But the influence of the audiencia operated much more effectively in defense of the colony than through the advice which it rendered either to the king or to the governor. From 1601 to 1625, during which period the residents of the colony were continually alarmed by the unceasing encroachments of the Dutch, the audiencia was frequently obliged to assume responsibility for the defense of the colony. In 1600 and 1601, when Francisco Tello de Guzmán was governor, Antonio de Morga, the senior oidor, led an expedition against the Dutch pirate Van Noordt and defeated him in Manila Bay. In 1607, the audiencia, then in charge of the government, maintained the defense of Manila and Cavite against the Dutch. [493] While Governor Pedro de Acuña was absent in the Moluccas in 1605-1606 on a campaign of conquest, the audiencia entertained and responded to a petition from the king of Tidore for assistance in resisting the oppression of the king of Ternate. The war in the Moluccas was continued by the interim government of the audiencia (1606-1608). The audiencia repeatedly assumed charge of the government during the frequent absences of Governor Juan de Silva (1609-1616) on expeditions of conquest; and it governed two years after his death (1616-1618). Under the leadership of Oidor Andrés de Alcaraz the military and naval forces of the Islands repeatedly repelled the invasions of the Dutch. [494] Of special merit was the work of this oidor in the preparation and equipment of a fleet of seven galleons which he led in the battle of Playa Honda, on April 14, 1617. In order to raise money with which to meet the expenses of this campaign, the audiencia was compelled to resort to the extraordinary recourse of seizing the money of Manila merchants on its arrival from Acapulco on the galleon. It also forced loans from residents and officials who were in the colony. The audiencia authorized the sale and the payment in advance for space on the galleon of the coming year. Alcaraz, in a report to the king, stated that the oidores had labored with diligence for the defense of the colony, personally concerning themselves with the casting of artillery, the drilling of soldiers, the obtaining of supplies, and in otherwise preparing the city for more adequate defense. [495]