An Expedition against the Dutch in Java.--Spain made a truce of her European wars with Holland in 1609, but this cessation of hostilities was never recognized in the East. The Dutch and Spanish colonists continued to war upon and pillage each other until late in the century. Encouraged by his victory over Wittert, Silva negotiated with the Portuguese allies in Goa, India, to drive the Dutch from Java. A powerful squadron sailed from Cavite in 1616 for this purpose. It was the largest fleet which up to that date had ever been assembled in the Philippines. The expedition, however, failed to unite with their Portuguese allies, and in April, Silva died at Malacca of malignant fever. The Dutch Fleets.--Battles near Corregidor.--The fleet returned to Cavite to find that the city, while stripped of soldiers and artillery, had been in a fever of anxiety and apprehension over the proximity of Dutch vessels. They were those of Admiral Spilbergen, who had arrived by way of the Straits of Magellan and the Pacific. He has left us a chart of the San Bernadino Straits, which is reproduced here. Spilbergen bombarded Ilolio and then sailed for the Moluccas. A year later he returned, met a Spanish fleet of seven galleons and two galleras near Manila and suffered a severe defeat. [66] The battle began with cannonading on Friday, April 13, and continued throughout the day. On the following day the vessels came to close quarters, the Spaniards boarded the Dutch vessels, and the battle was fought out with the sword. The Dutch were overwhelmed. Probably their numbers were few. The Relacion states they had fourteen galleons, but other accounts put the number at ten, three vessels of which were destroyed or taken by the Spaniards. One of them, the beautiful ship, "The Sun of Holland," was burned. This combat is known as the battle of Playa Honda. Another engagement took place in the same waters of Corregidor, late in 1624, when a Dutch fleet was driven away without serious loss to either side. The Dutch Capture Chinese Junks, and Galleons.--But through the intervening years, fleets of the Hollanders were continually arriving, both by the way of the Cape of Good Hope and the Straits of Magellan. Those that came across the Pacific almost invariably cruised up the Strait of San Bernadino, securing the fresh provisions so desirable to them after their long voyage. The prizes which they made of Chinese vessels, passing Corregidor for Manila, give us an idea of how considerably the Spaniards in the Philippines relied upon China for their food. Junks, or "champans," were continually passing Corregidor, laden with chickens, hogs, rice, sugar, and other comestibles. [67]