About This Time, A Large English Ship And A Ketch Had An Engagement
With Two Portuguese Ships Beyond The Cape Of Good Hope, Which Escaped
After Suffering A Severe Loss.
These English ships went afterwards to
Surat, where they were found by Nunno de Cunna, who had four well-
Manned
galleons, but ill provided with gunners, who were ignorant and cowardly.
On descrying these large ships, though the English had reason to be
afraid of their number, they undervalued them as heavy sailors, and
immediately engaged and fought them till evening, killing 30 of the
Portuguese. The engagement recommenced at day-light next morning, and
two of the Portuguese galleons, endeavouring to run on board the large
English ship, got aground, on which the pink or ketch, belonging to the
enemy, kept firing its cannon upon one of the grounded galleons, till it
floated off with the evening tide. The other two galleons fought the
large English ship all day. On the third day, all the four galleons
being afloat, endeavoured to board the enemy, who relied on their cannon
and swiftness, and sailed away to Castelete, a bay of the pirates near
Diu. De Cunna followed them thither, and again fought them for two days,
in all which time the Portuguese ships could never board them by reason
of their unwieldy bulk. At length the English stood away, shewing black
colours in token that their captain was slain. In these long indecisive
actions, the English and Portuguese both lost a number of men.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 795 of 809
Words from 217279 to 217532
of 221361
