As soon as God had put us out of danger, the fire caught hold of the forecastle of the carak, where I think there was great store of benzoin, or some such combustible matter, for it flamed and flowed over the carak, which was almost in an instant all over in flames. The Portuguese now leapt over-board in great numbers, and I sent captain Grant with the boat, bidding him use his discretion in saving them. He brought me on board two gentlemen. One of them was an old man named Nuno Velio Pereira, who had been governor of Mozambique and Sofala in the year 1582, and had since been governor of a place of importance in the East Indies. The ship in which he was coming home was cast away a little to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, whence he travelled by land to Mozambique, and got a passage in this carak. The other was named Bras Carrero, who was captain of a carak that was cast away at Mozambique, and came likewise as a passenger in this ship. Also three men of the inferior sort; but only these two gentlemen we clothed and brought home to England. The rest, and others which were saved by our other boats, were all set on shore on the island of Flores, except two or three negroes, one of whom was a native of Mozambique, and the other of the East Indies.

This fight took place in the open sea, 6 leagues to the southward of the sound or channel between Fayal and Pico. The people whom we saved informed us, that the cause of the carak refusing to yield was, that she and all her goods belonged to the king, being all that had been collected for him that year in India, and that the captain of her was greatly in favour with the king, and expected to have been made viceroy of India at his return. This great carak was by no means lumbered, either within board or on deck, being more like a ship of war than a merchant vessel; and, besides her own men and guns, she had the crew and ordnance that belonged to another carak that was cast away at Mozambique, and the crew of another that was lost a little way to the east of the Cape of Good Hope. Yet, through sickness caught at Angola, where they watered, it was said she had not now above 150 white men on board, but a great many negroes. They likewise told us there were three noblemen and three ladies on board; but we found them to disagree much in their stories. The carak continued to burn all the rest of that day and the succeeding night; but next morning, on the fire reaching her powder, being 60 barrels, which was in the lowest part of her hold, she blew up with a dreadful explosion, most of her materials floating about on the sea. Some of the people said she was larger than the Madre de Dios, and some that she was less. She was much undermasted and undersailed, yet she went well through the water, considering that she was very foul. The shot we made at her from the cannon of our ship, before we laid her on board, might be seven broadsides of six or seven shots each, one with another, or about 49 shots in all. We lay on board her about two hours, during which we discharged at her about 20 sacre shots. Thus much may suffice for our dangerous conflict with that unfortunate carak.

On the 30th of June, after traversing the seas, we got sight of another huge carak, which some of our company took at first for the great San Philippo, the admiral of Spain; but on coming up with her next day, we certainly perceived her to be a carak. After bestowing some shots upon her, we summoned her to yield, but they stood stoutly on their defence, and utterly refused to strike. Wherefore, as no good could be done without boarding, I consulted as to what course we should follow for that purpose; but as we, who were the chief captains, were partly slain and the rest wounded in the former conflict, and because of the murmuring of some disorderly and cowardly fellows, all our resolute determinations were crossed: To conclude in a few words, the carak escaped our hands. After this, we continued to cruize for some time about Corvo and Flores, in hopes of falling in with some ships from the West Indies; but, being disappointed in this expectation, and provisions falling short, we returned for England, where I arrived at Portsmouth on the 28th of August 1594.

The following list of the royal navy of England, as left in good condition by Queen Elizabeth at her death in 1603, was written by Sir William Monson, a naval officer of that and the two following reigns, "By which, he observes, she and her realm gained honour, by the exploits and victories they and her subjects obtained." It would occupy too much space to give a contrasted list of the royal navy in the present year, 1813; but which our readers can easily obtain from the monthly lists published at London.

Names of Ships, Tonnage (Men in Harbour, Men at Sea, Of which Mariners/Sailors/Guns)

Elizabeth-Jonas, 900 (30 500 340396/120396/40)

Triumph, 1000 (30 500 340/120/40)

White Bear, 900 (30 500 340/120/40)

Victory, 800 (17 400 268/100/32)

Ark Royal, 800 (17 400 268/100/32)

Mere Honour, 800 (17 400 268/100/32)

St Matthew, 1000 (30 500 340/120/40)

St Andrew, 900 (17 400 268/100/32)

Due Repulse, 700 (16 350 230/90/30)

Garland, 700 (16 300 190/80/30)

Warspite, 600 (12 300 190/80/30)

Mary-Rose, 600 (12 250 150/70/30)

Hope, 600 (12 250 150/70/30)

Bonaventure, 600 (12 250 150/70/30)

Lion, 500 (12 250 150/70/30)

Nonpareille, 500 (12 250 150/70/30)

Defiance, 500 (12 250 150/70/30)

Rainbow, 500 (12 250 150/70/30)

Dreadnought, 400 (10 200 130/50/20)

Antilope, 350 (10 160 114/30/16)

Swiftsure, 400 (10 200 130/50/20)

Swallow, 380 (10 160 114/30/16)

Foresight, 300 (10 160 114/30/16)

Tide, 250 (7 120 88/20/12)

Crane, 200 (7 100 76/20/12)

Adventure, 250 (7 120 88/20/12)

Quittance, 200 (7 100 76/20/12)

Answer, 200 (7 100 76/20/12)

Advantage, 200 (7 100 70/20/12)

Tiger, 200 (7 100 70/20/12)

Tremontain, – (6 70 52/10/8)

Scout, 120 (6 66 48/10/8)

Catis, 100 (5 60 42/10/8)

Charles, 70 (5 45 32/7/6)

Moon, 60 (5 40 30/5/5)

Advice, 50 (5 40 30/5/5)

Spy, 50 (5 40 30/5/5)

Merlin, 45 (5 35 26/4/5)

Sun, 40 (5 30 24/2/4)

Synnet397, 20 (2 –)

George Hoy, 100 (10 –)

Penny-rose Hoy, 80 (8 –)

INTRODUCTION.

We now begin to draw towards India, the following being the first voyage we know of, that was performed to that country by any Englishman. Though Stevens was only a passenger in the ship of another nation, yet the account he gave of the navigation was doubtless one of the motives that induced his countrymen to visit India a few years afterwards in their own bottoms. Indeed the chief and more immediate causes seem to have been the rich caraks, taken in the cruizing voyages against the Spaniards and Portuguese about this time, which both gave the English some insight into the India trade, and inflamed their desire of participating in so rich a commerce.

The account of this voyage is contained in the following letter from Thomas Stevens, to his father Thomas Stevens in London: In this letter, preserved by Hakluyt, several very good remarks will be found respecting the navigation to India, as practised in those days; yet no mention is made in the letter, as to the profession of Stevens, or on what occasion he went to India. By the letters of Newberry and Fitch399, which will be found in their proper place, written from Goa in 1584, it appears that he was a priest or Jesuit, belonging to the college of St Paul at that place; whence it may be concluded that the design of his voyage was to propagate the Romish religion in India. In a marginal note to one of these letters, Hakluyt intimates that Padre Thomas Stevens was born in Wiltshire, and was sometime of New College Oxford. He was very serviceable to Newberry and Fitch, who acknowledge that they owed the recovery of their liberty and goods, if not their lives, to him and another Padre. This is also mentioned by Pyrard de la Val, who was prisoner at Goa in 1608, at which time Stevens was rector of Morgan College in the island of Salcet400." –Astley.