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In the course of his services against the Moors he had been twice taken prisoner, and both times ransomed by the king. In a former return voyage from the East Indies, he was driven upon the Baxos or sands of India, near the coast of Sofala, being then captain of a carak which was lost, and himself fell into the hands of the infidels on shore, who kept him in a long and rigorous captivity.
Narrative of the Destruction of a great East India Carak, in 1594, written by Captain Nicholas. Downton . In the latter end of the year 1593, the right honourable the earl of Cumberland, at his own charges and those of his friends, fitted out three ships of equal size and rates, having each the same quantity of provisions and the same number of men.
Among others taken at the entrenchment, were a Portuguese called Vincent Fonseca, purser of the carak, with two of her cannoneers, one a German, and the other a Hollander; who, refusing to give any account voluntarily of what was asked, were threatened with torture, and then confessed that within fifteen days three other caraks would certainly arrive at the same island, there being five caraks in the fleet at their departure from Goa, the Buen Jesus admiral, Madre de Dios, San Bernardo, San Christophoro, and Santa Cruz, that now on fire.
At this place Sir John Burrough was informed, that they had no expectation of any fleet coming from the West Indies; but that only three days before his arrival, a carak had passed by from the East Indies for Lisbon, and that there were four more behind all of one convoy.
They lay in this manner from the 29th of June to the 3d of August, when Captain Thomson in the Dainty had first sight of the huge carak called the Madre de Dios, one of the greatest belonging to the crown of Portugal. Having the start of the rest, and being an excellent sailor, the Dainty began the combat something to her cost, by the slaughter and hurt of several of her men.
Their going from us served no purpose, and was a misfortune, as they omitted joining us when appointed, and we also missed them when they might have been of much service. The 13th of June we fell in with a mighty carak from the East Indies, called Las cinquellagues, or the five wounds. The May-Flower was in sight of her before night, and I got up with her in the evening.
They displayed a painting of a mighty carak, having six masts, with sails and shrouds, and having armed horsemen on board . In May 1523, Antonio de Britto, the Portuguese governor of the Molucca isles, sent Simon de Bru to discover the passage from thence by the island of Borneo to Malacca.
When we were at the worst, by Gods providence our spritsail-yard with the sail and ropes, which were fast entangled with the spritsail-yard of the carak, were so burned that we fell away, with the loss of some of our sails. The Exchange also, being farther aft and more distant from the fire, was more easily cleared, and fell off abaft.
The title of this article at large in Hakluyt is, A brief relation of the notable service performed by Sir Francis Drake, upon the Spanish fleet prepared in the road of Cadiz; and of his destroying 100 sail of barks; passing from thence all along the coast of Spain to Cape Sacre, where also he took certain forts; and so to the mouth of the river of Lisbon; thence crossing over sea to the isle of St Michael, where he surprised a mighty carak called the St Philip, coming from the East Indies, being the first of that kind ever seen in England.
Once more, having great respect for him, and willing to mend his fortune, the king had given him the conduct of this huge carak, in which he went from Lisbon as admiral of the India fleet, and had returned in that capacity, but that the viceroy embarked in the Bon Jesus, and assumed that rank in virtue of his late office.
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