SIr, I haue hitherto signified vnto you those Newes (whiche I had heard of sundrie persons) brought by the Pin­nace from the East Indies, but now, forasmuch as the Maister of the Pin­nace himselfe (called Cornelis Schon­tein) arriued here yesternight, certi­fying vs of all by word of mouth, ther­fore I haue written vnto you more certainly and particular­ly thereof. To wit. That the fiue shippes which sayled and departed hence, in the yeare 1601. on the 23. day of A­prill (whereof was Admirall Wollfert Hermans,) arriued in the streight of Sunda, on Christmas day, in the saide yeare 1601. where they were aduertised and warranted by a [Page 4] small Chinish Shippe, that before Bantam laie a Portingall Armade or Nauie, conteining eight great Galleons, and 22. Galleyes, great and small, which had laine before the Towne a day or two.

The said Dutche Admirall caused his said fiue shippes to cast Anker, and tooke counsell together for their better resolution in their businesse. And because you may knowe what, and how many shippes they had in companie to at­tempt such, and so great an enterprise, I will rehearse and set downe their names, and burthen of the same.

• One shippe of the burthen of 520. tunnes, called Guelder­land.
• One shippe of the burthen of 400. tunnes, called the Sea­land.
• One shippe of the burthen of 240. tunnes, called Vtrecht.
• One shippe of the burthen of 120. tunnes, called the Watch­ter.
• One shippe of the burthen of 50. tunnes, called the Doue.

Their resolution was, that they should assaile and fight with the said Armade or Nauie with their Ordinance: In handling whereof, our men apter, and farre better practised then the Portingalles, determining so to chase them from their siege: wherevpon they set sayle, and the next day early in the morning, they beganne to fight with the Portingales shippes, and so with great force and resolution on both sides, they maintained this maner of fight with their Ordinance, not only the same whole day, but 6. or 7. dayes after, vntill the first day of Ianuary in the yeare 1602. and tooke the same time from the said Portingales, two Galleyes, and thrée Galleyes which were wonderfully battered and briu­sed with the shot of our fiue shippes.

After that they themselues had set them on fire, suffering them to driue downe the Riuer vpon our shippes, meaning thereby to hinder or rather to burne our shippes, but God be praised they effected no hurt at all.

Finally, the Portingalles séeing no good issue like to fall on their side, left their siege of Bantam, and departed to the Ile of Ambona, on the one side whereof, they haue a Castle, which they strongly fortified, and haue cut downe all the Cloues Trées, and pulled them vp by the rootes, or at the leastwise destroied as many of y ^e trees as they could, commit­ting likewise a most great, wicked, terrible, and cruell mur­ther vpon the poore inhabitants of the same Ile, the right na­ture and condition of Tyrants, which are accustomed to vse crueltie vpon poore disarmed men and naked creatures, when they dare not defend, nor reuenge themselues vpon their enemies. This is the great credit which this victorious Don Andreas Fartado Mendosa with his Armade or Nauie hath gotten.

Truly, it is onely the Lorde God which gaue so great courage and magnanimitie to the hearts of our people, with so small a power of weake men to assaile and ouerthrow so great and mightie a Fléete in comparison of ours, to which mercifull, louing, and omnipotent God, be all laude, praise and glorie. Amen.

Our shippes remained nine dayes at Bantam, proui­ding themselues of all necessaries, where they were wel­come, and with great ioy and gladnesse, receiued both great and small, the reason thereof was, because they thought that the Portingalles were determined to come vpon them, or at least to build a Castle vpon an Ile, hard by Bantam, but the Lord hath confounded their desseignes.

Our saide shippes being appointed to make their voy­age to Banda and Terrenata, for the remainder of the old ac­count, [Page 6] furthered their voiage towards the same Iles, where they found and sawe the cruell actions of the Portingalles, as committed by the saide Portingall Fléete in the Ile of Aubona, and were departed thence to Intidor, where they also haue a Castle. And howbeit the Ile of Aubona is scitu­ate betwéene Terrenata and Banda, yet notwithstanding our shippes seperated themselues, the better to furnish their la­ding, whereof two directed their course for Banda, and thrée for Terreneta, where they found our Factor or Commissio­ner Francis Ʋerdoes in good health, being in great fauour with the King there, who shewed him all curtesie and kind­nesse, but he had not any great store of Cloues, by reason that the yeare had bene verie vnseasonable and vnfruitfull, and yéelded but small increase, as the like had not bene séene in many yeares before. They laded such smal store of cloues as they found there, and sayled with the thrée shippes from thence towards Banda, to the other two, where they also found our Factor or Commissioner Adriaen Ʋeen, in good health, where one of the two shippes was alreadie fully la­den with Nutmegges and Maces, also they laded there the ship called Guelderland, (which had bene in Terrenata) and the small Pinnace the Doue, with which thrée shippes the Admirall Wollfert Hermans is now comming home. The Pinnace (being a little on the other side of Capo de buona Speranza) straied, hauing lost the company of the other two shippes, the Guelderland and Zealand, which we also daily do expect: They sayled with these thrée ships from Bantam, on the 25. day of August. The other two ships, Ʋtrecht and the Wachster, vnder the commaund of the Viceadmirall Hans Bauwell, sayled from Bantam towards Terrenata, to the ende to staie there for the new increase of cloues, mea­ning therewith to lade the said shippes.

Iacob van Neck, with his two ships, to wéete the Am­sterdam, [Page 7] and Der Goude, who we thought should haue had their lading of Cloues in Terrenata, and had bin there long before the other ships, hath effected nothing, by reason of the great scarcitie of commodities. And whereas right ouer a­gainst, or hard by the Castle Tydoro, there laie two Portin­galles ships, and one Magelane ship called the Fayth, which they had taken before, the said Ʋan Neck purposed to driue the saide two Portingall ships from thence (I thinke at the request and instance of the King of Terrenata,) but his en­terprise succéeded not very well, for he lost 8. or 9. of his men, whereof Nicholas Cornelison Maister of the ship Ter Goude, was one, and he himselfe lost thrée of his fingers of his right hand: he sayled from thence towards a place called Patana, scituate after Cuda or Malaua, where he procured halfe la­ding for one of his ships with Pepper, and was purposed to returne to Terrenata, or at leastwise send thither the shippe Ter Goude, to the ende to lade her with the great encrease of the new Cloues.

The Admirall Iacob Van Heemskercke, who likewise sayled out of these Countries on the 23. of Aprill, 1601. is arriued at Bantam with sixe ships, and the seuenth (being the Viceadmirall, loosing the company of the other ships about the lyne) hath bene in Achein, and hath laden there some small store of Pepper, wherewith he sayled towards Ban­tam, where he found his company of these seuen ships, (fiue being fully laden) departed from Bantam homewardes, the 11. of May, in the yeare 1602. which was long before these thrée came thence, they must be as we thinke in the Ile of S. Helena, because they would not willingly fall vpon those coastes in the winter season: the Lorde graunt them a pros­perous voyage and safe arriuall.

The Admirall Iacob Van Heemskerke, is sayled further off with the two other ships towards the Iles, to the end to séeke out Negotiation.

Of the two shippes which went towards China, there is no newes, but only that at Bantam was a spéech which is not good: to wit, That those of China should haue hanged 15. or 16. of our people which went there a shoare, but thereof is small certaintie, we hope that the matter shall not be so badde.

Of the shippes of Zealand is no certaintie, but only that there was a flying spéech of two shippes which were séene in the Iles, and therefore it is supposed that the two shippes of Zealand were there.

Of the English and French shippes we haue no newes at all.

The fiue shippes which sayled and departed from Bantam towards these countries, on the 11. of May, 1602. are these following. Amsterdam, Horne, Enckhuysen, the blacke Lyon, the gréene Lyon.