The 20th January 1591, news was brought from Portugal to Tercera, that the English had taken a ship sent by the king to the Portuguese Indies, carrying advice to the viceroy of the return of the four ships to Portugal; which captured ship was stuffed full of goods, in consequence of their return, besides having 500,000 ducats in ryals of eight. It sailed from Lisbon in November 1590, and fought the English a long time, but had at length to yield, and was carried to England, where all the men were set free and returned to Lisbon, at which place the captain was thrown into prison, but afterwards justified himself and was released, as he told me personally. The English took, at the same time, a ship coming from the Mina, laden with gold, and two ships laden with pepper and other spices, bound for Italy, their pepper only being worth 170,000 ducats. All these rich prizes were carried clear off into England.

In July 1591, an earthquake commenced in the island of Tercera, which continued from the 26th of that month to the 12th of August, or 18 days, during all which time no person durst remain within a house, but all fled into the fields in terrible consternation, fasting and praying almost incessantly. Many houses fell down, and in particular a town called Villa Franca was almost utterly destroyed, all its houses and cloisters thrown down, and several people slain. In some places the ground rose up, the cliffs were removed from their places, and even some hills were thrown down and levelled with the adjoining plains. The earthquake was so violent, that the ships in the road and in the adjoining sea, were shaken as if the whole earth had been agitated to its centre. In one place a fountain sprung from the ground, whence clear water flowed in abundance for four days, and then ceased. All this time a noise was heard under ground as of thunder, or as if all the devils in hell had been assembled there, by which many died of fear. Four several times the island of Tercera shook with such violence as if it had turned upon its foundations, yet was it not overwhelmed. Earthquakes are common in these islands, as about 20 years before there happened just such an earthquake, when a hill, close to the town of Villa Franca, fell down and buried all the town with earth, by which many people were overwhelmed and slain.

The 25th of August, the kings armada from Ferrol arrived in Tercera, consisting of 30 ships of war belonging to Biscay, Portugal, and Spain, together with 10 Dutch fliboats that were pressed at Lisbon into the service, besides other small vessels and pataxos to serve as advice-boats, and to scour the seas for intelligence. This fleet came to wait for and convoy the ships from the Spanish Indies; and the fliboats were for the purpose of bringing home to Lisbon our goods that were saved in the lost ship from Malacca. This fleet arrived at the island of Corvo on the 13th of September385, where the English then lay waiting for the fleet from the Spanish Indies, with a squadron of about 16 ships. Some or most of the Spanish ships were already come to the Azores, and the English were in great hopes to have taken them: But, on perceiving the Spanish fleet of war to be so strong, the lord Thomas Howard, who was admiral of the English, gave orders to his fleet not to assail the Spaniards, and on no account to separate from him without special orders386. Yet the vice-admiral, Sir Richard Grenville, in his ship the Revenge, bore into the Spanish fleet, and shot among them doing much harm, thinking that the rest of the English ships would have followed him, which they did not, but left him there and sailed away, the reason of which could not be known. Perceiving this, the Spaniards boarded the Revenge with 7 or 8 ships, but she bravely withstood them all, fighting with them at the least 12 hours without ceasing, and sunk two of them, one a double fliboat of 600 tons, and admiral of the fliboats, the other a ship of Biscay. In the end, however, in consequence of the overwhelming number that came against her, the Revenge was taken, but to the heavy loss of the Spaniards, who lost in the fight, either slain or drowned, above 400 men, while 100 of the English were slain. Sir Richard was himself wounded in the brain, of which he afterwards died.

Sir Richard, after the Revenge yielded, was carried on board the San Paulo, the ship in which was Don Alonso de Baçan, the admiral of the Spanish fleet, where his wounds were dressed by the Spanish surgeons, but Don Alonso would neither see nor speak to him. All the other captains went to visit and comfort him in his hard fortune, wondering at his courage and constancy, as he shewed no signs of faintness, not even changing colour: But, feeling his death approaching, he spoke in Spanish to the following purport: "Here die I Richard Grenville, with a joyous and quiet mind, having ended my life as a true soldier ought to do, fighting for my country, my queen, my religion, and my honour: so that my soul most joyfully departeth from this body, and shall always leave behind the everlasting fame of a true and valiant soldier, having done my duty as became me." When he had finished these, or such like words, he gave up the ghost with great and unshaken courage, no man being able to perceive the least sign of concern. This sir Richard Grenville was a great and rich gentleman of England, having large yearly revenues, but of a daring and intrepid disposition, and much affected to warlike enterprize; insomuch that he voluntarily offered his services to the queen. He had performed many valiant deeds, and was greatly feared among the islands, his intrepidity being well known to all. He was, however, of a severe and rigid character, so that his own people feared and hated him for his fierceness, and spoke very hardly of him. For, when they in the Revenge first fell in among the Spanish fleet, they had their mainsail in readiness, and might possibly have got away, as it was one of the best sailing ships of the English; and, as the master perceived that the rest of the squadron had left them, and did not follow up to their support, he gave orders to cut the mainsail, that they likewise should make off: But sir Richard threatened him and all the rest of the crew, that if any man laid hold of the mainsail with that intent, he would cause him to be hung up immediately; so that in fact they were compelled to fight, and in the end were taken. He was of so hardy a complexion, that, while among the Spanish officers, while at dinner or supper with them, he would swallow three or four bumpers of wine, and then by way of bravado, crush the glasses between his teeth and swallow them, so that the blood ran out of his mouth, yet without any apparent harm to him. This was told me by several credible persons, who had often stood by and beheld him.

The Englishmen who remained alive in the Revenge, as the captain of the soldiers, the master, and others, were distributed among the different ships by which she was taken. On taking possession of her, a fight had almost taken place between the Biscaineers and Portuguese who boarded her, both claiming the honour of having boarded first, so that there grew a great noise and quarrel among them, one seizing the chief ensign, and the other the flag, the captains and every one holding their own. The ships which had laid her on board were altogether out of order, and sore shattered, having many of their men hurt, so that they had to come to Tercera to be repaired. On their arrival, I and my chamber companion, desirous to hear the news, went on board one of the twelve apostles, or great ships of Biscay, whose captain was Bartandono387, who had been general of the Biscaineers in the great armada that went against England. On seeing us, he called us into his gallery, where he received us courteously, being then at dinner along with the English captain, who was dressed in a suit of black velvet, but could not tell us any thing, as he could speak no other language but English and Latin, which last Bartandono could speak a little. The English captain was permitted by the governor of Tercera to land with his sword by his side, and was in our lodging visiting the Englishman who belonged to the ship of which the sailors escaped, as I related before. This captain wrote a letter, in which he related all the particulars of the fight, and left it with that English merchant who resided in the lodging with us, to forward it to the lord admiral of England. The captain went afterwards to Lisbon, where he was honourably received, and sent, to Setubal, whence he sailed for England with the other prisoners. The master likewise of the Revenge came on shore, with licence from Bartandono, and lived in the same lodgings with us. He had at the least 10 or 12 wounds, in his head and body, of which he afterwards died on his voyage from the islands to Lisbon.