110 DAHLGREN, THE DISCOVERY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 



1704. The galleon "Nuestra Senora del Rosario", General and Piloto Mayor Fermin 

 de Salavarria. Concerning this voyage our manuscript contains no dates, but confines 

 itself to stating that the Governor of the Philippines had commanded the General to 

 observe caution when he was approaching the coast of New Spain, because intelligence 

 had arrived from Peru that English and Dutch pirates had penetrated into the South 

 Sea; the diary gives an account of the hearing of witnesses, which took place on 15 July 

 1705, with the officers of the galleon concerning the meeting with these pirates. From 

 this Residencia it appears that the galleon had a short time before that date returned to 

 Manila. The enemy against wliom the commander of the galleon was thus warned was 

 the expedition that had sailed from England on 30 April 1703 under the command of 

 William Dampier. Part of the plan of this expedition was the attempt to capture the 

 rich Manila galleon. The above-mentioned witnesses state that the galleon was attacked 

 by two ships off Navidad, that the battle lasted from 8 in the morning till 4 in the af ternoon, 

 and that the English ships were f inally compelled to take to flight, so badly mauled that, 

 according to the story current in Navidad, they had to run one ship ashore at Chametla, 

 and transfer the whole of its cargo to the other ship, which was afterwards said to have 

 been captured by a vessel that had been sent out from Peru to the assistance of the galleon. 



From the English side we have a narrative of these events by Dampier's mate, 

 William Funnell. Dampier had shown himself a very unlucky and unskilf ul commander, 

 and in particular he had been lacking in capacity to maintain unity and discipline in the 

 course of the expedition: Captain Thomas Stradling, with one vessel, had separated 

 from him off Panama in May 1704; and in »September he was abandoned by a large part 

 of his crew, who under the command of the mate Clipperton, went to try their hick on 

 their own account in a little bark previously taken from the Spaniards. Despite this, 

 Dampier resolved to try to take possession of the Manila galleon with his remaining ship, 

 the "Saint George", and the "Dragon", which was another bark taken from the Spaniards. 

 On 4 December 1704, they sighted a sail to which they gave chase, and which was soon 

 captured, after it had been abandoned by its crew, who escaped to Navidad in boats. 

 The vessel was laden with ammunition; and so it was supposed that it had been sent out 

 to the aid of the galleon. Two days låter, on 6 December O. S., another vessel was seen 

 which, when it was overtaken, proved to be the longed-for galleon. This last was entirely 

 unprepared for the meeting, and Dampier was able to give it several broadsides before 

 the Spaniards got their guns ready for action. If Dampier had followed the advice given 

 him by one of his Spanish prisoners and boarded immediately, the galleon would infallibly 

 have been taken; but time was löst in wrangling between those who voted in favour of 

 this proposal, and those who would not venture on such a böld stroke; the Spaniards 

 were able to mount their heavy cannon, which inflicted such serious damage on the 

 English ship that Dampier, who had here given a fresh proof of his irresolution and his 

 lack of daring at a decisive moment, had to give the signal for retreat. 1 



The fäte of the English privateers was not such as the Spanish witnesses tried to 

 make out; but it was none the more lucky for all that. Dissension again broke out amongst 



1 W. Funnell, A Voyage round the World, being an Account of Capt. William Dampie^s Expedition 

 into the South Seas. Lood. 1729, pp. 82 et sequ. 



