vela, carrying on a
"tolerable good trade." Rio de la Hacha they stormed with 200 men,
losing only two in the encounter; but they were scattered by a tempest
near Cartagena and driven into the Gulf of Mexico, where, on 16th
September, they entered the narrow port of S. Juan d'Ulloa or Vera Cruz.
The next day the fleet of New Spain, consisting of thirteen large ships,
appeared outside, and after an exchange of pledges of peace and amity
with the English intruders, entered on the 20th. On the morning of the
24th, however, a fierce encounter was begun, and Hawkins and Drake,
stubbornly defending themselves against tremendou