8 July.
Paris Archives,
K. 1569. |
550. Don Antonio to Juan Luis (Esteban Ferreira da Gama).
My dear friend—I expected to have written you this letter from
Lisbon, and hoped to have summoned you thither to receive the
honours and thanks your labours in my service deserve. I would
have shown the world that I am no ungrateful Prince. But our
Lord has ordained otherwise, and I have been forced to return to
this country, after arriving at the gates of Lisbon ; and that without
fighting the enemy. But I was obliged to retire ; and withal I give
thanks to our Lord for all things, and trust in Him soon to be able
to return in such guise that the past will be remedied. (fn. 1) At Alvelade
I was lodged in your country house, where I found your wife, Donna
Maria, although I was previously unaware that she was there, as I
had been told at Torres Vedras that she was in hiding. When the
sickness of my soldiers made it impossible for us to enter Lisbon, and
we had to retire, it would have been dangerous for her to return to
her house, so I decided that she had better embark with us. The
ship in which she sailed preceded ours, and entered a port nearer
London than this ; although I do not yet know which, as I only
arrived here three or four days ago. When we parted company
your wife was quite well, and was accompanied by your son,
Francisco Ferreira. I thought well to write to you, in order that you
might know what had happened, and so enable you to write to your
wife, saying what you think had better be done. If you write, send
your letters through Dr. Ruy Lopez, the Portuguese who is in my
service and that of the Queen. (fn. 1) I should not advise you to come
hither, as the state of our affairs is very uncertain ; but wherever
you are you will be welcome, and your company will aid me to
bear my troubles. I hope to hear from you very soon.—Astonas
(Stonehouse?), 8th July 1589. |
552. Bernardino De Mendoza to the King.
I enclose advices from England, and only have to add thereto
that news comes from Rochelle that nine Flemish ships have entered
that port, having separated from the English fleet at Corunna in
a storm, they say. A number of English soldiers come in them,
and they are loaded with wine and corn they had taken in
Corunna. The English soldiers were asked to land and go and
serve the king of France, but very few of them did so.
While I was writing the above I have received reports from
David, dated 16th ultimo (N.S.), saying that on the 10th the 20 flyboats
loaded with victuals for the English fleet had sailed from
Plymouth, and that he had written by them to his cousin not to
fail to go to the Archduke if necessary, and inform him of anything
he heard. David had feigned illness, and so had avoided himself
going in the ships.
Sir Harry Cavendish and the earl of Cumberland were expected
in Plymouth with the 20 ships they had fitted out, 10 to go to
China and 10 to the Moluccas. They were expected to leave
during August.
People were very sad in Plymouth, as no news of the fleet had
come for 20 days.
I have advices from London, dated 26th ultimo, saying that the
Queen had ordered by proclamation that news from the fleet should
not be discussed.
I have letters dated 8th ultimo, from a Spanish captain called
Legorreta (fn. 2) in Scotland, who informs me that he and another captain
are there with their standards. With them and others who escaped
from the wrecks in Ireland, there are, he says, 800 Spaniards, and
he has given notice of this to the duke of Parma, who had sent a
Scottish gentleman to the King to thank him for the kind treatment
he had extended to these Spaniards. But the Duke had not
given them any orders to embark nor had he sent them any help.
They inform me also that after the earl of Huntly had been
released from prison, he had raised his people and had joined
Lord Claude Hamilton, the earl of Bothwell, and Lord Gray. The
King had gone to meet them, with the Chancellor and others, but
with a much smaller force than Huntly's. The latter had, however,
surrendered to the King without defence, and he and the rest of
them had all been captured. This had caused the breaking up of
the Catholic party and Morton's life was now in danger.
The queen of England had three great armed ships of her own
in the Strait of Scotland, in order to reconnoitre all ships that went
in or out—Paris, 8th July 1589. |
14 July.
Paris Archives,
K. 1449. |
553. The King to Bernardino De Mendoza.
Marco Antonio Messia, who arrived here recently with a letter
from you, proposed the terms upon which the English are desirous
of exchanging Colonel Don Alonso de Luzon, Don Rodrigo Lasso
de la Vega, Don Luis de Cordoba, and Don Gonzalo de Cordoba,
for M. de Teligny, and at the same time relieving his father,
M. de la Noue, from the oath he has sworn not to take up arms
against me. With this object in view the English have delivered
the prisoners to Horatio Pallavicini, who it is understood is engaged
to be married to la Noue's daughter. As it is better for us to
surrender M. de Teligny than to have so many men of rank prisoners,
I have consented to the exchange if they also include Don Diego
de Pimentel, Don Juan de Velasco, Don Pedro de Valdés, and
Juan de Guzman, if no others can be got from them. Attempts
must also be made to obtain their release on the surrender of
Teligny, without relieving la Noue from his oath. On the contrary,
the opportunity should be utilised to oblige him to confirm it. In
order that the affair may be conducted to a successful issue, I write
to the duke of Parma in the terms you will see by the enclosed
copy, he having Teligny in his possession ; and in accordance with
the decision he arrives at you will instruct Marco Antonio Messia.
The latter is now going back to you with a letter from me, to the
effect that he is to follow your orders. Do your best through him,
or otherwise, for the release of the prisoners mentioned, and any
others that can be obtained.—San Lorenzo, 14th July 1589. |
21 July.
Paris Archives,
K. 1569.
Portuguese. |
554. Statement given by David of Events in England up to
the 21st July, on which day he left Plymouth.
On the 29th June the earl of Cumberland sailed from Plymouth
with one of the Queen's ships of 700 tons, two small craft of 60
each, a caravel of 40, and two shallops. He takes 600 soldiers
and sailors, and goes straight to St. Domingo, the pilot being a
Portuguese, who told me this in Plymouth. I reported it at the
time, but in consequence of the disturbed state of France my letters
have not arrived. I also reported that Chidley was at Plymouth
with seven ships, ready to sail for the south, only awaiting a wind ;
and I sent word that on the 4th or 5th of July the earl of Essex
and his brother arrived at Plymouth with seven ships, whilst the
brother of Robert Sidney had arrived at Dartmouth with two or
three others. He is very ill. The news they brought was that
the fleet was dispersed, and was going to the Indies to try to capture
territory.
I sent advice likewise, that on the 10th July Don Antonio and
Drake had arrived at Plymouth with 20 or 30 ships, and ships kept
coming into port up to the 13th, when the remainder of them
arrived with the son of Don Antonio and General Norris. Amongst
the whole 100 ships or so that entered there were not 2,000 men,
soldiers or sailors, in good health. Besides these many put into
various other English ports, the number of ships missing being
about 30 sail, English and Flemish, which they say have sailed for
the islands (Azores), as when the fleet left Cascaes that was its
destination. Up to the time I left Plymouth these ships had not
arrived. They confess to have lost only two ships, which the
Adelantado of Castile burnt with his galleys near Lisbon.
I advised also that it was looked upon as certain, Diego Botello
having said as much, that the loss of soldiers and sailors of the
fleet exceeds 18,000 men, amongst whom are 900 gentlemen and
officers, the best in England.
I said that Don Antonio and his people had arrived in Plymouth
in a wretched state, and that the Portuguese were now more
unpopular in England than the Spaniards themselves. The English
hold Don Antonio now in no respect whatever, and the only name
they can find for him and his people is "dog." They openly insult
Don Antonio to his face without being punished.
I related that as soon as the earl of Essex arrived he sent his
brother post haste to the Queen, to ask her pardon for the fault
he had committed in going with the expedition without her
permission. The Earl awaited the reply 15 miles from Plymouth
until after the arrival of Don Antonio, and when he left he did
not visit or write to him.
I gave also an account of about 30 men who had come back with
Don Antonio, whose names I did not know. ... In
the same ship came the wife of Esteban Ferreira da Gama, who is at
Lyons in France.
[A long list of the Portuguese adherents of Don Antonio, who
remained at Peniche in Portugal, here follows.]
Don Antonio sent from Cascaes to Barbary an Englishman, whom
he took with him as his secretary, he having been formerly secretary
to Walsingham. In his company went the Moor, who had gone to
England as the Sheriff's ambassador, to say that the Sheriff would
send aid. I heard in England that Don Antonio had sent them to
tell the Moor of his failure, and to ask him not to send to the coast
of Portugal, but to forward to England the money he had promised
to lend on the security of his (Don Antonio's) son. I heard, however,
from Duarte Perin (Edward Perrin), who had been sent to Barbary
to fetch the money, that the Moor would never give a real.
At the time I left Don Antonio was lodging in a village near
Plymouth, called Astonas (Stonehouse?) very miserable and ill-treated.
When I took leave of him he told me that the next day he was
going to a town called Exeter, where he expected a message from
the Queen which would decide him as to his future course of
action. Both he and Diego Botello hope that the good report which
will be given to the Queen by the earl of Essex and the Secretary
General of the Army, who have gone to Court, taking letters from
Don Antonio and the Generals, may cause the Queen to give him
help to return again to Portugal shortly. They will say that no
resistance whatever was offered to Don Antonio from the people,
who were all in his favour, but that the expedition failed for want
of siege artillery. From what I hear, however, on all hands, I
am assured that nothing in the form of a fleet will sail this year
from England ; at most a few corsairs will go out for plunder.
Don Antonio signified to me that if he was not well received by
the Queen he would leave the country for France or Hamburg, in
order to proceed to Constantinople or Barbary. For this purpose
he has a caravel, which he brought from Peniche. She is a very
swift vessel, and when I left they were putting stores on board
of her, sufficient for 40 persons for four months. She has 30
harquebusses, with muskets, lances, and ammunition, and carries
12 Portuguese sailors and two pilots. He is taking this caravel
with him to Exeter, if the sailors allow him to do so ; but before I
came away they (i.e., the English sailors) tried three times to take
her by force. It was understood that this was done by secret order
of Drake, because he learnt that Don Antonio had come back
dissatisfied, and that if the Queen's answer were not favourable he
meant to retire from the country, which he could not do unless he
had this caravel. As soon as Don Antonio arrived I heard that this
was his design, and I at once sent the news by three separate routes,
in order that the passages to Hamburg, Dantzig, and France might
be watched, but my letters have all miscarried, owing to the
disturbed state of France.
Alvaro de Paiva came from Constantinople to Plymouth to see
Don Antonio, and the latter having gone to Portugal he followed
him to Cascaes, and has now returned to England with him. He tells
me that the Jews of Turkey offered Don Antonio 500 (sic) crowns,
and he expected that Don Antonio would go to Constantinople,
because, with that and the aid the Grand Turk would give him, he
might go and gain the East Indies. If he got the Indies he could
draw so much money and goods, both from the Portuguese and the
native Kings, that he could make war against all the world. He
(Paiva) had brought two passports from the Grand Turk. All this
makes me believe that Don Antonio is thinking of making the
move ; besides which he told me when I took leave of him that
when I returned to England I was to enter London secretly, and if
I found he was not there I was to leave also secretly, so that no
one might know that I had been there, and go and seek him at
Constantinople.
A few days before I left the ships sent to Guinea by the Exeter
merchants returned. They had taken Francisco da Costa thither as
ambassador, and came loaded with hides. They have made so
profitable a voyage that three or four more ships will go thither in
September.
(A list of nine Spaniards, Italians, &c., whom the writer had
contrived to rescue from prison in England—they having been
brought as prisoners of war in Drake's fleet—and had shipped them
from a rough beach half a league from Plymouth. He had escaped
with them, and had brought them to the Brittany coast. He had
there obtained passports for them, and had helped them with money
for their journey to the extent of his means. His only motive was
the service of God and his Majesty.)
I have found a trustworthy man to remain in England, and give
punctual account of all that passes to Don Bernardino de Mendoza,
and have promised that he shall be provided with money. Nothing
is done in Don Antonio's house without his knowledge.
Don Antonio sent me to France with letters for the King, the
king of Navarre and Antonio de Escobar, and when I was leaving,
Don Antonio told me that the redress of his troubles depended upon
me ; praying me urgently to make the voyage speedily, dangerous
though it was in the present disturbed state of France. My
instructions were to come straight to Escobar, and for us both to go
immediately to Court to negotiate for what Don Antonio requested
of the two Kings. At Lantriguerre, near the town of St. Malo,
Brittany, I met a certain Richard Burley, who had come from the
court of Castile. He had been in the town for 15 days, having been
robbed ; the dangers of the road being so great that even the
townspeople dared not venture outside. I heard from him that he
bore letters of importance from his Majesty to Don Bernardino de
Mendoza. I brought him with me, providing him with money for
the road ; but before we arrived at Havre de Grâce, we were
arrested and robbed four times, and only by devices and inventions
of mine were we able to save ourselves from the power of our
enemies. I also saved, secreted on my own person, both Burley's
papers and my own. We arrived at Rouen, and thence proceeded
on our way together in the disguise of countrymen, to the great risk
of our lives, as we had to pass near the camp of the king of Navarre,
and through many woods infested with robbers. But we made light
of our dangers and tribulations, as we knew they were undergone in
the service of his Majesty, and in the execution of our duty ; and
eventually the papers were safely delivered to Don Bernardino de
Mendoza.
I also carried a letter from Don Antonio for Esteban Ferreira
da Gama at Lyons, who has assumed the name of Juan Luis. This
I opened by order of Escobar, and gave a copy thereof to Don
Bernardino. It states that he (Don Antonio) has decided to leave
England.
By order of Don Bernardino I gave the letter I brought for
Escobar to the latter, who told me that Don Antonio's intention
was to leave England. I gave to Don Bernardino the two letters
from Don Antonio for the kings of France and Navarre, and he
considered it best that I should deliver them to Escobar, in order
that I might be able to return to England, and fulfil my duties
there in the service of his Majesty. Escobar decided that I should
go alone to seek the two Kings, and deliver the letters, as he
could not leave Paris, and I could then return to England with the
answer.
I am now setting out, and I hope by God's help that I, personally
and through my friends, shall be able to do all that may be necessary
in his Majesty's service, speedily and effectually. |