

Havana fc- 

 rcraJ times 

 Aflauhed 

 and taken. 



m A METRIC A. Chap. XV. 



Promontory and a fquare Fort, that two Ships cannot Sail in together : the flu! 

 loweft part thereof hath fix Fathom Water. On each fide the Mouth of the Har 

 bor is a Fort, the one call'd Me/a de Maria, which ftands built on a Champain 

 Ground , the other call'd Mono, which lies at the Foot of two Hills, on whofc 

 tops feveral Guns are planted, which Command the Town and Haven! 



Betwixt thefe two Forts is a Tower cover'd, on the top whereof is a round Lan 

 tern, wherein ftands continually a Watch-man, who puts forth as many Flags as he 

 d.fcovers Ships at Sea, to give notice thereof to the City, which is a Mile from 

 thence. i 



Before Havana ftands a third^aftle, well ftor'd with Guns, as likewife the reft 

 are, in all to the number of two hundred and forty, and ftrongly Garrifon'd . of 

 which great care was taken by the General Jean de Texeda, and <BaptiJla Antonelli, an 

 Architect, fent thither by <Ph,l,p the Second, King of Spain, to fecure the Place from 

 allfore.gnAir.ults, becaufe the PlatcFleet, and other Ships that come out of the 

 Uejt-Indtes, have their place of Rendezvouz here, and from hence fet Sail altoge. 

 ther for Spam. The City ftands along the Haven, and hath two Churches with 

 lpiry Steeples. The Houfes are now built after the Spanijh manner. 



But Havana was not fo ftrongly fortifi'd in former times, for Anno m 6. it could 

 not refill a mean French Pyrate, who lofing the reft of his Fleet was driven hither 

 by Storm, and conquering Havana, had burnt the fame, confiding at that time of 

 woodden Houfes cover'd with Thatch, had not tht Spaniards redeem'd them from 

 the Fire for feven hundred Treats , with which Money the French fet Sail, when 

 the day following three Ships arriv'd from 2{ew Spain before Havana, and having 

 unladed their Goods, and preparing themfelves for Battel, purfu'd the Pyrate 

 whom getting fight of, the Admiral, who Sail'd before, durftnot venture to Engage' 

 h.m alone, but ftaid for the other two Ships : from which cowardly Aclion 

 the French Pyrate taking Courage, fell on the Spanijh Admiral, who without firing 

 a Gun ran his Shipafhore, and defertcd the fame : the next Ship thereby d.Tcou. 

 rag d Tacking about, made away from the Enemy ; on which the third alfo fol- 

 low d, infomuch that at laft they were all three taken by the French . who encou- 

 rag d with this unexpected Victory, fteer'd their Courfe a fecond time to Havana 

 where they got as much more Money from the Inhabitants as before. After this 

 the Spaniards built all their Houfes of Stone,anda Fort at the Mouth of the Harbor 

 yet neverthelefs the City lay open on the Land fide , of which the Enrl.Jh Fleet 

 Cruifing about in thofe Seas, being inform'd, Landed not far from HaVana,znd en. 

 ter d the City before Day-break : the Spaniards thus fuddenly furpriz'd,fled into the 

 Woods, whileft the Engltjh plunder'd and ranfack'd the City without any refiftance. 

 But this was not the laft Blow which Havana receiv'd, for during the Wars between 

 the Emperor Charles the Fifth, and the French KingHenry the Second, a Ship fet Sail 

 with ninety Soldiers from D,ep to Quha, where they made themfelves Matters of 



u >?V nd " rried §reat Trcafure awa X with them : Thusenrich'd, they fet in 

 the Night on Havana, but found their Expectations fruftratcd, for all the Houfes 

 were empty, the Spaniards ("being fo often Plunder'd) having remov'd all their 

 Goods to their Countrey Houfes, which lay fcattering about the Ifland. Whileft 

 the French were fearching the Houfes, two Spaniards came under pretence of agree- 

 ing with them, but their Defign was chiefly to take an Account of their Enemies 

 Forces. The French demanded fix thoufand Ducats of them: to which the two 

 Spaniards reply'd, That all their Goods would not raife fo much : then going to 

 their Party, inform'd them of the number of the Enemies, and their Demands - 

 whereupon Confulting, fome judg'd it beft to comply with a fore'd Neceflity, and 



if 



