were finished, then the enemy would have already gone to Terrenate, enriched with his booty from the Chinese ships; and that damage would result from delay, while great expenses would have to be met from the royal treasury.  For my part, all these arguments, since they arose from loyal desires, without taking the trouble to show the irreparable injuries that would result from that course of action, caused me no care.  I constantly attended to the repairing and preparation of this fleet as well as possible, including in it whatever your Majesty possesses in these islands.  The reason that obliged me to lay great stress upon that enemy was that—­since he knew that Don Juan de Silva had gone to Sincapura with a fleet of ten galleons, four galleys, and one patache—­he, without knowing of the governor’s death, came to look for him with an equal number of warships.  These were chosen from twenty-two vessels, and equipped with the best artillery and men of arms and war in them all; and he dared to come within sight of our walls and very confidently was coming with his great force.  Consequently I considered it best to prepare an armed fleet which, being such, might be able to fight with his.  Not of less consideration was the fact that we are in the view of so many barbarous nations, who esteem and extol him who conquers.  Accordingly it was necessary to consider carefully not to place our reputation and credit in any danger, but that we should have as superior a fleet to his as could be collected, to go out to measure strength with the enemy; for in this case what was once branded [1] could not be effaced.

The final reason that caused me to arm those galleons with the best forces that could he assembled was the consideration that the enemy should not go out victorious because your Majesty did not possess in this land the means with which we could construct a fleet in many years; and if we drove the enemy’s fleet away and punished him as his boldness and arrogance merited, he would have to lay aside his desire for returning to these islands, and would leave them quiet and peaceful, and free from the dangers that his coming threatened.  With this resolution conquering great difficulties with the help of God, who always favored this His cause, the fleet of seven galleons, one patache, and three galleys was prepared.  In order to man them with the rowers that were needed, the citizens, Sangley Christians, and some Indians lent two hundred and twenty-three slaves.  And as one hundred and fifty slaves were still wanting to man them sufficiently, and because there was so little revenue in the royal treasury, I made efforts to have the Sangley infidels supply this deficiency, inasmuch as they were the most interested in avoiding the damages caused by that enemy.  They excused themselves from giving persons to serve in the galleys; but offered to give the money to pay those hired rowers who were willing to go.  For this purpose the Sangleys themselves