THE ENGLISH SPANISH PILGRIM: A CAPTIVE’S TALE — PART 2

This week we continue the series of excerpts from the captivity narrative of James Wadsworth.

Travelling by sea in the seventeenth century was dangerous. Wadsworth’s experience illustrates this very clearly, for he had the uncomfortable distinction of being a passenger aboard three ships, each of which was attacked: the first by privateers from La Rochelle (an experience he described in last week’s post); the second by a Dutch warship; the third by Barbary corsairs from Salé.

Wadsworth, remember, had been studying at a Jesuit College located in St Omer, in Artois, France, a little over twenty miles (35 kilometers) southeast of Calais, nearish to the border with what is now Belgium. He was there from 1618 to 1622 (from the age of fourteen to eighteen).

In the summer of 1622, Wadsworth left the Jesuit college, travelled to Calais, and took passage aboard a ship bound for Saint Lucas, in Spain. That ship was a Dunkirker. That is, it operated out of the port of Dunkirk, a notorious privateer port. Dunkirkers often operated in a gray zone, sometimes shipping cargo like any merchant ship, but also equipped to attack other ships whenever the opportunity presented itself, especially Dutch ships. The Dunkirk ship Wadsworth travelled on was armed with twelve cannon and had a crew of forty—a classic configuration for a privateer ship: small, agile, well armed, with a large crew (normal crews aboard merchant ships were around a dozen or so).

Dunkirkers operated in the service of the Spanish Habsburg Empire. During this time, the Dutch were locked in a long war for independence from that empire, and Dutch ships and Dunkirkers were mortal enemies.

The ship Wadsworth travelled on never made it to its destination.

Here is his description if what happened.

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On the year 1622, on August the first, we departed from Saint Omer for Callais in France, where we were embarked on a ship belonging to Dunkirk, which was then newly loaded for Saint Lucas in Spain, having taken a false certification from the Governor of Callais, that the ship and goods belonged thereunto. This ship was of a hundred tuns burden, carrying twelve pieces of ordnance, forty men (besides passengers), one surgeon, and two trumpeters.

We departed in the company of seven other ships.

Having sailed to the promontory called Fines Terrae, upon the coast of Galicia [in northwest Spain], we descried a ship coming from the coast of Portugal, which took a course aside of us. At last, perceiving that he discerned our Frenchcolors, we forthwith made towards him. He put out the States’ colors [i.e., the States General of the Netherlands], but we supposes him to be a pirate out of Algiers, Salé, or La Rochelle.

Being so near the coast of Spain, our commanders decided that it would not be amiss to attempt boarding him, thinking that within a few hours we would take him. To this end, the Admiral [the convoy’s lead ship] joined himself to the Vice Admiral [the convoy’s second ship, and the ship upon which Wadsworth and eleven other young Englishmen were travelling as passengers]. Some among us thought it were best to let this newly-appeared ship go. The Captain of the Vice Admiral, however, was determined to contest with him. He prepared himself for the fight, launching forth his boat, charging his cannons, muskets, and murthering pieces, laying his trains of gunpowder, nailing up the decks, crossing the hatches with cables, and hanging grappling chains on the main mast.

Once all this was done, the Captain of the Vice-Admiral, Jaques Banburge by name, began to encourage his sailors, telling them how easy it would be for seven ships to take one, thinking the supposed pirate did not have above 30 men on board and ten pieces of ordinance. At this, the rest, gathering together, resolved that the Admiral should make the first onslaught, the Vice-Admiral the second, and the rest in their order.

But the Hollander, discerning us to be French, made no haste to escape us. Having gotten the wind, he made towards us with an intent to get some provision of us for his money, and we towards him. Seeing this, he hung out a flag of truce. Our Admiral, however, saluted him with two pieces of ordinance, our Vice-Admiral with four, and the rest in their order came on, which he valiantly withstood, putting forth on each side some fourteen brass pieces of ordnance.

Before this, he had shown no more than about four or five. This ship had a burden of some two hundred tuns. He had a hundred and fifty men, and five trumpeters. Turning about, he gave us two broadsides with his ordnance, shooting three or four of our ships through and through. Our Admiral and the other French ships, seeing themselves deceived, and that he was no pirate but a States man-of-war, fled, leaving our Vice-Admiral engaged in the fight.

The Vice-Admiral, seeing how the case stood, said unto us that we were now to die with honor, or survive with infamy. Because we were young and inexpert in a sea fight, to encourage us, he made each one of us drink a good draught of aqua vitae with gunpowder. This done, he enjoined his sailors to fire on the States ship with small shot. They, however, replied so stoutly that they made our sailors quickly quit the deck and fly to their ordnances belowdecks as their best defense.

We managed to kill the Master of their ship. Seeing this, their Captaine discharged his ordinance so eagerly at us that he took off the stern of our ship. At this, our Captaine grew desperate, even minded to blow up the ship.

In twelve shots more, they struck down our main mast. They also killed our surgeon, who was newly come up from under the lowermost decks. Saying these words, “Si deus nobiscum quis contra nos [If God is for us, who can be against us?], he was slain on a sudden with a common bullet, and having one hand on my shoulder, pulled me down along with him, his blood spewing out upon me.

And thus, after seven hours of fighting, they boarded us with fire and sword, massacring all those that came first to their hands, though after they had cleared the decks they desisted.

Then, examining all who survived, amongst the rest they found us twelve to be English youths and passengers, and entertained us kindly.

The next day they met with a ship out of Hamburg bound for Spain, loaded with boards and beer. They commended us to him, and asked him to convey us to the aforesaid Saint Lucas in Spaine, and transferred all the baggage we had brought into the Dunkirk ship. They took the Dunkirk ship with them to Holland, being laden with very rich commodities to the value of 7,000 pounds.

Thanking them for their affection to the English Nation, we left them, and continued our course for Spaine.

Coming to the Cape of Saint Vincent [in southern Portugal], we descried coming towards us a little gally, which we took to be a fisherman. Being destitute of victuals and provisions, we made signs onto them for succor, hoping in an hour to have gone with them on shore at the Fort of Saint Vincent.

But our supposed fishermen came sooner than welcome, for having first coasted us round about, and perceiving our vessel, though large, to have little defense (which was true, all the sailors being mere Anabaptists) he came directly at us. As we were getting on the hatches ready to leap into them for safety, we perceived that our fisherman was in fact a gally of eighteen oars on each side, having in him besides about one hundred Moors,Moriscos, and other renegades.

Coming within range, they let fly at us with two pieces of ordnance, all the while making a great shout in sign of joy that they had gotten a prize.

Seeing ourselves quite lost, we struck our sails and submitted.

Boarding our ship, they took us out of it and rowed us across to theirs. They then sent our ship with our pilot and twelve Moors to Salé. We, however, were bound hand and foot and cast into the prow or forecastle of their galley.

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For those who may be interested…

James Wadsworth’s description of the attack by privateers from La Rochelle comes from his book The English Spanish pilgrime. Or, A nevv discouerie of Spanish popery, and Iesuiticall stratagems VVith the estate of the English pentioners and fugitiues vnder the King of Spaines dominions, and else where at this present. (published in 1629), pages 33-37.

As usual, I have lightly edited and abridged the original text to make it more accessible for modern readers.

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