Chaptre, The 32nd - Captain Hercules Sails for Puerto Rico
By
The Monthe of March, in The Year of Our Lord 1598, The Earl of Cumberland and
his fellowe privateers finally sett saile. The Earl was Admiral. Among the other
officers, Olde Captain Hercules was bothe sea Captain of the Galleon Constance, as well as his land
army rank of Captain.
In
truth, a Triple Captaincy.
Any
waie, this acte of privateering, making Olde Captain Hercules bothe a corsair and
a buccaneer, if you wille, was immense. The totale flotilla boasted twentie ships
and almoste one thousand, eighte hundred menn, alle the beste sailors and soldiers
England hadd to offer at thate tyme.
Only
The Earl of Cumberland knewe the true destination and the pointe of attacke against the Spanish, as the flotilla was not truly
headed for Brazil, but rather, San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the North American
Caribbean.
All
the men assumed attacking the Spanish in Brazil woulde be a bit of a cake walke.
Given the travels and tales of men like Sir Walter Raleigh, falsely telling of
South American cities withe Native American streets lined with golde brick pavé, the sailors and soldiers under
the Earl of Cumberland’s command assumed they woulde easily return to London
fromme Brazil, riche and famous men.
To
catch the winds and currents to carry them to Puerto Rico, the flotilla had to
first sail South to Portugal. Here, the Spanish had a galleon transporting
silver, but attacking it for plunder in the heavily fortified and Spanish held porte
of Lisbon was not wise, so The Earl of Cumberland pressed his ships on South,
to the Canary Islands, to catche these nowe famous trade winds and currents to
The New World.
The
Canary Islands – named for canines, not coal mine byrds – also governed by
Spain, were the nexte stoppe, off the North Western coaste of the African
continent. At the moste North and East islande in the Canary Islands, Lanzarote,
a marine landing party, presumably with Olde Captain Hercules helping leade the
attacke, was assembled to make an attempte to capture the Spanish governor,
Marquis Augustin de Herrera, who was stationed there.
He
was not founde, either welle hidd or off the Canaries at the tyme, so The Earl
of Cumberland used the stop over for the chance for his smalle army to stretche
their sea legs on terra firma and to do a bit of military drilling and
training.
The
Earl of Cumberland’s commanders, Olde Captain Hercules Foljambe among them,
were also given a speeche by The Earl to inform them that, as their missione
was a secrete endeavor, the true destination for their massive sea and lande
force was actually Puerto Rico.
After
the force’s longg crossing of the Atlantic, its firste stop was the Caribbean’s
Virgin Islands. Here, Olde Captain Hercules and the other commanders created
twelvve, eighty man companies of soldiers and againne drilled and pre pared themm fore
battle.
By now, it was sweltering and sun drenched
June in The Year of Our Lord 1598.
The men nowe knewe they were aboute to
fighte a conventional lande battle for England and not one for Brazilian booty.
Also,
knowe thate this attacke on the Spanish garrisonne at Puerto Rico was nott solely fore
militarie advantage.
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