Hein sent an interpreter and obtained the surrender of most dispersed ships after about half an hour of persuasion. Juan de Benavides Bazan tried to make a defensive stand with his flagship and three other large galleons inside Matanzas Bay. The bay offered little support, and the ships entered water whose charts they did not know well. They grounded lengthwise on mud flats, leaving their guns unable to turn toward the approaching Dutch. Much of their crews went ashore. A commanding officer claimed that he went ashore to retrieve men to transfer the silver, a justification treated skeptically in the account.
Chapter · 35:19-37:25
Four galleons grounded in Matanzas Bay
Most Spanish ships surrendered quickly, while Juan de Benavides Bazan's four galleons grounded lengthwise in Matanzas Bay and lost the ability to defend themselves.