He arrived at Barbadoes on November 3rd, 1701, from whence he sailed to examine the state of the French and of our own Leeward Islands. He found the former in some confusion, and the latter in so good a state of defence, that he saw no necessity of remaining, and therefore sailed to Jamaica. Here he received advice of two French squadrons having arrived in the West Indies, much to the alarm of the inhabitants of Jamaica and of Barbadoes. After arranging for the safety of both places as far as his strength would permit, he formed a design of attacking Petit Goave; but before he could execute it, received intelligence that Monsieur Du Casse was in the neighbourhood of Hispaniola with a squadron of French ships, to settle the _assiento_ in favour of the French and to destroy the English and Dutch trade for negroes. After alarming Petit Goave, which he found it inexpedient to attack, the admiral sailed for Donna Maria Bay, where he continued until August 10th; when, having received advice that Monsieur Du Casse had sailed for Carthagena, and from thence was to sail to Portobello, he resolved to follow him, and accordingly sailed for the Spanish coast of Santa-Martha. On August the 19th, in the evening, he discovered ten sail of tall ships to the westward. Standing towards them he found the best part of them to be French men-of-war; upon which he made the usual signal for a line of battle, going away with an easy sail, that his sternmost ships might come up and join him, the French steering along-shore under their top sails. Their squadron consisted of four ships, from sixty to seventy guns, with one great Dutch-built ship of about thirty or forty, and there was another full of soldiers; the rest small ones, and a sloop. Our frigates astern were a long time in coming up, and the night advancing, the admiral steered alongside of the French, endeavouring to near them, yet intending to avoid attack until the _Defiance_ was abreast of the headmost. Before he could reach that station the _Falmouth_, which was in the rear, attempted the Dutch ship, and the _Windsor_ the ship abreast of her, as did also the _Defiance_; and soon after the vice-admiral himself was engaged. But the _Defiance_ and the _Windsor_ stood no more than two or three broadsides before they luffed out of gun-shot, whereupon the two sternmost ships of the enemy lay upon the admiral and galled him very much; nor did the ships in the rear come up to his assistance with due diligence. From four o'clock until night the fight continued, and though the French then left off firing, our admiral still kept them company.