this city, who were placed at my disposal for this expedition. It was understood that I was to conduct this expedition, and, with another body composed of hired soldiers from this district, was to go out as quickly as possible in search of the enemy, and was to fight with him until I overcame him or sent him to the bottom. There were many other conditions which are contained more fully in the letter of instructions which your Lordship gave me, signed and sealed, to which I refer. In fulfilment of this, and only for the service of God and of our lord the king (which service your Lordship commended to me so strongly), leaving my house and quiet life, leaving my wife and nine children, I obeyed your Lordship's command. At my own cost, without having anything supplied from the royal treasury either to myself or to the volunteers who were with me, and who formed the larger part of all the body, I embarked on the fleet on the twelfth day of the month of December of the aforesaid year, taking as flagship the vessel "San Diego," which is of about two hundred tons burden; and in its convoy the ship "San Bartolome" as admiral's ship, of the same burden, in command of the captain Joan de Alçega, admiral of the fleet, and other small vessels for the service of the fleet. That same day I set sail from the port of Cavite in search of the enemy; and on the following Thursday, the fourteenth of December, I came in sight of him. Both ships of his fleet were anchored near the mouth of the bay at the point of Balagtigui, with his boats at the stern. The flagship of the enemy, from behind, was very easily seen to be a strong vessel, but the admiral's ship was not. When he discovered the two ships of the royal fleet and saw that we were keeping together, in order jointly to board and attack his flagship, he weighed anchor; and, after sending the said admiral's ship out to sea under all sail, in order to divide us, thinking that one of our ships would go after it, he with his flagship luffed toward our vessels, in order to get to windward of us, which he was not able to accomplish. On the contrary, when I discovered the number and excellence of his artillery, with which he began to cannonade me, I saw that success must consist in coming hand to hand with him as soon as possible, with both of our vessels, according to the arrangement which I had made on the day before, the thirteenth of December, when I had given orders and instructions to that effect in writing to the said admiral. So with my flagship I boarded the corsair's flagship, and grappled with it side to side, on the port quarter of the enemy, in the expectation that my admiral would do the same on the other side, as he was perfectly able to do. At the first volley from the artillery and arquebuses I swept the deck of the enemy, unrigged his main and mizzen masts, sent his yards and shrouds into the sea, burned his sails, and won and took into my power the flag at the