be more equalized, though the Dutch ships were only seven to the enemy's eleven and several of them were in a very poor condition.
On the morning of December 30, the English fleet hove in sight off Jakatra. Coen, who had by this time become Governor-General, assuming the command of the Dutch ships, went out to meet the enemy, not omitting, however, beforehand to dispatch a small craft to Amboina with instructions for a concentration of the entire Dutch forces in the Moluccas with a view to further eventualities. When the two fleets had approached within about a gunshot of each other, Dale sent off a herald to proclaim the reason for his warlike operations and to demand the surrender of the Dutch commander. Needless to say, the answer was a defiant negative. The rest of the day was spent in manoeuvring to secure a Dutch ship which in ignorance of the state of affairs had arrived outside the harbour.
The next morning the action commenced in earnest. From eleven in the morning until three in the afternoon the contest continued without intermission, "a cruelle bloodye fight" in which 3,000 great shot were exchanged between the fleets and many men were killed and wounded on each side. Night closed in with the two fleets anchored close to each other without any decisive result having been reached. On the Dutch side a council of war was held to decide a future course of action. The outlook for them was gloomy. Ammunition on all the ships was running short, there were many casualties, and several of the vessels were so damaged as to be scarcely seaworthy. To renew the fight in such circumstances would be perilous in the extreme: yet surrender was not to be thought of.
