21 Jan.
Paris Archives,
K. 1569. |
502. Statement of Juan de Nova formerly a servant of Don
Juan de Idiaquez, who went with the Armada in the
company of Don Alonso de Luzon, and is a native of San
Ciprian, in Galicia ; and of Francisco de Borja, a native
of Antequera, belonging to the company of Don Garcia
Manrique. (fn. 3)
They embarked in the Venetian ship "Valencera," in which there
were 500 soldiers, in consequence of the vessel having taking on
board 100 from the Hamburg ship, before doubling Cape Clear, in
Ireland. The rest of the men from the Hamburg ship were taken
off by Juan de Medina, General of the hulks, the hulk afterwards
foundering. (fn. 4)
They (the deponents) lost sight of the Armada on the night of the
12th September, during a tempest. The same night their ship
sprang a leak forward, and for the next two days and nights they
were at the pumps. On the 14th they brought up on the coast of
Ireland, towards Blasket (?), and all the soldiers (except 40 who
remained in the ship and were afterwards drowned when she
foundered) were put on shore, with their arms, in a little boat.
They learnt on the island that it was held by the queen of
England's troops, and that at a castle called Duhort (Dogherty?)
there dwelt an Irish bishop named Cornelius. (fn. 5) They therefore
took their way thither, and after having been three days on the road
they arrived within a day's journey of the place. Colonel Alonso
de Luzon thereupon sent a messenger forward to the bishop, saying
that, as he was a Catholic, they begged him to help and advise
them. He replied that they might come to the castle, and make an
appearance of taking it by force, firing their harquebusses, etc., and
it would then be surrendered to them. This was for the purpose of
preventing the Queen's officers from saying that he had surrendered
it voluntarily.
The Colonel and the whole of them set forward, and when they
arrived within sight of the castle those within discharged a piece of
artillery towards the part where the Queen's garrison was. The
Colonel, therefore, fearing treason, refused to enter the castle, but
directed his steps, by a marsh, towards another dismantled castle
near. They then discovered that the Queen's garrison were approaching
them, to the number of 200 horse, and as many footmen,
harquebussiers, and bowmen. The Spanish force therefore halted,
and the enemy did likewise ; drums being beaten on both sides for
a parley. The enemy asked them what they wanted in the Queen's
dominions, to which they replied that they were Spanish soldiers
who had been cast upon the island by the wreck of their ship, and
they begged that they might be allowed, upon due payment, to
obtain a ship to take them back to Spain. They were told that this
could not be, and that they must surrender as prisoners of war.
They replied that if that was the only alternative, they would
rather die fighting, as befitted Spaniards. The English answered
that if they did not surrender at once 3,000 of the Queen's troops
would come shortly and cut all their throats. They still persisted,
however, in their refusal to surrender, and they remained halted all
that night. The next night the enemy sounded the attack at two
or three points, and a skirmish commenced, which continued the
whole night.
The next morning, whilst they were endeavouring to better
their position, they heard the enemy's drums again sound for a
parley. The Colonel and Captains Beltran del Salto (fn. 6) and Geronimo
de Aybar went down to the level of the bog to hear what they had
to say. The major of the enemy told them that they had better lay
down their arms and he would conduct them to the Queen's governor
in Dublin, 30 miles off, who would send them to the Queen. The
major (fn. 7) made them many offers and promises, if they would
surrender, and in view of this, and that his men were dying with
hunger, and that the enemy had cut off all supplies, the colonel replied
that he would lay down his arms on fair terms of war, if they would
keep their promise, and allow each man to retain the best suit of
clothes he had. They gave their word that this should be done, and
the Spaniards laid down their arms. As soon as the enemy had
possession of them, and had conveyed them to the other side of the
bog towards Dublin, they fell upon the Spaniards in a body and
despoiled them of everything they possessed, leaving them quite
naked, and killing those who offered the least resistance. The
colonel complained of this to the major of the enemy's force, the
reply being that it had been done by the soldiery without his orders,
but he gave his word that the men should all be dressed on their
arrival at a castle where he intended to pass the night, two miles
from the place where they then were. When they had traversed
half this distance the major said that as the road was so bad they
would bivouac in the open for that night. They did so, the enemy
forming square, inside of which they placed the Colonel, Don
Rodrigo Lasso, Don Sebastian Zapata, gentlemen volunteers ; Don
Diego de Luzon, and Don Antonio Manrique, attachés ; Don Beltran
del Salto, Geronimo de Aybar, Juan de Guzman, and Don Garcia
Manrique, Captains ; and the Chaplain-general and Judge of the
regiment, the Vicar of the shoeless Carmelites of Lisbon and two
other friars, the other soldiers being left a stone's-throw away,
naked, in which manner they passed the night.
The next morning, at daybreak, the enemy came to separate some
other officers who were amongst the soldiers, and put them inside
the square with the rest. The remaining soldiers were then made
to go into an open field, and a line of the enemy's harquebussiers
approached them on one side and a body of his cavalry on the other,
killing over 300 of them with lance and bullet ; 150 Spaniards
managed to escape across a bog, most of them wounded, and sought
refuge in the castle of Duhort (Dogherty), where bishop Cornelius
received them and conveyed 100 or so, who were unwounded, to the
Island of Hibernia (Hebrides?). Those who were wounded remained
in the castle, under the care of the people there, who were Catholics,
but many of them died every day. They were sent, under a guide,
to the house of a savage gentleman named O'Cahan, (fn. 8) where they
remained three days, both he and his people displaying great
sympathy with them in their sufferings, feeding them and
waiting upon them hand and foot. On the fourth day they went
with another guide to a brother of his, also named O'Cahan, 12 miles
from here. He also welcomed us with the same kindness as his
brother had done. The day after our arrival mass was said
for us, but this was an exception in our honour, as they usually
have mass only once a week. On the third day after their arrival,
he sent them, with another guide and letters, to another gentleman
named Sorleyboy, begging him to provide them with a boat, as they
were Catholics as he was ; this gentleman possessing vessels, as he
lives on an arm of the sea. (fn. 9) He received them with much kindness,
and kept them 20 days, mass being said for them. There were at
the time, no boats there, but he sent for some three miles off. Two
boats were sent and 80 soldiers embarked in them, to be taken to an
island off Scotland, which is only 10 miles off, the rest remaining in
the castle until the boats should return.
In the meanwhile the Governor in Dublin had learned that this
gentleman had sheltered the Spaniards, and sent to tell him, in the
Queen's name, not to ship any more Spaniards on pain of death and
confiscation of all his property, and to surrender to the English those
he still had with him. He replied he would rather lose his life and
goods, and those of his wife and children, than barter Christian
blood. He had, he said, dedicated his sword to the defence of the
Catholic faith, and those who held it, and in spite of the Governor,
the Queen, and all England, he would aid and embark the rest of
the Spaniards who came to him ; and he came back to them (the
Spaniards), with tears in his eyes, and told them the Governor's
demand and his reply thereto. So when the boats came back he
shipped the rest.
When they arrived on the Scotch island on the other side, they
learnt from a savage who spoke Latin that, on the same day that
the English had massacred the soldiers, they had conveyed the
colonel and the rest of the officers on foot, all naked as they were,
to Dublin, 14 miles off, where they were put into prison, except those
who died on the road of hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. He said
that the man who had ordered all the soldiers to be murdered was
an Irish Earl named O'Neil. (fn. 10)
They (the deponents and their companions) then proceeded on their
way, being guided by men sent from one gentleman to another,
until they arrived in Edinburgh, where the King was. By his
orders they were kept lodged in the town for 30 days, being fed and
clothed the while. He then sent them to France, dividing them
amongst four Scottish ships which, as the weather was against them,
had to coast along the English shore, and twice had to cast anchor
in English ports. On one occasion the Governor of the place, learning
that there were Spaniards on board the ships, sought to take
them out, but the shipmasters said that the soldiers had been delivered
to their care by the king of Scotland to carry to France, and had
ordered them, on pain of death, not to abandon them. They therefore
refused to surrender them, but would defend them with their
own lives. They sent a boat to acquaint the king of Scotland of the
occurrence, and he informed the queen of England that, as the
Spaniards had appealed to him, he had provided ships to take them
across, and he begged that they should not be molested in her ports.
She therefore gave orders that they were not to be interfered with.
Twenty days had passed in the meanwhile, the weather having still
detained them in port, but at last they set sail and all arrived in
France.
It is said that Lord Claude Hamilton sent to summon all the
Spaniards to his house, and Sir John Seton, his brother-in-law, the
same. Eighteen Spaniards went and were dressed and well treated,
and the rest, who would not go, as they were told it was a trap to
kill them, were provided with 50 crowns for their journey.
They (the deponents) heard from a sailor of the galleass
"Girona," that the ship "Rata," with Don Alonso de Leyva on board,
after doubling Cape Clear, in the north of Ireland, anchored, being
short of water and food. She had a large number of men on board,
as she had rescued the company of the "Sta Ana," which foundered
at sea. (fn. 11) She (the "Rata") had but one anchor, and as the current
was very strong it broke, but they managed to get another cable
ashore and made it fast to a rock. The current, however, drove
them on to the land, and seeing the ship was in this case, all the
men on board decided to land, taking such small stores as they
could, some munitions, and one field piece. They learnt from an
Irishman who spoke Latin that the galleass "Girona" was higher up
the coast at anchor, and they therefore went in search of her,
carrying Don Alonso de Leyva in a chair, as he was ill. They all
got on board the "Girona" and Don Alonso de Leyva directed that
they should return round Cape Clear (fn. 12) as they had no rudder and
could not navigate. They could, he thought, manage to get to
Scotland, where they would obtain succour. They therefore went
round Cape Clear, and when they had arrived between the Spanish
sea and the island of Scotland, (fn. 13) they had a fair wind to carry them
to Spain. The pilot therefore represented to Don Alonso that if
he would allow him to set sail he would arrive in Spain in five
days. Don Alonso replied, that if he was sure the weather was
favourable he could do so, but he was deceived in thinking that the
weather was settled, for it changed and cast them upon the Island
of Ibernia (sic). They ran upon a submerged rock and the galleass
went to pieces, more than 1,300 men being drowned. Only nine
sailors were saved, one of whom gave this statement.
Note.—In the letter from Mendoza to the King, enclosing this
statement, the writer mentions that the sailors told him that Don
Antonio Manrique, nephew of Don Jorge, was still in Scotland, and
that a sailor passing the spot where Don Alonso de Leyva was lost
with 1,300 men (i.e., near the Giant's Causeway) had recognised a
number of the corpses that strewed the shore, and from the canvas
belt of one of them had taken 300 ducats in money. |