 Reconnaissance of Manilla = = =   With his convoy safely at anchor in Macau and the China Fleet several weeks from sailing , Cooke decided to reconnoitre Manila and make observations on the port and the Spanish squadron based there . As an added motivation , rumours in Macau suggested that the annual Manila galleon was due to arrive . This ship brought up to two million Spanish silver dollars from Acapulco across the Pacific Ocean stopping at Guam on its way to Manila . Depositing its dollars in the Philippines , the ship then loaded trade goods from the East Indies for the return journey to New Spain . This round trip was essential to the maintenance of the Spanish Empire in the East Indies , which operated at an enormous financial loss only mitigated by the substantial subsidy from New Spain . Spanish dollars were the accepted currency across most of the East Indies , and disruption of this financial system could have profound effects on regional trade ; but British sailors had nevertheless been attacking the Manila galleons since Thomas Cavendish in 1587 .   Leaving the heavier warships at Macau , Cooke sailed on 5 January 1798 only with Sybille and Fox , the latter carrying a Mr. Bernard , an experienced linguist . Passing Luzon , Cooke 's ships encountered a small Spanish merchant vessel , which was lured towards the frigates , which were flying French tricolors . Seizing the Spanish vessel , Cooke closely questioned the captain and learned that most of the Spanish squadron in Manila were undergoing extensive repairs at Cavite and were unfit to sail . Cooke rewarded the captain by releasing his vessel with its cargo intact , although he did remove 3 @,@ 900 silver dollars . The Spanish squadron had suffered badly in a typhoon in April 1797 and much of the damage had still not been repaired by the time Cooke 's small squadron arrived off Manila . Cooke had taken precautions to disguise his ships as French vessels , modelling Sybille on the powerful 40 @-@ gun Forte and Fox on the smaller Prudente .   = = = Dinner on Sybille = = =   Late in the afternoon of 13 January 1798 , Sybille and Fox arrived in Manila Bay , slipping unchallenged past the fortress of Corregidor and then sailing across the bay on the morning of 14 January , anchoring between Manila and Cavite . From his vantage point Cooke could see the Spanish squadron dismasted and under repair in Cavite , the ships of the line San Pedro , Europa and Montañés and the frigates Maria de la Cabeya and Luisa in dock and unfit for action . To Cooke 's disappointment he could also see the Manila galleon , Marquesetta being unloaded at the Cavite docks and another valuable merchant ship Rey Carlos aground in the harbour . The Spanish had learned only shortly before Cooke 's arrival that the British frigate HMS Resistance under Captain Edward Pakenham was in Philippine waters and had decided to remove the valuable cargo from the treasure ship rather than risk an attack .   Fox was the first British ship into the anchorage , and was consequently approached by the guardboat , whose crew came aboard . Malcolm , like Cooke , spoke French fluently and with Bernard translating was able to persuade the officer in charge that the new arrivals were Forte and Prudente seeking supplies and Spanish reinforcements for commerce raiding operations . The officer offered supplies but cautioned that none of the Spanish ships would be in a position to sail until March at the earliest . Cooke then joined the party on the deck of Fox , claiming to be Commodore Latour , a French officer who , unknown to the Spanish , had been killed in the Action of 9 September 1796 off Sumatra . The Spanish officer was now completely convinced by the ruse , which had been augmented by fake French uniforms . Inviting the visitor below decks , Cooke then passed wine around and together they drank a series of toasts , including " the downfall of England " .   For an hour the officers drank , Malcolm and Cooke learning detailed information about the state of the defences and squadron in the Philippines , until a second boat pulled alongside Fox containing more officers keen to greet the French arrivals . This vessel was the personal barge of the Spanish commander at Cavite , Rear @-@ Admiral Don Ignacio María de Álava , who was not aboard , but who sent a message via an aide in a third boat . Each time , the officers were escorted below to join the festivities whereupon their crews were seized at gunpoint and taken below decks as prisoners of war . In Malcolm 's cabin , the captured officers were informed of their situation , promised release before the British frigates sailed , and offered more wine . The crew of Fox meanwhile forced the captured Spanish sailors to strip and donned their clothing . Climbing into the Spanish boats this party rowed for the mouth of the nearby Pasig River , where they had learned that three heavy gunboats were moored . Taking the crews by surprise , the British boarding parties drove off the Spanish without a fight and brought all three
ĠRec onnaissance Ġof ĠMan illa Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠWith Ġhis Ġconvoy Ġsafely Ġat Ġanchor Ġin ĠMac au Ġand Ġthe ĠChina ĠFleet Ġseveral Ġweeks Ġfrom Ġsailing Ġ, ĠCooke Ġdecided Ġto Ġrecon no it re ĠManila Ġand Ġmake Ġobservations Ġon Ġthe Ġport Ġand Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġsquadron Ġbased Ġthere Ġ. ĠAs Ġan Ġadded Ġmotivation Ġ, Ġrumours Ġin ĠMac au Ġsuggested Ġthat Ġthe Ġannual ĠManila Ġg alle on Ġwas Ġdue Ġto Ġarrive Ġ. ĠThis Ġship Ġbrought Ġup Ġto Ġtwo Ġmillion ĠSpanish Ġsilver Ġdollars Ġfrom ĠAc ap ul co Ġacross Ġthe ĠPacific ĠOcean Ġstopping Ġat ĠGuam Ġon Ġits Ġway Ġto ĠManila Ġ. ĠDep os iting Ġits Ġdollars Ġin Ġthe ĠPhilippines Ġ, Ġthe Ġship Ġthen Ġloaded Ġtrade Ġgoods Ġfrom Ġthe ĠEast ĠIndies Ġfor Ġthe Ġreturn Ġjourney Ġto ĠNew ĠSpain Ġ. ĠThis Ġround Ġtrip Ġwas Ġessential Ġto Ġthe Ġmaintenance Ġof Ġthe ĠSpanish ĠEmpire Ġin Ġthe ĠEast ĠIndies Ġ, Ġwhich Ġoperated Ġat Ġan Ġenormous Ġfinancial Ġloss Ġonly Ġmit igated Ġby Ġthe Ġsubstantial Ġsubsidy Ġfrom ĠNew ĠSpain Ġ. ĠSpanish Ġdollars Ġwere Ġthe Ġaccepted Ġcurrency Ġacross Ġmost Ġof Ġthe ĠEast ĠIndies Ġ, Ġand Ġdisruption Ġof Ġthis Ġfinancial Ġsystem Ġcould Ġhave Ġprofound Ġeffects Ġon Ġregional Ġtrade Ġ; Ġbut ĠBritish Ġsailors Ġhad Ġnevertheless Ġbeen Ġattacking Ġthe ĠManila Ġg alle ons Ġsince ĠThomas ĠCav endish Ġin Ġ15 87 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠLeaving Ġthe Ġheavier Ġwarships Ġat ĠMac au Ġ, ĠCooke Ġsailed Ġon Ġ5 ĠJanuary Ġ17 98 Ġonly Ġwith ĠSy b ille Ġand ĠFox Ġ, Ġthe Ġlatter Ġcarrying Ġa ĠMr . ĠBernard Ġ, Ġan Ġexperienced Ġlingu ist Ġ. ĠPassing ĠLu zon Ġ, ĠCooke Ġ' s Ġships Ġencountered Ġa Ġsmall ĠSpanish Ġmerchant Ġvessel Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġlured Ġtowards Ġthe Ġfrig ates Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwere Ġflying ĠFrench Ġtr icol ors Ġ. ĠSe izing Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġvessel Ġ, ĠCooke Ġclosely Ġquestioned Ġthe Ġcaptain Ġand Ġlearned Ġthat Ġmost Ġof Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġsquadron Ġin ĠManila Ġwere Ġundergoing Ġextensive Ġrepairs Ġat ĠCav ite Ġand Ġwere Ġunfit Ġto Ġsail Ġ. ĠCooke Ġrewarded Ġthe Ġcaptain Ġby Ġreleasing Ġhis Ġvessel Ġwith Ġits Ġcargo Ġintact Ġ, Ġalthough Ġhe Ġdid Ġremove Ġ3 Ġ@ , @ Ġ900 Ġsilver Ġdollars Ġ. ĠThe ĠSpanish Ġsquadron Ġhad Ġsuffered Ġbadly Ġin Ġa Ġtyph oon Ġin ĠApril Ġ17 97 Ġand Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġdamage Ġhad Ġstill Ġnot Ġbeen Ġrepaired Ġby Ġthe Ġtime ĠCooke Ġ' s Ġsmall Ġsquadron Ġarrived Ġoff ĠManila Ġ. ĠCooke Ġhad Ġtaken Ġprecautions Ġto Ġdisguise Ġhis Ġships Ġas ĠFrench Ġvessels Ġ, Ġmodelling ĠSy b ille Ġon Ġthe Ġpowerful Ġ40 Ġ@ - @ Ġgun ĠFort e Ġand ĠFox Ġon Ġthe Ġsmaller ĠPr ud ente Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠDinner Ġon ĠSy b ille Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠLate Ġin Ġthe Ġafternoon Ġof Ġ13 ĠJanuary Ġ17 98 Ġ, ĠSy b ille Ġand ĠFox Ġarrived Ġin ĠManila ĠBay Ġ, Ġslipping Ġunch all enged Ġpast Ġthe Ġfortress Ġof ĠCor reg id or Ġand Ġthen Ġsailing Ġacross Ġthe Ġbay Ġon Ġthe Ġmorning Ġof Ġ14 ĠJanuary Ġ, Ġanch oring Ġbetween ĠManila Ġand ĠCav ite Ġ. ĠFrom Ġhis Ġvantage Ġpoint ĠCooke Ġcould Ġsee Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġsquadron Ġdism asted Ġand Ġunder Ġrepair Ġin ĠCav ite Ġ, Ġthe Ġships Ġof Ġthe Ġline ĠSan ĠPedro Ġ, ĠEuropa Ġand ĠMont a Ã± Ã©s Ġand Ġthe Ġfrig ates ĠMaria Ġde Ġla ĠCab ey a Ġand ĠLu isa Ġin Ġdock Ġand Ġunfit Ġfor Ġaction Ġ. ĠTo ĠCooke Ġ' s Ġdisappointment Ġhe Ġcould Ġalso Ġsee Ġthe ĠManila Ġg alle on Ġ, ĠMar ques etta Ġbeing Ġunloaded Ġat Ġthe ĠCav ite Ġdocks Ġand Ġanother Ġvaluable Ġmerchant Ġship ĠRey ĠCarlos Ġag round Ġin Ġthe Ġharbour Ġ. ĠThe ĠSpanish Ġhad Ġlearned Ġonly Ġshortly Ġbefore ĠCooke Ġ' s Ġarrival Ġthat Ġthe ĠBritish Ġfr igate ĠHMS ĠResistance Ġunder ĠCaptain ĠEdward ĠP aken ham Ġwas Ġin ĠPhilippine Ġwaters Ġand Ġhad Ġdecided Ġto Ġremove Ġthe Ġvaluable Ġcargo Ġfrom Ġthe Ġtreasure Ġship Ġrather Ġthan Ġrisk Ġan Ġattack Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFox Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst ĠBritish Ġship Ġinto Ġthe Ġanch orage Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġconsequently Ġapproached Ġby Ġthe Ġguard boat Ġ, Ġwhose Ġcrew Ġcame Ġaboard Ġ. ĠMalcolm Ġ, Ġlike ĠCooke Ġ, Ġspoke ĠFrench Ġflu ently Ġand Ġwith ĠBernard Ġtranslating Ġwas Ġable Ġto Ġpersuade Ġthe Ġofficer Ġin Ġcharge Ġthat Ġthe Ġnew Ġarrivals Ġwere ĠFort e Ġand ĠPr ud ente Ġseeking Ġsupplies Ġand ĠSpanish Ġreinforcements Ġfor Ġcommerce Ġraiding Ġoperations Ġ. ĠThe Ġofficer Ġoffered Ġsupplies Ġbut Ġcautioned Ġthat Ġnone Ġof Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġships Ġwould Ġbe Ġin Ġa Ġposition Ġto Ġsail Ġuntil ĠMarch Ġat Ġthe Ġearliest Ġ. ĠCooke Ġthen Ġjoined Ġthe Ġparty Ġon Ġthe Ġdeck Ġof ĠFox Ġ, Ġclaiming Ġto Ġbe ĠCommodore ĠLat our Ġ, Ġa ĠFrench Ġofficer Ġwho Ġ, Ġunknown Ġto Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġ, Ġhad Ġbeen Ġkilled Ġin Ġthe ĠAction Ġof Ġ9 ĠSeptember Ġ17 96 Ġoff ĠSum atra Ġ. ĠThe ĠSpanish Ġofficer Ġwas Ġnow Ġcompletely Ġconvinced Ġby Ġthe Ġr use Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġbeen Ġaugmented Ġby Ġfake ĠFrench Ġuniforms Ġ. ĠInv iting Ġthe Ġvisitor Ġbelow Ġdecks Ġ, ĠCooke Ġthen Ġpassed Ġwine Ġaround Ġand Ġtogether Ġthey Ġdrank Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġto asts Ġ, Ġincluding Ġ" Ġthe Ġdownfall Ġof ĠEngland Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFor Ġan Ġhour Ġthe Ġofficers Ġdrank Ġ, ĠMalcolm Ġand ĠCooke Ġlearning Ġdetailed Ġinformation Ġabout Ġthe Ġstate Ġof Ġthe Ġdefences Ġand Ġsquadron Ġin Ġthe ĠPhilippines Ġ, Ġuntil Ġa Ġsecond Ġboat Ġpulled Ġalongside ĠFox Ġcontaining Ġmore Ġofficers Ġkeen Ġto Ġgreet Ġthe ĠFrench Ġarrivals Ġ. ĠThis Ġvessel Ġwas Ġthe Ġpersonal Ġb arge Ġof Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġcommander Ġat ĠCav ite Ġ, ĠRear Ġ@ - @ ĠAdmiral ĠDon ĠIgn acio ĠMar ÃŃa Ġde ĠÃ ģ l ava Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġnot Ġaboard Ġ, Ġbut Ġwho Ġsent Ġa Ġmessage Ġvia Ġan Ġaide Ġin Ġa Ġthird Ġboat Ġ. ĠEach Ġtime Ġ, Ġthe Ġofficers Ġwere Ġescorted Ġbelow Ġto Ġjoin Ġthe Ġfestivities Ġwhere upon Ġtheir Ġcrews Ġwere Ġseized Ġat Ġgun point Ġand Ġtaken Ġbelow Ġdecks Ġas Ġprisoners Ġof Ġwar Ġ. ĠIn ĠMalcolm Ġ' s Ġcabin Ġ, Ġthe Ġcaptured Ġofficers Ġwere Ġinformed Ġof Ġtheir Ġsituation Ġ, Ġpromised Ġrelease Ġbefore Ġthe ĠBritish Ġfrig ates Ġsailed Ġ, Ġand Ġoffered Ġmore Ġwine Ġ. ĠThe Ġcrew Ġof ĠFox Ġmeanwhile Ġforced Ġthe Ġcaptured ĠSpanish Ġsailors Ġto Ġstrip Ġand Ġdon ned Ġtheir Ġclothing Ġ. ĠClim bing Ġinto Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġboats Ġthis Ġparty Ġrow ed Ġfor Ġthe Ġmouth Ġof Ġthe Ġnearby ĠPas ig ĠRiver Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthey Ġhad Ġlearned Ġthat Ġthree Ġheavy Ġgun boats Ġwere Ġmo ored Ġ. ĠTaking Ġthe Ġcrews Ġby Ġsurprise Ġ, Ġthe ĠBritish Ġboarding Ġparties Ġdrove Ġoff Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġwithout Ġa Ġfight Ġand Ġbrought Ġall Ġthree