nave a very pressing need of men), I have granted some licenses--the
number I considered necessary and sufficient--so that it might be
understood that they have left these islands, and so that the fear
entertained by so many of coming hither might be dissipated. For the
same reason, I have given certain orders for the payment of necessary
obligations, giving two of these to the sailors who were here, and
as they ire so few, the so small amount of money spent will create no
deficiency. After our aforesaid misfortunes the six galleons that were
to be fitted up at the shipyards were, while going there, overtaken by
a hurricane, and were all wrecked, together with seven hundred persons
whom, it is said, they were carrying--namely, natives, Sangleys,
and Spanish sailors and shipbuilders, and some infantrymen--besides
those who escaped, who were very few. Consequently, these islands
were left without any naval forces and with few enough on land, by
the above-mentioned disaster and the many private persons who died
on the expedition to Sincupura or Malaca. The result was very great
sorrow to the citizens, because of these troubles, and because General
Ruy Gonzales de Sequeira carried an amount of property for them to
Portuguese Yndia, where he died; while the enemy, coming unexpectedly,
seized another very large quantity of property, which some say was
in excess of two hundred thousand pesos, and others of three hundred
thousand pesos. It is certain that the enemy freighted with riches
two vessels, with which they came to this coast, lading them even to
their small boats; and the same with some Chinese craft, with what they
pillaged from the Sangleys of that kingdom. Thus was that so heavy loss
caused to this community, which with two such strokes might fear its
total ruin; on that account there has been no allotment of the lading
space for Nueva España this year, since that of last year, and that
trade is the harvest that sustains this country. Consequently it has
become very necessary to encourage the citizens, seeking innumerable