r
of the forts of Terrenate, to whom your Majesty has granted the office
of captain-general because of the death of Governor Don Juan de Silva,
until a proprietary governor is provided. All the rest of the fleet
returned to the port of Cavite. The bad treatment received by the
galleons from the many volleys, the sailors, soldiers, and artillery
aboard them, and the dead and wounded, your Majesty can ascertain,
if so pleased, from the charts accompanying this letter.

May God give your Majesty many most happy victories for His honor
and glory and the welfare of all Christianity. Such may be expected,
since in a land so destitute as this, and by means so weak as these
now, His Divine Majesty was pleased to destroy the greatest fleet
from Olanda ever seen in these districts; and at a juncture when, if
the fleet sent by your Majesty by way of the cape of Buena Esperanca
arrives safely, strong hopes may be entertained that it will drive
that enemy from sea and land, because he has lost many men and ships,
and more than ninety pieces of artillery. The best and largest of the
cannon were taken from his fortresses, and he will have difficulty
in replacing them. Although three pataches were prepared to take the
usual help to the forts of Terrenate, the enemy did not allow them to
sail from the port of Cavite. Considering the need and stress that
the forts were in, and that they had only sufficient food to last
until the end of September, as the castellan wrote, I ordered all the
champans possible to be collected and prepared with great haste in
Oton, eighty leguas from this city, and to be laden with rice, meat,
wine, and other supplies. As champans are but insecure craft, and badly
managed, inasmuch as they are manned by Sangleys, I sent some sailors
to serve as pilots. Eight champans were prepared, of which six reached
their destination, besides one despatched from Zebu. By all possible
means I managed to succor those forts. They were made very happy by
the help that reached them--for they were quite out of rice--and by
the hopes that I gave them of the speedy sailing of a ship laden with
food, clothing, and money. Thus the forts were provided sufficiently
to enable them to await the help that was to be sent in the ship.

The viceroy of Nueva Espana despatched two advice-boats which reached
these islands, early in February and in March. They brought your
Majesty's papers for Don Juan de Silva, which the royal Audiencia
recei