Ebsworth has plenty to say on the early history of TSOD, particularly on various registrations. He seems to imply that the Jennings composition (1594/5) was a continuation of the earlier ballad (1590) in which the George Aloe had an encounter with 3 French frigates in the Straits of Gibraltar. If the George Aloe was taking on 3 frigates and then sank another French ship later on it must have been a very heavily armed merchantman.