When Mr. Anfon vifited the Governor o f Madera, he received
information from him, that, for three or four days in the latter end
o f Ottoher, there had appeared, to the weftward o f that I (land,
feven or eight fhips o f the line, and a Patache, which laft was
fent every day clofe in, to make the land. The Governor affured
the Commodore, 'upon his honour, that none upon the Ifland
had either given them intelligence, or had in any fort communicated
with them, but that he believed them to be either French
or Spanifh, but was rather inclined to think them Spanifh. On
this intelligence, Mr. Anfon lent an officer in a clean floop, eight
leagues to the weftward, to reconnoitre them, and, i f poffible, to
dilcover what they were t But the Officer returned without being
able to get a fight o f them, do that we ftill remained in uncertainty.
However, we could not but coajefture, that this fleet was intended
to put a flop to-our expedition, which, had they cruifed to
the eaftward o f the Ifland inftead o f the weftward, they could not
but have executed with great facility : for as, in that cafe, they
muft haw certainly fallen in w ith us, we Ihould have been obliged
to throw overboard vaft quantities of provifion, to clear our fhips for
an engagement; and this alone, without any regard to the event of
the aft ion, would have efleftually prevented our progrefs. This
was fo obvious a meafure, that we could not help imagining rea-
fons which might have prevented them from purfuing it. And we
therefore luppoled, that this French or Spanijh fquadron was fent
out, upon adyice o f our failiug in company with Admiral Bal-
chen and Lord Cathcart's expedition t And thence, from an ap-
prehenfion o f being over-matched, they might not think it ad-
vileable to meet with us till we had parted company, which they
might judge would not happen before our arrival at this Ifland.
Thefe were our fpeculationsat that time; and from hence we had
reafon to fuppofe, that we might ftill fall in with them, in
our way to the Cape de Verd Iflands. We afterwards, in the
ceurfe o f our expedition, were perluaded, that this was the
Spanifh
Spanifh fquadron commanded by Don Jofcph Pizarro, which was
fent out purpofely to traverfe the views and enterprizes of our
fquadron, to which, in ftrength, they were greatly fuperior. As
this Spanifh armament then was Co nearly connedled with our expedition,
and' as the cataftrophe it underwent, though not effefted
by our force, was yet a confiderable advantage to this nation, produced
in confequeijce of our equipment; I havet in the following
chapter, given a fummary account o f their proceedings, from their
firft fetting out from Spain in the year 174c, till the AJia, the only
Chip of the whole fquadron which returned to Europe, arrived at
the Groyne in the beginning of the year 1746.
D z C H A P .