 boats alongside Fox . These vessels normally carried crews of thirty and were well @-@ armed , one with a 32 @-@ pounder long gun and two with 24 @-@ pounder long guns , each supplemented by four swivel guns .   The harbour captain reached Fox shortly afterwards , furious at the seizure of the gunboats and demanding they be returned . Malcolm received him with a tirade of near incomprehensible French and brought him to join the other captured officers in his cabin , while the boat 's crew were imprisoned below decks . Shortly afterwards , at 16 : 00 , Cooke and Malcolm hosted a large dinner for their officer captives and sent food and grog to the crew , the total number of Spanish sailors on Fox now numbering approximately 200 . Once the meal was finished , Cooke allowed all of the captives to return to their boats and row for shore without the conditions of parole , although he retained the captured gunboats .   = = = Zamboanga = = =   Cooke led his small squadron past Corregidor on 15 January and turned south . Four days later in a storm one of the gunboats broke its tow line and was never seen again , lost with its twelve crew . The frigates subsequently scouted Mindanao before reaching Zamboanga on 22 January . There Cooke raised Spanish colours in an attempt to deceive the authorities into supplying food and water to his squadron but Sybille grounded on a sandbank at the entrance to the port which raised the suspicions of a guardboat sent by the governor of Zamboanga , Raymundo Español . The captain of the Spanish boat asked the British ships the names of their captains , and on receiving no answer but a volley of rifle fire , he put the town on alert . With the defenders forewarned , Cooke abandoned his ruse and after refloating Sybille the following morning , ordered a bombardment of the fort protecting the harbour . This had little effect , though later the Spanish recovered at least 450 cannonballs from different calibers , and Malcolm then attempted an amphibious landing in order to storm the landward side of the fort . The boats came under heavy fire , one smashed by a cannonball , killing two and wounding four . Another boat grounded on a sandbar and became stuck ; so with his force in disarray , as 250 villagers armed with lances ambushed and drove the British from the beach , Malcolm called off the operation . After exchanging shot for an hour both frigates cut their anchor cables and retreated out of range , with two dead and one wounded on Sybille and eight wounded on Fox , in addition to those lost in the boats . The defenders lost a single man killed and 4 wounded .   With his frigates now requiring repairs , Cooke withdraw half a league from Zamboanga and spent three days refitting the masts and rigging of the ships . Then he sailed north , scuttling the two remaining gunboats as he did not believe they would survive the return journey to Canton . Four days later , on 27 January the squadron halted at a village named " Pullock " in the north of the Sultanate of Maguindanao to collect fresh water . On the beach a boat party from Sybille was set upon by Lumad tribesmen . Two were killed and nine others taken captive and dragged into the forest before rescuers could arrive . Cooke complained to Sultan Kibab Sahriyal at Kuta Wato and the captured sailors were eventually recovered , although not before Sybille and Fox had sailed for China to escort the merchant convoy back to India .   = = Aftermath = =   Cooke 's opportunistic diversion had determined that the Spanish forces in the Philippines posed no immediate threat , although the mission had cost 18 lives : Admiral Rainier later expressed his satisfaction with the outcome in a letter to the Admiralty . More might have been achieved with reinforcements : Historian C. Northcote Parkinson suggests that had Cooke 's squadron united with Resistance together they may have been able to destroy the disarmed Spanish warships at Cavite . He also notes however that in this scenario Pakenham would have been commanding officer , a man with considerably less imagination and guile than Cooke . Historian Richard Woodman was critical of the mission , considering the operation to have " no glorious outcome " and citing the failure to capture the treasure ships as its greatest short @-@ coming .   The 1798 China Fleet sailed without further incident . During the ensuing year Resistance was destroyed by an accidental explosion in July in the Bangka Strait , and the majority of Rainier 's forces were focused on disrupting the French occupation of Suez in the Red Sea . This diversion of British resources created gaps in the coverage in merchant shipping and Sercey was able to send the frigate Preneuse and corvette Brûle @-@ Gueule to Manila late in the year to join the repaired Spanish squadron . At the beginning of February 1799 , this combined force sailed to Macau , taking the British defences by
Ġboats Ġalongside ĠFox Ġ. ĠThese Ġvessels Ġnormally Ġcarried Ġcrews Ġof Ġthirty Ġand Ġwere Ġwell Ġ@ - @ Ġarmed Ġ, Ġone Ġwith Ġa Ġ32 Ġ@ - @ Ġpound er Ġlong Ġgun Ġand Ġtwo Ġwith Ġ24 Ġ@ - @ Ġpound er Ġlong Ġguns Ġ, Ġeach Ġsupplemented Ġby Ġfour Ġsw ive l Ġguns Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġharbour Ġcaptain Ġreached ĠFox Ġshortly Ġafterwards Ġ, Ġfurious Ġat Ġthe Ġseizure Ġof Ġthe Ġgun boats Ġand Ġdemanding Ġthey Ġbe Ġreturned Ġ. ĠMalcolm Ġreceived Ġhim Ġwith Ġa Ġtir ade Ġof Ġnear Ġincomprehensible ĠFrench Ġand Ġbrought Ġhim Ġto Ġjoin Ġthe Ġother Ġcaptured Ġofficers Ġin Ġhis Ġcabin Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġboat Ġ' s Ġcrew Ġwere Ġimprisoned Ġbelow Ġdecks Ġ. ĠShortly Ġafterwards Ġ, Ġat Ġ16 Ġ: Ġ00 Ġ, ĠCooke Ġand ĠMalcolm Ġhosted Ġa Ġlarge Ġdinner Ġfor Ġtheir Ġofficer Ġcaptives Ġand Ġsent Ġfood Ġand Ġg rog Ġto Ġthe Ġcrew Ġ, Ġthe Ġtotal Ġnumber Ġof ĠSpanish Ġsailors Ġon ĠFox Ġnow Ġnumbering Ġapproximately Ġ200 Ġ. ĠOnce Ġthe Ġmeal Ġwas Ġfinished Ġ, ĠCooke Ġallowed Ġall Ġof Ġthe Ġcaptives Ġto Ġreturn Ġto Ġtheir Ġboats Ġand Ġrow Ġfor Ġshore Ġwithout Ġthe Ġconditions Ġof Ġparole Ġ, Ġalthough Ġhe Ġretained Ġthe Ġcaptured Ġgun boats Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠZ ambo anga Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠCooke Ġled Ġhis Ġsmall Ġsquadron Ġpast ĠCor reg id or Ġon Ġ15 ĠJanuary Ġand Ġturned Ġsouth Ġ. ĠFour Ġdays Ġlater Ġin Ġa Ġstorm Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġgun boats Ġbroke Ġits Ġtow Ġline Ġand Ġwas Ġnever Ġseen Ġagain Ġ, Ġlost Ġwith Ġits Ġtwelve Ġcrew Ġ. ĠThe Ġfrig ates Ġsubsequently Ġsc outed ĠMind ana o Ġbefore Ġreaching ĠZ ambo anga Ġon Ġ22 ĠJanuary Ġ. ĠThere ĠCooke Ġraised ĠSpanish Ġcolours Ġin Ġan Ġattempt Ġto Ġdeceive Ġthe Ġauthorities Ġinto Ġsupplying Ġfood Ġand Ġwater Ġto Ġhis Ġsquadron Ġbut ĠSy b ille Ġgrounded Ġon Ġa Ġsand bank Ġat Ġthe Ġentrance Ġto Ġthe Ġport Ġwhich Ġraised Ġthe Ġsuspicions Ġof Ġa Ġguard boat Ġsent Ġby Ġthe Ġgovernor Ġof ĠZ ambo anga Ġ, ĠRay mund o ĠEsp a Ã± ol Ġ. ĠThe Ġcaptain Ġof Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġboat Ġasked Ġthe ĠBritish Ġships Ġthe Ġnames Ġof Ġtheir Ġcaptains Ġ, Ġand Ġon Ġreceiving Ġno Ġanswer Ġbut Ġa Ġvolley Ġof Ġrifle Ġfire Ġ, Ġhe Ġput Ġthe Ġtown Ġon Ġalert Ġ. ĠWith Ġthe Ġdefenders Ġfore warn ed Ġ, ĠCooke Ġabandoned Ġhis Ġr use Ġand Ġafter Ġref lo ating ĠSy b ille Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġmorning Ġ, Ġordered Ġa Ġbombardment Ġof Ġthe Ġfort Ġprotecting Ġthe Ġharbour Ġ. ĠThis Ġhad Ġlittle Ġeffect Ġ, Ġthough Ġlater Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġrecovered Ġat Ġleast Ġ450 Ġcannon balls Ġfrom Ġdifferent Ġcalib ers Ġ, Ġand ĠMalcolm Ġthen Ġattempted Ġan Ġamphib ious Ġlanding Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġstorm Ġthe Ġland ward Ġside Ġof Ġthe Ġfort Ġ. ĠThe Ġboats Ġcame Ġunder Ġheavy Ġfire Ġ, Ġone Ġsmashed Ġby Ġa Ġcannon ball Ġ, Ġkilling Ġtwo Ġand Ġwounding Ġfour Ġ. ĠAnother Ġboat Ġgrounded Ġon Ġa Ġsand bar Ġand Ġbecame Ġstuck Ġ; Ġso Ġwith Ġhis Ġforce Ġin Ġdis array Ġ, Ġas Ġ250 Ġvillagers Ġarmed Ġwith Ġl ances Ġamb ushed Ġand Ġdrove Ġthe ĠBritish Ġfrom Ġthe Ġbeach Ġ, ĠMalcolm Ġcalled Ġoff Ġthe Ġoperation Ġ. ĠAfter Ġexchanging Ġshot Ġfor Ġan Ġhour Ġboth Ġfrig ates Ġcut Ġtheir Ġanchor Ġcables Ġand Ġretreated Ġout Ġof Ġrange Ġ, Ġwith Ġtwo Ġdead Ġand Ġone Ġwounded Ġon ĠSy b ille Ġand Ġeight Ġwounded Ġon ĠFox Ġ, Ġin Ġaddition Ġto Ġthose Ġlost Ġin Ġthe Ġboats Ġ. ĠThe Ġdefenders Ġlost Ġa Ġsingle Ġman Ġkilled Ġand Ġ4 Ġwounded Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWith Ġhis Ġfrig ates Ġnow Ġrequiring Ġrepairs Ġ, ĠCooke Ġwithdraw Ġhalf Ġa Ġleague Ġfrom ĠZ ambo anga Ġand Ġspent Ġthree Ġdays Ġref itting Ġthe Ġm asts Ġand Ġrigging Ġof Ġthe Ġships Ġ. ĠThen Ġhe Ġsailed Ġnorth Ġ, Ġsc utt ling Ġthe Ġtwo Ġremaining Ġgun boats Ġas Ġhe Ġdid Ġnot Ġbelieve Ġthey Ġwould Ġsurvive Ġthe Ġreturn Ġjourney Ġto ĠCant on Ġ. ĠFour Ġdays Ġlater Ġ, Ġon Ġ27 ĠJanuary Ġthe Ġsquadron Ġhalted Ġat Ġa Ġvillage Ġnamed Ġ" ĠPull ock Ġ" Ġin Ġthe Ġnorth Ġof Ġthe ĠSultan ate Ġof ĠMag u ind ana o Ġto Ġcollect Ġfresh Ġwater Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġbeach Ġa Ġboat Ġparty Ġfrom ĠSy b ille Ġwas Ġset Ġupon Ġby ĠLum ad Ġtribes men Ġ. ĠTwo Ġwere Ġkilled Ġand Ġnine Ġothers Ġtaken Ġcaptive Ġand Ġdragged Ġinto Ġthe Ġforest Ġbefore Ġresc uers Ġcould Ġarrive Ġ. ĠCooke Ġcomplained Ġto ĠSultan ĠK ib ab ĠSah ri y al Ġat ĠK uta ĠW ato Ġand Ġthe Ġcaptured Ġsailors Ġwere Ġeventually Ġrecovered Ġ, Ġalthough Ġnot Ġbefore ĠSy b ille Ġand ĠFox Ġhad Ġsailed Ġfor ĠChina Ġto Ġescort Ġthe Ġmerchant Ġconvoy Ġback Ġto ĠIndia Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠAfter math Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠCooke Ġ' s Ġopportun istic Ġdiversion Ġhad Ġdetermined Ġthat Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġforces Ġin Ġthe ĠPhilippines Ġposed Ġno Ġimmediate Ġthreat Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthe Ġmission Ġhad Ġcost Ġ18 Ġlives Ġ: ĠAdmiral ĠRain ier Ġlater Ġexpressed Ġhis Ġsatisfaction Ġwith Ġthe Ġoutcome Ġin Ġa Ġletter Ġto Ġthe ĠAdmir alty Ġ. ĠMore Ġmight Ġhave Ġbeen Ġachieved Ġwith Ġreinforcements Ġ: ĠHist orian ĠC . ĠNorth c ote ĠParkinson Ġsuggests Ġthat Ġhad ĠCooke Ġ' s Ġsquadron Ġunited Ġwith ĠResistance Ġtogether Ġthey Ġmay Ġhave Ġbeen Ġable Ġto Ġdestroy Ġthe Ġdis armed ĠSpanish Ġwarships Ġat ĠCav ite Ġ. ĠHe Ġalso Ġnotes Ġhowever Ġthat Ġin Ġthis Ġscenario ĠP aken ham Ġwould Ġhave Ġbeen Ġcommanding Ġofficer Ġ, Ġa Ġman Ġwith Ġconsiderably Ġless Ġimagination Ġand Ġgu ile Ġthan ĠCooke Ġ. ĠHist orian ĠRichard ĠWood man Ġwas Ġcritical Ġof Ġthe Ġmission Ġ, Ġconsidering Ġthe Ġoperation Ġto Ġhave Ġ" Ġno Ġglorious Ġoutcome Ġ" Ġand Ġciting Ġthe Ġfailure Ġto Ġcapture Ġthe Ġtreasure Ġships Ġas Ġits Ġgreatest Ġshort Ġ@ - @ Ġcoming Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġ17 98 ĠChina ĠFleet Ġsailed Ġwithout Ġfurther Ġincident Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthe Ġensuing Ġyear ĠResistance Ġwas Ġdestroyed Ġby Ġan Ġaccidental Ġexplosion Ġin ĠJuly Ġin Ġthe ĠBang ka ĠStrait Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġmajority Ġof ĠRain ier Ġ' s Ġforces Ġwere Ġfocused Ġon Ġdisrupting Ġthe ĠFrench Ġoccupation Ġof ĠS uez Ġin Ġthe ĠRed ĠSea Ġ. ĠThis Ġdiversion Ġof ĠBritish Ġresources Ġcreated Ġgaps Ġin Ġthe Ġcoverage Ġin Ġmerchant Ġshipping Ġand ĠSer ce y Ġwas Ġable Ġto Ġsend Ġthe Ġfr igate ĠPre ne use Ġand Ġcor vette ĠBr Ã» le Ġ@ - @ ĠG ue ule Ġto ĠManila Ġlate Ġin Ġthe Ġyear Ġto Ġjoin Ġthe Ġrepaired ĠSpanish Ġsquadron Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġbeginning Ġof ĠFebruary Ġ17 99 Ġ, Ġthis Ġcombined Ġforce Ġsailed Ġto ĠMac au Ġ, Ġtaking Ġthe ĠBritish Ġdefences Ġby