page_title: Antonio de Morga
section_title: Combat with Dutch corsairs
hierarchical_section_title: Antonio de Morga / Combat with Dutch corsairs
caption_attribution_description: English: An Illustration of the sinking of the Spanish flagship San Diego after a battle with the Dutch ship Eendracht in Manila Bay in 1600 Nederlands: Een illustratie van het zinken van het Spaanse vlaggeschip de San Diego na een gevecht met het Hollandse schip de Eendracht in 1600 in de Manillabaai
context_page_description: Antonio de Morga Sánchez Garay was a Spanish soldier, lawyer and a high-ranking colonial official for 43 years, in the Philippines, New Spain and Peru, where he was president of the Real Audiencia for 20 years.
  He was also a historian. After being reassigned to Mexico, he published the book
  Sucesos de las islas Filipinas in 1609, considered one of the most important works on the early history of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. As Deputy Governor in the Philippines, he restored the audencia. He took over the function of judge or oidor. He also took command of Spanish ships in a 1600 naval battle against Dutch corsairs, but suffered defeat and barely survived.
  His history was first published in English in 1868; numerous editions have been published in English, including a 1907 edition that is online at the Gutenberg Project. It has also been reprinted in Spanish and other languages.
context_section_description: In 1600 Dutch corsairs under Olivier van Noort were preying on shipping entering Manila harbor. According to Morga's account, Governor Francisco de Tello de Guzmán and the Audiencia appointed Morga to go to Cavite and assemble, equip and supply a fleet to attack the Dutch (October 31, 1600). The ships available were the San Diego, the San Bartolomé and some smaller vessels. Some refitting was necessary, since both the San Diego and the San Bartolomé were cargo ships. According to Morga, this was done without drawing on the colonial treasury (i.e., at his own expense, perhaps with other private contributions).
  Morga had had some military experience, having been general of a Spanish fleet some time previously and lieutenant of the captain general of the Philippines for some years, but he had never seen combat.
  On December 1, 1600, Governor Tello appointed Morga captain general of the fleet, with orders to attack the two Dutch ships. The two forces met on December 14, 1600. The Spanish also had two ships, and one sailed off in pursuit of one of the Dutch ships. Unable to fire – the gunports were closed because they were under the waterline, because he had allowed the ship to be dangerously overloaded – Morga ordered the San Diego to ram the Mauritius and grapple it. Thirty soldiers and some sailors boarded the Mauritius, taking possession of the forecastle and after-cabin and capturing the Dutch standard. The main and mizzen masts were stripped of sails and rigging. The Dutch retreated to the bow, where at first it seemed they were about to surrender. However, they soon renewed the fight with muskets and artillery.
  An intense, six-hour hand-to-hand battle ensued, and many were killed on each side. The Dutch were said to have very few men left, and then the Mauritius caught fire. Fearing the fire, the San Diego recalled its men and cast off. However, the Spanish ship was taking on water and sinking, either from the ramming or from the artillery of the Mauritius. (Accounts differ.)
  The Dutch took this opportunity to extinguish the fire and set sail with the foresail, the only sail remaining, and with a skeleton crew. They eventually reached Borneo. The other Dutch ship, however, was captured by the San Bartolome. It was taken to Manila, where the captain and the surviving sailors were garrotted on the orders of the governor.
  The San Diego sank so quickly that the men for the most part were unable to disarm or abandon ship. Perhaps 350 men were lost. Morga swam for four hours, holding on to the Dutch standard, and made it to a small deserted island, where a few others of the ship's company also arrived.
  This is based on the account of Morga, as published in his 1609 Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. He blamed the captain of the San Bartolome for the loss of the San Diego, because he had pursued the other Dutch ship rather than attacking the Mauritius. The Dutch account of these events was very different, accusing Morga of incompetence and cowardice.
  In 1992, French explorers led by Franck Goddio excavated the sunken San Diego with its treasure.  Because of the large number of artifacts found with it (over 34,000), this was hailed as a great archaeological discovery. The artifacts included Chinese porcelain, celadon ware, Japanese katanas, Spanish morions, Portuguese cannons and Mexican coins. An MV San Diego warship museum has been constructed on Fortune Island to display and interpret many of the artifacts. This was the island reached by Morga and the other survivors of the San Diego.
caption: Illustration of 1603 representing the combat of the San Diego of Morga against the Mauritius of Van Noort
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