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Updated: June 11, 2025
The greatest and strongest ships of the whole nauy she sent vnto Plimmouth vnder the conduct of the right honorable Lord Charles Howard, lord high Admirall of England, &c. Vnder whom the renoumed Knight Sir Francis Drake was appointed Vice-admiral. The number of these ships was about an hundreth.
During our march to this place, Generall Drake with the whole fleet was come into Cascais, and possessed the towne without any resistance: many of the inhabitants at their discouery of our nauy, fledde with their baggage into the mountaines, and left the towne for any man that would possesse it, till Generall Drake sent vnto them by a Portugall Pilot which he had on boord, to offer them all peaceable kindnesse, so farre foorth as they would accept of their King, and minister necessaries to all the army he had brought; which offer they ioyfully imbraced, and presently sent two chiefe men of their towne, to signifie their loyalty to Don Antonio, and their honest affections to our people.
The 20. of Iune being Sunday, we came before Cadiz very early in the morning, and in all this time as yet, the whole Nauy had not lost either by sicknesse or by any other maner of wayes sixe men to my knowledge: as for the Dutch company, I am not able precisely to say what happened there, for that they were no part of our charge to be looked vnto, but were a regiment entire of themselues, and by themselues to be prouided for, either for their diet, or for the preservation of their healths by phisicke.
Now to shew how the same is likely to prooue very profitable and beneficiall generally to the whole realme: it is very certaine, that the greatest iewell of this realme, and the chiefest strength and force of the same, for defence or offence in marshal matter and maner, is the multitude of ships, masters and mariners, ready to assist the most stately and royall nauy of her Maiesty, which by reason of this voyage shall haue both increase and maintenance.
At the same time the Spanish Fleete was escried by an English pinasse, captaine whereof was M. Thomas Fleming, after they had bene aduertised of the Spaniards expedition by their scoutes and espials, which hauing ranged along the coast of Spaine, were lately returned home into Plimmouth for a new supply of victuals and other necessaries, who considering the foresayd tempest, were of opinion that the nauy being of late dispersed and tossed vp and downe the maine Ocean, was by no means able to performe their intended voiage.
Which was thought to be the most easie and direct course, for that they imagined that the English and Dutch men would be vtterly daunted and dismaied thereat, and would each man of them retire vnto his owne Prouince and Porte for the defence thereof, and transporting the armie of the duke vnder the protection of their huge nauy, they might inuade England.
And keeping a nauy at the settling place, they should find out along the tract of the land to haue traffique, and at diuers Islands also. And so this first seat might in time become a stapling place of the commodities of many countreys and territories, and in time this place might become of all the prouinces round about the only gouernor.
Wherein I pray you remember the Decrees made in the Councell at Peniche, and confirmed by publique protestation the first day of our march, that our nauy should meet vs in the riuer of Lisbon, in the which was the store of all our prouisions, and so the meane of our tariance in that place, which came not, though we continued till we had no munition left to entertaine a very small fight.
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