In the year 1595 Penzance and Mousehole both suffered the greatest disaster in their history, being burned by a force of raiding Spaniards. Many of the chief events in the long sea-war against Spain had already passed without immediately affecting the far west, including the Great Armada in 1588; Drake and Hawkins were at Plymouth preparing for an expedition to the West Indies from which neither was to return; the Spaniards had established a small naval force including galleys at Blavet in Brittany, and it was from this that the attack on Mount's Bay came, lead by Don Carlos de Amesquita. We are most fortunate in having a full contemporary account of this tragic event, recounted to Richard Carew by his friend Sir Francis Godolphin, who had been foremost in meeting the raiders, and printed in 1602 in Carew's Survey of Cornwall, the first and greatest book written about the County.
This now follows in full:
        The 23rd of July 1595, soon after the sun was risen and had chased a fog which before kept the sea out of sight, four galleys of the enemy presented themselves upon the coast over-against Mousehole, and there in a fair bay landed about two hundred men, pikes and shot, who forthwith sent their forlorn hope, consisting of their basest people, unto the straggled houses of the country about half a mile compass or more, by whom were burned not only the houses they went by but also the parish church of Paul, the force of the fire being such as it utterly ruined all the great stone pillars thereof. Others of them in that time burned that fisher town Mousehole, the rest marched as a guard for defence of these firers.
        The inhabitants being feared with the Spaniards' landing and burning, fled from their dwellings, and very meanly weaponed met with Sir Francis Godolphin on a green on the west side of Penzance, who that forenoon coming from his house for pacifying some controversies in those western parts, and from the hills espying the fires in that town, church, and houses, hastened thither: who forthwith sent to all the captains of those parts for their speedy repair with their companies, and also sent by post to Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins (then at Plymouth with a fleet bound for the Indies) advertisement of the arrival of these four galleys and of their burnings, advising them to look to themselves if there were any greater fleet of the enemy's at sea, and to send west with all haste what succours by sea or land they could spare. Then Sir Francis Godolphin advised that weak assembly to retire into Penzance and to prepare it for defence until the coming of the country forces that he had sent for. But they finding themselves in number something above a hundred, wherein were about thirty or forty shot, though scarce one third of them were serviceable, insisted to march against the enemies to repel them from farther spoils of their houses.
        But while they were marching towards them, the Spaniards returned aboard their galleys and presently removed them farther into the bay, where they anchored again, before and near a lesser fisher town called Newlyn. There again with all speed they landed, and embattled in the slope of a hill about four hundred pikes and shot, sending about two ranks of soldiers, three in a rank, up to the top of the hill to discover what forces or ambushes of the country might lie in view: who espying none but those that were returned with Sir Francis Godolphin from their forementioned fruitless march, gave notice thereof to their embattled company, whereupon they forthwith marched towards Penzance.
        Upon their moving Sir Francis Godolphin moved also to enter Penzance before them, and as soon as that weak number were entered into the open green, being of three quarters of a mile length, the galleys ceased not to ply them all that way with their ordnance from their prows as busily as they could. Of which shot, though none were hurt, but only a constable unhorsed without any harm, saving the show on his doublet of the bullets sliding by his back, yet many in a fearful manner, soon fell flat to the ground and others ran away.
        Sir Francis sent after those that were entered Penzance before him, that they should make their stand at the market-place, himself staying hindmost to observe the enemy's order and which way they would make their approach. Which done, he found at the said market-place but only two resolute shot who stood at his command, and some ten or twelve others that followed him, most of them his own servants; the rest, surprised with fear, fled, whom neither his persuasions nor threatening with his rapier drawn he could recall. Finding himself thus abandoned and the enemy entered the town in three parts, he was then forced to depart, the enemies beginning their fire some houses behind him. The town thus fired, as also the forementioned little fisher town Newlyn, they returned again to their galleys.
        By this time, towards the evening, the Cornish forces, increased in number and amended in heart, encamped themselves on the green near to the town of Markasiew and St. Michael's Mount for the defence thereof, and there spent out the night. The next day the enemy made show to land again on the west side of the bay, but seeing the people, though few in number yet resolute to resist, they desisted from their enterprise, and besides, finding themselves annoyed by the shooting of bullets and arrows into their galleys, where they rode at anchor, they were forced to remove them farther off.
        Soon after, viz. on the 25th of July in the morning, came thither Sir Nic. Clifford, Sir H. Power, and certain other captains who were sent by the generals from Plymouth to the camp, as some of her Majesty's ships were also sent, who being come as far as the Lizard Head, and those captains to the camp, matters there go on in provident and orderly sort. A plot is laid for intercepting the enemy by ambush if he thrust on shore again, whereto necessity must soon have pressed him for renewing his consumed store of fresh water, but within one hour after the arrival of these captains, the wind, which was until then strong at south-east with mist and rain to have impeached the galleys' return, suddenly changed into the north-west with very fair and clear weather, as if God had a purpose to preserve these his rods for a longer time. The wind no sooner came good, but away pack the galleys with all the haste they could.
        Thus have you a summary report of the Spaniards' glorious enterprise and the Cornishmen's infamous cowardice, which (were there any cause) I could qualify by many reasons: as, the suddenness of the attempt, the narrowness of the country, the openness of the town, the advantage of the galleys' ordnance on a people unprepared against such accidents through our long-continued peace, and at that very time for the most part either in their tin-works or at sea, who ere the next day made resistance even with a handful, and entered a vowed resolution to revenge their loss at the next encounter if the enemy had landed again. So might I likewise say, that all these circumstances meeting in any other quarter of the realm would hardly have produced much better effects. But I will not seek to thrust my countrymen into any other folks' company, for shifting them out of sight.
Some additional information about the raid is contained in the Calendar of State Papers. There is a letter to Drake and Hawkins from Sir Francis Godolphin and Thomas Chiverton, written at one o'clock on 23 July on the green beyond Penzance, sending the news of the burning of Mousehole, stating that they had 200 men assembled and were awaiting the coming of more so as to make head towards the enemy, and praying the Admirals to "consider what is to be done both for safety and defence." On the same day Hannibal Vyvyan wrote to Drake and Hawkins from St. Mawes Fort, reporting that Penzance, Newlyn, Mousehole and Paul had been burned without resistance, "I speak of it to the disgrace of those people," and urging them to send ships or, if the ships were unfit for action, some experienced leaders by land. Before their hasty departure from Mount's Bay, the Spaniards landed some English prisoners whom they had been holding aboard the galleys; one of them, Barnaby Loe of Ipswich, reported to Godolphin and Thomas St. Aubyn on 25 July that the Spaniards had been guided by a renegade Englishman, Captain Burley of Weymouth; that they would have remained longer but for fear of Drake's fleet; and that "after they had burned Penzance and other villages they had a mass next day on the western hill, where they vowed to found a friary when they had conquered England."
The Parish registers of Paul were destroyed with the Church, as recorded by the Vicar, John Tremearne, at the beginning of the new register, the first entry in which records the burial of Jenken Keigwin of Mouschole, killed by the Spaniards. Keigwin, who was one of the chief inhabitants of Mousehole, was buried on 24 July, when the Spaniards were still in the Bay and apparently holding their Mass not far away, and the ball that killed him was preserved by his descendants for many years. Two other casualties, James of Newlyn and Teck Cornall, were buried on the 26th.
It was a raid rather than an invasion; the Spaniards demonstrated the exposure of coastal towns and villages to surprise attack, but themselves escaped only just in time to avoid capture by the naval forces from Plymouth, and the sufferings of Penzance and its neighbours were to be avenged a thousand times at Cadiz the following year. As always following a catastrophe, there were post-mortems, and the townsmen of Penzance were the subject of much adverse comment on their initial panic and failure to support Godolphin. Sir Nicholas Clifford, one of the military captains who had arrived with reinforcements on 25 July, reported: "As for the town of Penzance, had the people stood with Sir Francis Godolphin, who engaged himself very worthily, it had been saved, but the common sort utterly forsook him, saving four or five gentlemen." Another report came from Sir Thomas Baskerville: "If any captain of judgment had been there to conduct the people, with only 200 men, and had accosted the enemy in flank, the country would have been saved from spoil and fire, and without any loss; had they attempted it whilst the enemy followed the spoil in the sacking of the towns, then disorder would have undoubtedly overthrown them."
After describing the raid in the passage quoted above, Richard Carew mentioned an ancient prophecy in the Cornish language concerning the rock known as Merlin's Rock, where the enemy first stepped on shore:
                Ewra teyre a war meane Merlyn
                Ara lesky Pawle Pensanz ha Newlyn
or in modern Cornish:
                Y a-wra tyra war men Merlyn
                A-wra lesky Pawl Pensans ha Newlyn
and in English:
                They shall land on the Rock of Merlin
                Who shall burn Paul, Penzance and Newlyn.
Carew stated that this prophecy had long run among the Cornish people, but no reference to it has been found earlier than his book, and it is possible that, like many such prophecies, it was actually made up after the event.

Source: The History of the Town & Borough of Penzance, by P.A.S. Pool.