The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 19 of 55: 1620-1621; Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century.
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 19 of 55: 1620-1621; Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century.
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
Three or four days before the arrival of the enemy, the news reached
the ears of Captain Don Diego de Quinones, who was there with about
seventy soldiers. He resolved to die there or to prevent the enemy
from following out his designs. As hastily as possible, he threw up
a redoubt, or small fort of fascines, stakes, and gabions, which he
filled in with earth. Then having assigned his men to their positions,
he awaited the enemy's arrival. The Dutch arrived with their ten
galleons and went to anchor within musket-shot of the small fort,
which they began to bombard with their artillery, and with musketry
to pick off those who showed themselves. But seeing that they were
defending themselves, and that so great a multitude of balls could
not dislodge them, they threw seven companies of infantry ashore,
and assaulted the fort twice with the batteries which were free;
but the infantry, getting the worst of it, had to retire. Don Diego,
although shot through the thigh by a musket-ball, was encouraged;
and had sent Captain Lazaro de Torres outside with forty soldiers to
make an ambush. He pressed so heavily against the enemy that they had
to embark hurriedly, leaving on the field and taking away many dead
and badly wounded, while we suffered in dead and wounded twenty or
a few more. Thereupon the enemy weighed anchor and left the port in
great ignominy and sorrow. That feat of arms was of great importance
as can be understood from the condition of the country and of the
natives of that island and others near by. I cannot keep silent on
one thing that happened through the fault of him who was governing,
since my intention is to make your Majesty understand the state of
that kingdom. The building of a fort in that port of Yloylo, and the
sending there of six pieces of artillery and one engineer to Don Diego,
had been discussed in Manila. But there was the utmost remissness
and neglect in sending those pieces, for it was considered certain
that if the enemy came he would manage to make himself master of the
port. And although they could have been sent him one month before,
they reached him one week after the opportunity was gone--when, if Don
Diego had had them, he would have sunk half the enemy's fleet. Such
injury is done by the remissness and neglect of him who governs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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