The second part of the booke of battailes, fought in our age taken out of the best authors and writers in sundrie languages. Published for the profit of those that practise armes, and for the pleasure of such as loue to be harmlesse hearers of bloudie broiles.

¶ The Battaile of Barrow, fought betweene Moun∣sieur de Boisot the admiral of flissinghen, & Iulian de Romero, Campe maister of the Tierce of Sici∣cile, the second day of Ianuarie, An. 1574. Out of Cornelio.

FLissingen, the Kaye of the low C••••••trie, standing at the mouth of the riuer of Scheld, th•••••• ••unneth by Ant∣werpe, & a great part of Holand (as we tould you in y^e last battaile,) being reuolted from y^e Spaniard, & for∣ces repayring vnto Flissing out of Englād, Scotlād, France & Germanie, & the low countries, they became so mightie, & namely, by sea, that they streightly beséeged Middlebourg, their neighbour, the chiefe citie of the Isle of Walachren, and their fléete was so mightie, cōmonly called by the name of Vribuiters, that they excéeded the number of 150. saile and had in An. 1572. discomfited the fléete of the Duke of Medi∣na Celi, consisting of xxv. Saile, but most Merchants, of Spaine, Portugall, and Italie, setting vpon them vpon a sodayne, who knew nothing of this reuolt, and tooke twelue of their shippes with a prise of aboue 600000. Crownes, whereof 200000. was in readie coyne.

This dyd set the Prince of Orang, the head of the Pro∣testants (opprobiously called Geux) so on slote, that as I said, he did in a maner take al traficke frō Antwerpe, & had brought the towne of Middelbourg into extreme necessitie

of all necessaries: to relieue the which lacke, (being a mat∣ter of so great consequence, as the cutting of all trafick and victualles by Sea from Antwarpe,) Lewes Requesenes, the great Commendador of Castilia, who lately succéeded the Duke of Alua, in the gouerment of the low Countries, thought he might not neglect without his perpetuall re∣proch, & contempt of his name, power, and person, for euer, if at his first comming he should léese a place of that momēt. Wherefore séeing that he could not victuall Middelbourg, vnlesse he did defaite the strong fléete that laye before it: he determined to assemble and to gather together into one, all his dispersed nauall forces. To effect the which desseine he commaunded Sanchio Dauila the Castellane of Antwerp, to saile with certaine great shippes from Antwerpe, downe the Hont, towards Flissing, and not farre from the point of Tergoes, to expect the comming of Iulian de Romero, the Campe maister of the Tierce of Sicile, who should set forth from Bergen op Soome downe the Scheld, with a nauie of xxx. great Hoies and small shippes, verie well appointed, in whome he had embarqued besides Flemings & Wallons, tenne bandes of Spaniards: so that both fleetes méeting together about the point of Tergoes, might with ioyned for∣ces passe thorough to Middelbourg, and encoūter the Prin∣ces fléete, if they would assay to stop their passage. Sanchio Dauila, was so sharpe sette on this iourney, that he would needes wilfully launch forth both against winde and tide, thorough the which rash part, it came to passe, that one of his shippes striking vpon the flattes, was lost within the sight of the Citie of Antwerp, and an other néere to Roiner-s wald in Zeland, yet he being nothing dismayed for this vn∣luckie losse, went forward with his iourney, and lay at an∣ther not farre from Flissing, staying there as he was com∣maunded, for Romero: who also had an vnluckie abode∣ment at the beginning. For when the Comendador came downe to Bergen to the fléete, and they according to their maner would welcome him with a peale of ordenance: the barrelles of Gunpouder that were in one of the shippes

caught on fire, and tare the shippe and the men therein into péeces, and yet better was the beginning than the ending. For the Prince of Orenge hauing some intelligence of the intent of the enimie (as hard it is to finde a sailer a Catho∣like) commaunded Monsieur de Boisot, the Admirall of Flissingen to spéede him with all the forces of his Fléete (the which some report to be an hundreth great hoies, and Flie∣botes) (leauing the great ships still before Middelburg, spoi∣led of their men and munition, for a vaine skarcrowe to Dauila.) And such in déede was the diligence of Boisot, that Romero had scarce weied vp anker, when he presented him battaile in the sight of the Comendador. The two Admi∣ralls shippes, of whome the one had two hundred, the other an 180. men, encountered the one the other verie fiercelie: se that the Spaniards had boorded the Admirall of Flissengen, and had gotten as farre as the mast, when they were vali∣antlie driuen out a gaine by the Flissingers, and namelie, through the succour of a Flie bote, that timelie laide Rome∣ro aboord on the other side, and Iulian was forced to saue his life by swimming, after he had séene foure of his shippes drowned and ten taken, and the rest flying fast towardes Bergen, but yet the Flissingers tooke foure in y^e chase. They report that almost a ridiculous déede of a boie of Soutlant, a village néere Flissing, much hasted and helped the victorie. Fortune shewing that her force and ficklenesse is séene in nothing more, than in vniuersal conflicts and battailes. This boie, whilest all mens heads, eyes, and handes were busied belowe with fierce fight, stole of the flagge of the Admirall of Spaine, and wrapping it about his middle, slidde downe therewithall into the Admirall of Flissing: and then holding it vp, cried, victorie, victorie, not to the small terrour and dis∣couragement of the Spaniardes, it béeing thus séene on a sodaine. When Sanchio Dauila heard of this ouerthrowe, hée wayed vp anker, and hasted him to Antwerpe for feare of a foile. Héerevpon the valiant Mandragon surrende∣red the towne of Middlebourg, whereby the Protestants became Lordes of all Zeland, yea, and of the Sea also, the

which they doe reteine still to this daie: and euer since they first tooke Flissingen, fortune hath fauoured them on the wa∣ter. As not many moneths before, the Duke of Alua com∣maunded a Fléete to bée rigged at Amstelredam, and to be conducted by the Comte Bossu, to encounter the Nauie of North Holand: the which y^e Earle did, rather to accomplish the commaundement of his gouernour, than of his owne good will, because hée knew right well the strength of his enimie, the which hée coulde in no measure match: yet be∣cause hee would not séeme to be a coward, and gréene liue∣red, he with nine or ten shippes assailed aboue thirtie of his enimies.

The battaile was passing well fought on both parties, as well at the first with the great Ordenance, as afterward with small shot, push of the pike, and sword and target. And at the first the victorie séemed to encline to Bossu, but at the last the North Holanders, being fortefied by a new supplie of ships, y^e timely ariued carried awaie y^e victorie. For while parte of them had enuironed the Admirall of the enimies, casting down vpon thē incessantlie frō their tops vnslacked Lime, in such sorte, that they coulde not tell which waie to turne them to saue themselues from the furie thereof: their fellowes had so lustelie assailed them on the other side, that they within were constrained to yéeld vpon composition, although they had before béene of opinion to haue put fire to their pouder, and haue destroied themselues, fearing that they shoulde finde no mercie with those of North Holand. The which the other ships séeing, hoised vp all their sailes, and hasted amaine towards Amstelredam, the which they all recouered, except the shippe of Captaine Vesthen, the which was sunke with Canon shot, & the Admirall a great shippe called the Inquisition, wherein was found greate ri∣ches, and was taken with the Comte Bossu, many Captaines, and carried with great triumph and ioy to Horne.