A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 07 — John Shaqi
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 07Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 07
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
In November 1619, the count of Redondo died; and, by virtue of a patent
of succession, Ferdinand de Albuquerque became governor-general, being
now 70 years of age, 40 of which he had been an inhabitant of Goa, and
consequently was well versed in the affairs of India, but too slow in
his motions for the pressing occasions of the time. During his
administration, the Portuguese were expelled from Ormuz by the sultan of
Shiras, assisted by six English ships.
In July 1620, the Hollanders were desirous of gaining possession of the
city of Macao in China, and appeared before it in seventeen ships, or,
as some say, twenty-three, having 2000 soldiers on board, and were
likewise in hopes of taking the fleet at that place, which was bound for
Japan, having already taken several Portuguese and Chinese ships near
the Philippine islands. After battering the fort of St Francis for five
days, the Dutch admiral, Cornelius Regers, landed 800 men, with which he
got possession of a redoubt or entrenchment, with very little
opposition. He then marched to take possession of the city, not then
fortified, where he did not expect any resistance; but Juan Suarez
Vivas, taking post on some strong ground with only 160 men, defeated the
Hollanders and compelled them to return precipitately to their ships,
leaving 300 of their men slain, seven only with the colours and one
piece of cannon being taken, and they threw away all their arms to
enable them to swim off to their ships. In the mean while, the ships
continued to batter the fort, but were so effectually answered that some
of them were sunk and sixty men slain. After this the enemy abandoned
the enterprise, and the citizens of Macao built a wall round the city
with six bastions; and, as the mountain of _our Lady of the Guide_
commanded the bastion of St Paul, a fort was constructed on its summit
armed with ten large guns.
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