KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 57. NIO 4. 81 



1611. Sebastian Vizcaino with the ship "San Francisco" sailed from Acapulco 

 on 22 March. This expedition, whose object was partly to open up commercial inter- 

 course between New Spain and Japan, and partly to search for refreshing places for the 

 Spanish galleons, is spöken of at length in the preceding chapter. In this place we need 

 only remind the reader that the course was at first west along the usual highway in about 

 12° N. lat., that when tliey had reached the neighbourhood of the Ladrones, they steered 

 northward, and on 9 June reached Japan without — to judge by the account of the voyage 

 — any land having been seen. It was not till 16 September 1612 that Vizcaino could set 

 about the real object of his journey — viz. the search for the Gold and Silver Islands, 

 from which quest, however, he returned to Japan, on 7 November 1612, without having 

 effected anything. Finally, on 27 October in the following year, Vizcaino entered upon 

 his return-voyage from Japan in a ship built there and placed by a Japanese daimio at 

 his disposal, and with this he reached Acapulco on 25 January 1614. During this last 

 voyage, too, he sighted neither the islands sought nor any other land. 



Two ships, the capitana under the command of General Don Fernando de Silva, 

 the almiranta under the command of Admiral Juan de Balmaceda, leave Acapulco on 

 23 March 1611, pass the Ladrones in 16 3 /*° on 29 May, and arrive at Cape Espiritu Santo 

 on 10 June. (Narrative of Fernando de los Rios Coronel in Bibi. Nac. at Madrid, MS. 

 3176 in-4°; another narrative Ibid. MS. 3212 in-4°. Communicated by Dr. Bruno Rolf. 

 Cf. Col. de docum. ined. para la historia de E spana, XV, 1849, p. 82.) This voyage went 

 well and was faster than usual. One of the passengers on board the almiranta was a 

 Jesuit father: everybody on board made their confession to him, "which was a great 

 service to the Lord but gave no little trouble to the good father, who, being the only 

 religious on board, had to hear the confessions of more than four hundred persons, despite 

 his customary attacks of sickness". (Colin. I, p. 217.) 



1612. There was nothing with which to make the dispatch of the ships to New 

 Spain, and an advice patache alone was sent. (Bl. & Rob. XXVII, p. 194.) Two ships 

 arrive from New Spain. (Colin. I, p. 217.) 



1613. Two ships arrive at Manila from New Spain. (Colin. I, p. 217.) 



1614. No ship' from New Spain. (Colin. I, p. 217.) 



1616. The ship expected from New Spain — the "Ängel de la Guarda", in command 

 of General Don Francisco Bravo de la Serna — arrived. It had put in at Japan, where 

 the General was well received and obtained permission to leave, without having received 

 any ill treatment. When he reached the Philippines and learned that the Dutch had 

 taken the passage in order to enter the port of Cavite, he took the ship to the most hidden 

 place that he could find. Having made port in haste, he unloaded the silver — more 

 than 800,000 pesos — and stored it inland; then, while anchored, he took ashore all the 

 rest of the cargo. (Bl. & Rob. XVIII, pp. 32, 51; XX, p. 48.) In consequence of the 

 attacks of the Dutch, probably no ship was sent this year from the Philippines: hence 



K. Sv. Vet. Akad. Handl. Band 57. N:o 4. 11 



