Meanwhile the two flagships were fighting.  For each man of the enemy our ship had four Spaniards—­not to mention the Indians and negroes, who helped very much—­and a great deal of artillery, powder, and munitions and instruments of war; and they destroyed the enemy to such an extent that as many of our men as wished to do so entered it and took the banners and standards and other things belonging to the enemy, without having anyone appear on it, for they had retired to the bow.  At this point our admiral’s ship arrived, and with its artillery and arquebuses did some damage to the Dutch flagship; and our men on it, especially Alonso de Mansilla, the sargento-mayor’s adjutant, called aloud, telling the others not to do them any damage, but to pass on to the admiral’s ship of the enemy, because their flagship had already surrendered to your Majesty; whereupon our admiral’s ship went in pursuit of the Dutch admiral’s ship, which was more than two leguas away.  The two flagships remained thus over three hours more, besides the two during which they had already been together.  The enemy did not fight, and on our ship there was no one to order or govern, or command anyone to pass to the other ship.  Then it was said that our ship was going to the bottom, and so loudly that the enemy heard it and took courage again.  In our ship there was no one to command what was to be done, so that it did go to the bottom.  There escaped on mattresses and on shields, and by swimming, Dr. Antonio de Morga and [illegible in MS.] other persons; but more than as many Spaniards again were lost, and more than a hundred Indians and negroes.  The best artillery that there was in these islands, which had been taken from the fortresses for this purpose, was also utterly lost, besides all that the vessel carried, which was a great deal.  That same day the admiral, Juan de Alcega, captured the Dutch admiral’s ship, and sent its men to this city.

Then it was that they were found to be Dutch.  They called themselves vassals of Mauricio, Prince of Orange and Count of Nasau; and they bore a patent, a copy of which is subjoined.  The president thought it well to send after the enemy’s flagship, and for this purpose he ordered that our admiral’s ship should go, with Admiral Juan de Alcega as commander; and that the Dutch vessel should go as admiral’s ship, with Captain Juan Tello de Aguirre as admiral, who had had the position over the infantry in our admiral’s ship.  They went where they were ordered, but did not find a trace of the Dutch flagship.  The commander of this was Oliver van Noordt, and in command of the admiral’s ship was Lanverto Viesman.  They were heretics who, with other ships, had set out from the port of Nostradamus [i.e., Amsterdam] in Olanda, on the twelfth of September in the year 98; and had come by the Canaria Islands and by Brasil, through the Strait of Magallanes and along the coast of Chile, to these islands.