This was great news for Lancaster which gave him even more of an incentive to take Recifie. The fleet now totaling nearly fifteen ships would accompany him there and converted the galley-frigate into a troop ship. By the end of March 1595 Lancaster arrived at Recife which is located where the Beberibe River meets the Capibaribe River to flow into the Atlantic Ocean and as such for the Portuguese it is a major port which was Governed by Jorge de Albuquerque Coelho. The place is surrounded by many small coral islands and rivers while Recife itself is protected by Fort São Jorge which lays on a spit of land which leads directly via a sandy isthmus to the next port of Olinda. When Lancaster arrived he found three sixty ton Dutch fluitships already there intending to take the cargo and prevent it going back to Portugal. Lancaster went aboard the Dutch ship and made arrangements with their commander, both of whom agreed to share the spoils as the English had the means to take the town and hold it, whilst the Dutch did not. On the early hours of Good Friday, Lancaster landed his troops on the beach who surrounded Recife on both land and sea so that the Portuguese would be confused as to where the main attack was to come from. After a preliminary naval bombardment the English attacked on all sides and the Portuguese resistance although strong to start with soon petered out; Fort São Jorge was overwhelmed and the spit of land was taken with only minor loss and consequently the town itself was taken with little resistance. The garrison fled to Olinda almost three miles away who then took refuge and Lancaster with only ten casualties permitted not the slightest disorder after the place was taken. Now in possession of the area Lancaster knew the Portuguese were preparing a counterattack so he strengthened Fort São Jorge (using the captured ordnance) which connected Recife with Olinda. He then proceeded at leisure to stow his ships with the goods found in the town of which there nearly 100 houses and store buildings. He agreed a fee with the Dutch captains to take a load of looted sugar and Brazil wood to England instead of Holland with "Virgin" to make sure they did, in effect using a diplomacy to charter the Dutch ships. The Portuguese however intended to drive the English away so made several attempts at retaking the town but each time assaulting the fortified isthmus they were repelled with heavy losses. The next attempt was made via the waters; blazing rafts were sent down the river and at the same time an attempt by fire-ships on sea was also made but these attempts were frustrated by Lancaster.