rd.
Fenton, who was in command of two vessels, was attacked by a Spanish
squadron between Brazil and the River Plate, and the battle continued
by moonlight until one of the Spaniards was sunk. The Spanish
historian adds that Fenton might have sunk another of the enemy's
ships, but refrained because there were several women on board.

Lozana in his _History_ mentions a revolution in Paraguay in 1555,
which was headed by an Irishman named Nicholas Colman. This
revolution was quickly suppressed by the Spanish viceroy, Yrala, but
Colman led a second revolution in 1570, when Captain Rigueline was
governor of Guayra. The mutineers named Colman for their chief, put
their treasures into canoes, and floated down the Parana until their
boats were capsized by some rapids, probably the falls of Apipe in
Misiones. The viceroy, on hearing of the revolt, sent troops to bring
back the fugitives, and the latter were treated with unusual
clemency. Lozana describes Colman as a daring, turbulent buccaneer.
For fifteen years he seems to have played an important part in
Guayra; his subsequent fate is unknown.

In 1626 an expedition commanded by James Purcell, an Irishman,
established itself on the island of Tocujos, in the mouth of the
Amazon.

Captain Charles O'Hara was sent by Governor Arana from Montevideo in
March, 1761, to destroy the old landmarks of Rio Negro and Ching
between the dominions of Portugal and Spain. The officer next under
him was Lieutenant Charles Murphy, afterwards governor of Paraguay.
This expedition suffered great hardships.

Several of the expeditions of the privateers of the eighteenth
century sailed from Ireland. Dampier, a skilful navigator, went on a
cruise to intercept the Spanish galleons returning from the River
Plate with booty supposed to be worth L600,000 sterling. He sailed
from Kinsale in September, 1703, with two vessels, and no doubt
amongst the crews were many Irishmen. It was on this expedition that
Alexander Selkirk, a Scotch sailor, was put on shore at Juan
Fernandez in 1704, where he remained until rescued by Captain Rogers,
who commanded the _Duke_, a vessel of 320 tons, which sailed from
Cork on September 1, 1708, touched by chance at Juan Fernandez, and
found the original of Defoe's remarkable story, _Robinson Crusoe_,
who presented a wild appearance dressed in his goatskins.

In 1765 Captain Macnamara, with two vessels called the _Lord Clive_
and the _Ambuscade_, mounting between them