A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Vi Part 13

[Footnote 172: At first sight this appears to have been the fort of Pisang, but from the sequel it would rather seem to have been another fort at or in the neighbourhood of Pedier.--E.]

[Footnote 173: It is hardly possible that the lord of a petty state on the coast of Sumatra should have so large a number of elephants, more perhaps than the Great Mogul in the height of the sovereignty of Hindustan. Probably Capt. Stevens may have mistaken the original, and we ought to read "With above a thousand men and several armed elephants."--E.]

[Footnote 174: Though obscurely expressed in the text, these thirty pirates appear to have been employed in the s.h.i.+p commanded by Seixas; probably pardoned after the punishment of their former leader Gago.--E.]

While on his voyage to India, Enriquez met two s.h.i.+ps commanded by Sebastian Souza and Martin Correa, bound for the Island of Banda to load with spices; who learning the dangerous situation of Pisang, went directly to that place. Ayres Coello had just sustained a furious a.s.sault with some loss; and on seeing this relief the enemy abated their fury. Eight days afterwards, Andres was forced back by stress of weather to Pisang. One night, above 8000 of the enemy surrounded the fort, in which there were 350 Portuguese, some of whom were sick and others disabled by wounds, but all much spent with continual watching and fatigue. The enemy advanced in profound silence and applied seven hundred scaling ladders to the walls, on which they immediately mounted with loud shouts. The dispute was hotly maintained on both sides for some time; but some s.h.i.+ps being set on fire enabled the Portuguese to point their cannon with such accuracy, that many of the enemy were slain, and the rest obliged to desist from the a.s.sault. Next morning above two thousand of the enemy were found slain around the walls, with two elephants; while on the Portuguese side only one woman was slain in her chamber by an arrow. The remaining six thousand of the enemy immediately retired, leaving half their ladders and large quant.i.ties of fireworks. Yet taking into consideration the difficulty and expence of maintaining this port, it was resolved to s.h.i.+p off all the men and goods, and to set it on fire, leaving the large cannons filled with powder, that they might burst when the fire reached them. Greater part of the fort was destroyed; but the enemy saved some of the cannon, which were afterwards employed with considerable effect against the Portuguese. Some goods were lost in s.h.i.+pping, as the Portuguese were in a great fright, and embarked up to the neck in water. By this abandonment of their post, the Portuguese lost more reputation with the natives of Sumatra than they had gained by their former valiant defence.

They were fully sensible of this, as they met a powerful reinforcement at sea under Azevedo; and learnt that the king of Aru was marching by land to their a.s.sistance with 4000 men. The king of Achem followed up his good fortune, and rendered himself all-powerful in Sumatra, beyond even his hopes.

About this time[175] Malacca was much straitened by the king of Bintang, who sent a powerful armament against it, to oppose which. George Albuquerque sent a naval force under Don Sancho Enriquez; but in a violent storm 70 out of 200 Portuguese were lost. Till now the king of Pahang had sided with the Portuguese; but seeing the tide of fortune had turned against them, he too became their enemy. Ignorant of this change, Albuquerque sent three-s.h.i.+ps to his port for provisions, where two of his captains and thirty men were killed: The third made his escape, but was slain with all his men at Java. Simon de Abreu and his crew were slain on another occasion; and two vessels sent to prevent provisions from getting into Bintang were lost.

[Footnote 175: De Faria is often defective in dates, and always confused. The events about this time are only vaguely stated as having happened during the government of Duarte Menezes, between the years 1522 and 1524, both inclusive. Among the confused ma.s.s of ill-digested and often indistinctly related events, many of which possess hardly any interest, we have now deemed it proper, in the farther prosecution of this History of the Portuguese transactions in India, to omit many trivial and uninteresting events, confining our attention to those of some importance, and which appear worth recording. The Portuguese Asia of DeFaria minutely relates every consecutive squadron sent to or from India, and every trifling commercial adventure; the insertion of which in our collection would be needlessly tedious.--E.]

In 1524, the memorable DON VASCO DE GAMA, now count of Vidugueyra, went out to India as viceroy with 14 s.h.i.+ps and 8000 soldiers. During the voyage, two caravels were lost with all their men, and a third was lost but the men saved. Gaspar Mossem, one of the captains, was basely killed by his crew, merely because he was not a Portuguese. While at sea near Cambaya in a dead calm, the sea tossed so violently all of a sudden that all the people thought they were lost: But the viceroy perceiving it was caused by an earthquake, called out, "Courage my friends, the sea trembles for fear of you." One great s.h.i.+p of Mecca, worth 60,000 crowns, was taken, and the fleet arrived at Goa. Having visited some of the forts, and issued the necessary orders, Gama sent three gallies from Cochin to Calicut, as the subjects of the zamorin began to be troublesome. One of these fought for three hours with fifty large _paraos_ and lost three men; but on the coming up of the others, the enemy were put to flight. The new viceroy had intended to execute several important enterprises; but he soon fell sick, and finding his end fast approaching, he appointed Lope Vaz de Sampayo to act as his successor till Don Enrique de Menezes, then at Goa, who was next in nomination by the king, might arrive. Vasco de Gama died on Christmas eve 1524, having been only three months viceroy. He was of middle stature, somewhat gross, and had a ruddy complexion. He had a natural boldness for any great undertaking, and was well fitted for every thing entrusted to him, as a sea captain, as discoverer, and as viceroy; being patient of fatigue, prompt in the execution of justice, and terrible when angry.

Immediately after the death of the viceroy, Lope Vaz de Sampayo dispatched Francisco de Sa to Goa, to carry information to Don Enrique de Menezes that he had succeeded to the government of Portuguese India.

Leaving De Sa to command in Goa, Menezes went immediately to Cochin to a.s.sume his new situation; having first sent his nephew George Zelo with a galliot and five armed paraos against a fleet which infested the coast. Zelo met 38 vessels laden with spice commanded by _Cutiale_, four of which were taken and the rest driven on sh.o.r.e. These four were brought in barbarous triumph to Goa, having many of the enemies hung upon the shrouds. The Canarin rowers carried thirty heads, in token of the victory, and twelve prisoners alive, _who were given up to the boys to be stoned to death_. Zelo had similar success afterwards against a s.h.i.+p and nine paraos. He sailed after that to Cochin with his uncle, who, being accidentally joined by George de Menezes, defeated 36 paraos belonging to Diu, 17 of which were taken. When at Cananor be hanged a Moor of quality, on which many of his relations left the city and took to robbing on the river. But, with consent of the king of Cananor, Don Enrique sent Hector de Sylveira against them with two gallies and a brigantine, who destroyed four _towns_[176] and took all their cannon, not without considerable difficulty. About the same time Christopher de Brito went with fourteen row-boats and about an hundred men to scour the coast of Canara, where he destroyed some of the Moors; but those of Dabul sent two galliots and seven other vessels against him, with above three hundred men. In the commencement of the engagement Brito was slain; but his people exerted themselves so valiantly to revenge the death of their commander, that after four hours hard fighting most of the Moors were slain, and their commander and all the rest taken. The Moorish captain died afterwards of his wounds at Goa, being first converted to the Christian faith.

[Footnote 176: Perhaps instead of _towns_ we ought to read _tonys_, a species of vessel then need by the inhabitants of the Malabar coast.--E.]

The fort at Calicut was at this time much straitened by the Nayres, yet the small garrison of fifty Portuguese maintained their post with much honour. Don Enrique, to punish the hostilities of the Moors of Calicut, fitted out fifty sail of vessels from Cochin, to which were added other fifty belonging to the inhabitants of that city, twenty-seven of which belonged to one individual named Arel de Porca[177]. With these vessels, carrying 2000 soldiers, the governor arrived at Paniani, one of the princ.i.p.al towns in the territory of Calicut, which was well fortified and stored with cannon under the command of a Portuguese renegado.

Besides these fortifications on the land, the river was defended by a number of armed vessels drawn up in order of battle. After a severe contest, the fortifications of Paniani were carried, and the enemy fled into the woods. The town and all the vessels in the fort were burnt.

Next day twelve s.h.i.+ps were burnt in the port of Calicut, and several more in some creeks near the town. The armament proceeded in the next place to _Coulete_, which was fortified in a similar manner to Paniani, with a prodigious number of artillery, an hundred and fifty armed s.h.i.+ps, and a garrison of 20,000 men. The Portuguese proceeded to the attack, and after a long and obstinate contest, drove the enemy from their works with great slaughter, and took fifty-three vessels, most of which were laden with pepper, with the loss of fifty-four Portuguese killed and many wounded. The other vessels belonging to the enemy, being much shattered in the engagement, were all burnt, and the town was destroyed.

[Footnote 177: These hundred vessels were probably _paraos_, or small native craft, considering that they only carried 2000 soldiers, only at the rate of 20 for each vessel--E.]

Shortly after this, the zamorin of Calicut besieged the Portuguese fort at that place with an army of 12,000 men, and surrounded it with a broad and deep trench. Don Juan de Lima commanded in the fort with 300 men, and did every thing in his power to obstruct the besiegers in the construction of their lines; but they were at length finished and planted with a vast number of cannon, some of which were so large as to carry b.a.l.l.s of two spans diameter. On receiving advice of this siege, Don Enrique sent a reinforcement of 150 men in two caravels commanded by Christopher Jusarte and Duarte Fonseca. They succeeded in forcing their way into the fort in spite of a violent opposition by sea and land.

Immediately afterwards, the enemy endeavoured to take the fort by escalade, but were repulsed with great slaughter. A farther reinforcement of 500 men from Cochin being unable to reach Calicut, Don Enrique went there with all the naval force he could collect, being unwilling that his government should suffer the disgrace of allowing this fortress to be taken by the enemy. Having thrown some strong reinforcements into the fort, Don Enrique landed with the remainder of his troops, after clearing the sh.o.r.e of the enemy, by means of his guns a.s.sisted by grenadoes and other fireworks. All the intrenchments and redoubts of the besiegers were successively carried, with prodigious slaughter of the Moors and Nayres, of whom above 3000 were slain, besides many others burnt in their wooden forts and bulwarks. In this engagement Don George de Menezes made great slaughter of the enemy with a two-handed sword; till losing his right hand, he took a smaller sword in his left, and continued to fight with great valour.

Don Enrique remained master of the field, in which he encamped for some days: But as the fort was not considered important in proportion to its expence, it was stripped of every thing of value with great care and privacy, and mines and trains laid to blow it up; after which the whole army retired to the s.h.i.+ps. On seeing the fort evacuated, the Moors rushed in to plunder in vast numbers; but the mines suddenly taking fire, blew up the whole fabric with a vast explosion, in which great numbers of the enemy perished miserably.

In the year 1526, Hector de Sylveira went with a squadron to the Red Sea, and on his way thither a.s.saulted and took the city of Dhofur on the coast of Yemen in lat. 17 N. He then entered the Red Sea, where he reduced the islands of Ma.s.sua and Dallac to pay tribute; after, this he went to _Arkiko_ on the coast of Abyssinia, where he received Don Rodrigo de Lima who had been on an emba.s.sy to the king of Abyssinia, and was there waiting for a pa.s.sage along with an amba.s.sador from _Prester John_ to the king of Portugal.

In this same year 1526, a small vessel was sent from Ternate to discover the islands of Celebes, which were said to abound in gold. The discoverer easily found the islands but no gold. Being on his return to the Moluccas, he was carried away by a storm to the eastward till he lost his reckoning, and unexpectedly fell in with a large and beautiful island, inhabited by a simple race of men who treated the Portuguese with much civility. They were strong made and of a comely appearance, with their complexion inclining to fair, having long lank hair and long beards, and their clothing was of fine mats. Their food consisted chiefly of roots, cocoa nuts, and figs. Their language was not understood, but by signs they gave the Portuguese to understand that there was gold in the mountains, but of which they made no use. They had no knowledge of iron or any other metal. Leaving this island, which they named after the pilot Diego Lopez Sequeira, they returned to Ternate, after an absence of eight months.

Don Enrique de Menezes, died at Cananor about the end of January 1526, in the thirtieth year of his age. He was a man of large stature, with a pleasing countenance, just in all his actions, continent, free from covetousness, a true patron of merit, and of the most unblemished honour. During his government he refused uniformly to accept any of the numerous presents offered him by the eastern princes; and conducted himself with such perfect integrity in every transaction, that at his death his whole treasure amounted only to thirteen rials and a half; and he had even expended the whole of his patrimonial estate during the short continuance of his government of Portuguese India, chiefly in rewarding the merits of his officers.

SECTION VII.

_Continuation of the Portuguese Transactions in India, from_ 1526 _to_ 1538.

At his death in January 1526, Don Enrique de Menezes left a paper sealed up, by which the succession to him in the government was to be regulated, in case the person nominated for that purpose by the king should happen to be absent. That paper was lost, yet it was known that he had named Francisco de Sa, then commanding in Goa, as his provisional successor. The second royal nomination was now opened, in which Pedro de Mascarenas was appointed successor to Don Enrique; but Mascarenas commanded at Malacca, which was at a great distance, and the season of the year did not admit of that navigation. On opening the third patent, Lope Vaz de Sampayo was the person there named, who was accordingly invested in the government, having, engaged on oath to resign to Mascarenas on the arrival of that officer from Malacca.

At this time George Zelo and Pedro de Faria blockaded the port of Cananor, in which lay a fleet belonging to the zamorin. Sampayo immediately sent orders to Antonio de Sylveria and Christopher de Souza, then at Goa, to join the other two officers at Cananor to prevent the escape of the enemy, and went in person with seven s.h.i.+ps and a considerable land force to endeavour to destroy them. _Cutiale_, the admiral of this fleet belonging to the zamorin, used every effort to defend himself, both by disposing his s.h.i.+ps in formidable order, and by intrenchments and batteries on sh.o.r.e, where he had a land force of 10,000 men. Having made proper dispositions, Sampayo landed with about 1300 soldiers, leaving orders with Pedro de Faria to set the _paraos_ belonging to the enemy on fire. The trenches of the enemy were carried after an obstinate resistance, and with great slaughter of the Moors, and seventy paraos were destroyed. By this signal victory, above eighty bra.s.s cannon were gained; but Sampayo spared the town, as it belonged to the king of Narsinga, with whom the Portuguese were then in peace.

Having dispatched several officers on command to different places, Sampayo sailed for Ormuz with five s.h.i.+ps and 300 men. In his way thither he reduced the towns of Kalayat and Muscat, which had revolted owing to the exactions of Diego de Melo. His only transaction at Ormuz was to compose some differences that had arisen between Melo and Reis Xarafo, to receive the tribute due by the king of Ormuz, and to take along with him the amba.s.sador whom George de Lima had brought from Abyssinia. From Ormuz, Sampayo dispatched Hector de Sylveira to cruise off Diu, on purpose to intercept the s.h.i.+ps of the Red Sea that traded with Cambaya, of which three were taken. Sylveira then went to Diu, where he remained a long time at the request of Malek Saca, who made use of him to, secure himself against the tyranny of the king of Cambaya.

Reis Soliman, the Turk who killed Mir Husseyn at Juddah, as formerly related, recovered the favour of Sultan Selim who had conquered Egypt from the Mamelukes, having acquired the favour of that prince by delivering up to him the city of Juddah which he had gained in the service of the Soldan, and by means of a considerable present: for even princes, though they have no need of receiving gifts, are apt to be won like other men by their means; and as Soliman promised to perform wonders in India for his service, Selim ordered twenty gallies and five galleons which were then at Suez to be added to the fleet under Reis Soliman. In the mean time Selim died at Cairo, and was succeeded by his son Soliman, who sent that large reinforcement, under the command of Hayraddin, to Reis Soliman, who was then fortifying the island of Kamaran. Upon some disgust, Hayraddin killed Reis Soliman; and in his turn was slain by Mustapha the nephew of Soliman. Mustapha, being afraid of the consequences of this action, sailed from Kamaran with a small number of vessels, the greater part of the fleet refusing to join him.

He went first to Aden and thence to Diu, where he put himself under the protection of the king of Cambaya. An account of these revolutions in the Turkish fleet, which had given great apprehensions to the Portuguese in India, was carried to King John by Antonio Tenreyro over land, to the great admiration of every one; being the first who had performed that journey, till then thought impossible.

At this time Mascarenas, who waited in Malacca for the proper season of sailing to Cochin to a.s.sume the government, went against Bintang with twenty-one s.h.i.+ps and 400 Portuguese soldiers, having likewise 600 Malays commanded by Tuam Mahomet and Sinai rajah. Although the capital of Bintang was well fortified and defended by 7000 men, Mascarenas surmounted every opposition and took the place. Of the enemy 400 were slain and 2000 made prisoners. A vast booty was made on this occasion, among which were nearly 300 pieces of cannon, and the Portuguese lost only three men in this glorious exploit. The king of Bitang died of grief, and Mascarenas restored it to the lawful heir under va.s.salage to Portugal, the former king having been an usurper.

The island of Sunda is divided on the south from Java by a very narrow channel. It produces pale gold with abundance of pepper and provisions.

The natives are numerous but unwarlike, yet are curious in adorning their arms. They wors.h.i.+p idols, and often sell their children to supply their necessities. The women are beautiful, those of the higher ranks being chaste, contrary to what is usual in most parts of the world. They have convents, as in Spain and Portugal, in which they reside while virgins; and the married women kill themselves on the death of their husbands. This were a good custom to shew their duty and affection, were it not contrary to the law of nature, and therefore a barbarous error.

Enrique Leme happening to go there, drawn by the plenty and goodness of its pepper, he was well received by the king of _Samiam_, who offered ground for a fort, and to pay an yearly tribute of 351 quintals of pepper, to purchase the friends.h.i.+p and support of the Portuguese against the Moors, by whom he was much infested. But when Francisco de Sa came to build the fort, he met with such opposition from the Moors that he was obliged to return to Malacca.

In the same year 1526, Martin Iniguez de Carchisano arrived in the port of Kamafo in Tidore with a Spanish s.h.i.+p, one of six which had been sent the year before from Spain to those parts which belonged of right to the Portuguese. Don Garcia Enriquez, who then commanded at the Moluccas, on learning the arrival of these Spaniards, and finding that they occasioned the spice to rise in price, went in person to expel them, but was obliged to retire with considerable damage from the Spanish cannon; yet the Spanish s.h.i.+p afterwards sunk. At this time Don George de Menezes, formerly mentioned as having lost his hand in the glorious action at Calicut, arrived at the Moluccas, having discovered the island of Borneo and many other islands by the way. Soon afterwards two s.h.i.+ps were sent to Borneo with presents for the king, among which was a piece of tapestry adorned with figures of men. On seeing these, the ignorant barbarian cried out _that they were enchanted men, who would kill him in the night_; and no persuasions could convince him of his error, nor would he receive the presents or permit the Portuguese to remain in his port.

In the year 1527, it being understood at Cochin that Pedro de Mascarenas was on his way from Malacca to a.s.sume the government, Lope Vaz de Sampayo who acted _ad interim_, held a council of the princ.i.p.al officers, at which it was resolved not to admit Mascarenas to that high office. After this determination, Sampayo sailed for Goa, leaving Alphonso Mexia to command at Cochin, with orders to execute the resolutions of the council. On landing unarmed at Cochin, Mascarenas was opposed and wounded by Mexia; and proceeding afterwards to Goa, be was made prisoner and put in irons by order of Sampayo. These violent proceedings had nearly occasioned a civil war among the Portuguese in India; but at length, in the end of December 1527, Sampayo was confirmed in the government, and Mascarenas went home to Portugal, where he was appointed to the command of Azamor in Africa.

In the year 1528, Don Joan Deza was sent to cruise on the coast of Calicut, where in several rencounters he took fifty vessels laden with various commodities. He burnt the town of Mangalore; and falling in with the fleet of Calicut, consisting of seventy paraos well manned and armed under the command of the _Chinese_ admiral Cutiale, Deza took most of them killing 1500 Moors, and taking nearly as many prisoners, among whom was Cutiale.

Antonio Miranda de Azevedo was sent in the end of January 1528 to the Red Sea, with twenty s.h.i.+ps and above 1000 soldiers, to endeavour to burn the Turkish gallies in the port of Kamaran which had formerly belonged to Reis Soliman. After taking some prizes by the way, be met with Enrique de Macedo in the mouth of the Red Sea, who had engaged a large Turkish galleon. The Turks had boarded him, and threw a burning dart which stuck in his main-sail and began to set it on fire; but in consequence of a strong gust of wind shaking the sail, the dart fell back into the Turkish vessel, where it set fire to the powder and the s.h.i.+p and all her crew were blown up. Several other valuable s.h.i.+ps belonging to the Moors were taken, but the main object of this expedition completely failed, as the wind did not allow the fleet to get up the Red Sea to Kamaran.

In consequence of the civil discord among the Portuguese, the Moors had been enabled to annoy their trade in different parts: And as Lope Vaz understood that a successor to the government was on his way from Portugal, he prepared to be revenged on the Moors, wis.h.i.+ng to deliver up the government in prosperity, by clearing the sea from pirates. With this view he fitted out eighteen s.h.i.+ps at Cochin, with which he encountered 130 armed paraos at Cananor; and as the wind did not allow his large s.h.i.+ps to get into action, he went against that numerous fleet with only thirteen paraos. Even with this disproportionate force he did considerable damage to the Malabar fleet. On seeing two paraos coming from Cananor to the aid of Sampayo, and that the large Portuguese s.h.i.+ps were enabled to make sail by means of a breeze springing up, the Malabars fled as fast as possible. In the pursuit eighteen of them were sunk and twenty-two taken, in which were fifty pieces of cannon. Eight hundred of the enemy were slain, and many made prisoners. Those that fled, and others who joined them, fell afterwards into a snare near Cochin.

With the same fleet, Sampayo went immediately in search of _Arel_, lord of _Porca_. In this expedition, Simon de Melo burnt twenty-six s.h.i.+ps belonging to the enemy, and set the town of _Chatua_ on fire. Afterwards with a thousand men he a.s.saulted Porca; and though Arel was not there at the time, the inhabitants made a brave but unavailing defence, as the place was taken, plundered, and destroyed. At this place the wife of Arel was taken, with a great spoil in gold, silver, jewels, silks, and other valuables, and thirteen considerable vessels. On his return to Cochin, as his successor was not yet arrived, Sampayo went back to Cananor, whence he dispatched his nephew Simon de Melo against _Marabia_ and Mount _Dely_, both of which places were taken, plundered, and, destroyed, with many piratical paraos. About this time, the king of Cambaya fitted out a fleet of eighty barks, under the command of a valiant Moor named _Alexiath_, who did much injury to the subjects of Nizam-al-mulk, and to the Portuguese trade at Chaul, in consequence of which aid was demanded from Sampayo by both. Sampayo accordingly set sail with forty vessels of different kinds, in which were 1000 Portuguese soldiers, besides a considerable force of armed natives. In this expedition Hector de Sylveira commanded the small vessels that rowed[178], while Sampayo took charge of the sailing vessels. On arriving at Chaul, Sampayo sent eighty Portuguese to the a.s.sistance of Nizam-al-Mulk, under the command of Juan de Avelar, and then sailed for Diu, as he understood the eighty barks of Cambaya were gone thither. Off Bombay that fleet belonging to Cambaya of which he was in search was descried, on which part of the s.h.i.+ps were detached to secure the entrance of the river Bandora, to prevent the enemy from escaping, while Sylveira with his brigantines or row-boats bore down upon Alexiath.

After a furious cannonade, the Portuguese gallantly boarded the enemy, and Alexiath fled with seven only of his barks, all the rest being taken. Of the 73 vessels captured on this occasion, 33 were found serviceable and were retained, all the rest being set on fire. In this glorious exploit, a vast number of prisoners, much artillery, and abundance of ammunition were taken, and the Portuguese did not lose one man.

[Footnote 178: Such is the expression in the translation of the Portuguese Asia by Stevens. They were probably Malabar vessels, which in the early writers are named paraos, tonys, and caturs, and might perhaps be called row-boats.--E]

Juan de Avelar, who had been detached with eighty Portuguese to the a.s.sistance of Nizam-al-Mulk against the king of Cambaya, acquired great honour in that service by his gallantry. a.s.sisted by 1000 of the native subjects of Nizam-al-Mulk, he scaled a fort belonging to the king of Cambaya, till then thought impregnable, being the first who entered; and having slain all the defendants, he delivered it up to the Nizam.

It was now about the beginning of the year 1529. Lope Vaz de Sampayo was much elated by the last-mentioned success against the fleet of Cambaya, and believed that in the present state of dismay Diu would surrender on the first summons: He was therefore eager to have gone against that place, but as all his captains except Sylveira were of a contrary opinion, he was obliged to lay aside that intention and to return to Goa, leaving the valiant Hector with twenty-two row-boats to cruise against the pirates in the north. In the south, or on the Malabar coast, Antonio de Miranda was employed in similar service, where, he destroyed twelve paraos. Being joined by six brigantines and a galley, with 100 chosen men, commanded by Christopher de Melo, the united squadron took a very large s.h.i.+p laden with pepper in the river _Chale_, though defended by numerous artillery and 800 men. Near _Monte-Hermosa_, they defeated 50 sail of vessels belonging to Calicut, taking three paraos with a considerable number of cannon and many men. Hector de Sylveira, who had been left on the coast of Cambaya, did much damage to the enemy. Going up the river _Nagotana_ of _Bazain_, he landed and burnt six towns belonging to the king of Cambaya. The commander of _Nagotana_ took the field against him with five hundred horse and a large force of infantry, endeavouring to intercept Sylveira on his way to reimbark. An engagement took place, in which the enemy were repulsed with some loss, and Sylveira was enabled to embark. Going afterwards to _Bazain_, on a river, of the same name, he found that place well fortified and defended by a considerable number of cannon. He entered the river however during the night, and next morning stormed the fortifications of Bazain, killing many of the defendents. After this success, he was unexpectedly attacked by Alexiath at the head of 3500 men; but he bravely repelled and defeated that vastly superior force with great slaughter, after which he plundered and burnt the city of Bazuin. Terrified by these exploits, the lord of the great city of Tana, not far distant, submitted to become tributary to Portugal, and Sylveira retired to Chaul.

While these things were doing on the coast of Hindostan, Simon de Sousa Galvam, on his way to the Moluccas in a galley with seventy men was driven by a storm to take shelter, in the port of Acheen. Several vessels flocked immediately about him, on pretence of giving a.s.sistance, but the natives were no sooner on board than they fell upon the seventy Portuguese, with all kinds of weapons. Recovering from their first surprise, the Portuguese bravely drove the enemy from their s.h.i.+p, although not more than twenty were left that could stand to their arms.

The king of Acheen gave orders to his admiral to attack the Portuguese galley next morning; when, after a desperate resistance, most of the Portuguese were slain and Galvam among them; only those being spared who were so severely wounded as to be unable to resist. Don George de Menezes, who commanded at the Moluccas, sent a party to Tidore against the Spaniards; but on the rout of that party, Menezes collected a considerable allied force, consisting of the people of Ternate, the _Sangages_, and the subjects of Cachil Daroez king of _Bacham_. With these and a small number of Portuguese, Menezes landed in Tidore, where he defeated the Spaniards and troops of Tidore, obliging the former to retire into their fort after losing six men, two of whom were slain and four taken. Menezes then a.s.saulted and took the city of Tidore, which he plundered and burnt; after which he invested the Spanish fort, and summoned Ferdinando de la Torre the Spanish commander to surrender.

Being unable to resist, the Spanish captain agreed to evacuate Tidore, retiring to the city of Comafo, and engaging to commit no hostilities upon the Portuguese or their allies, and not to trade to any of the islands producing cloves. After this the king of Tidore was made tributary to the Portuguese, and Menezes returned victorious to Ternate.

During his absence, _Bohaat_ king of Tidore had died, not without suspicion of having been poisoned by _Cachil Daroez_, and was succeeded by his brother _Cachil Daialo_. The new king being suspicious of _Cachil Vaiaco_, fled to the fort; but afraid that Menezes might give him up to his enemy, threw himself from a window. All Ternate now mutinied against Menezes; and as he imagined that _Cachil Vaideca_, a n.o.ble of Tidore, had caused the death of a Chinese sow belonging to him, he imprisoned that n.o.bleman, after which he set him free, having first anointed his face with bacon, which among that people is reckoned a most heinous affront. Not contented with this violence, he sent to rob the houses of the _Moors_ of their provisions, and became suddenly most outrageous and tyrannical. The _Moors_ stood upon their defence, and treated some of the Portuguese as they now deserved. Menezes seized the chief magistrate of the town of _Tabona_ and two other persons of note. These two he set at liberty after cutting off their hands; but he let loose two fierce dogs against the magistrate, which tore him in pieces. Becoming odious to all by these cruelties, _Cachil Daroez_ stirred up the natives to expel the Portuguese; but being made prisoner, Menezes caused him to be beheaded. Terrified by this tyranny, the inhabitants of Ternate fled to other places, the city becoming entirely deserted. Don George de Menezes was afterwards sent a prisoner to India for these enormities, whence he was sent to Portugal, where he was condemned to banishment. Any reward was too small for his former services, and this punishment was too slight for his present offences.

Nuno de Cuna, appointed governor-general of India, arrived in May 1529 at Ormuz. Setting out too late from Lisbon in the year before with eleven s.h.i.+ps, he had a tedious voyage. One of his s.h.i.+ps was lost near Cape Verd, when 150 men perished. After pa.s.sing the line, the fleet was dispersed in a violent storm. Nuno put in at the port of St Jago in Madagascar, where he found a naked Portuguese soldier, who had belonged to one of two s.h.i.+ps commanded by Lacerda and Abreu, which were cast away in 1527 at this place. The people fortified themselves there, in hopes that some s.h.i.+ps pa.s.sing that way might take them up. After waiting a year, one s.h.i.+p pa.s.sed but could not come to their a.s.sistance; and being no longer able to subsist at that place, they marched up the country in two bodies to seek their fortunes, leaving this man behind sick. In consequence of intelligence of these events sent home to Portugal by Nuno, Duarte and Diego de Fonseca were sent out in search of these men.

Duarte perished in Madagascar; and Diego found only four Portuguese and one Frenchman, who had belonged to three French s.h.i.+ps that were cast away on that island. These men said that many of their companions were still alive in the interior, but they could not be got at. From these it was thought had sprung a people that wore found in Madagascar about eighty years afterwards. This people alleged that a Portuguese captain, having suffered s.h.i.+pwreck on the coast, had conquered a district of the island over which he became sovereign; and all his men taking wives from among the natives, had left numerous issue, who had erred much in matters of faith. _Great indeed must have been their errors, to have been discovered by the atheistical Hollanders!_ Doubtless these people did not descend from that s.h.i.+pwreck only, but might have sprung likewise from the first discoverers, _who were never heard of_, and among others from three s.h.i.+ps that sailed from Cochin in 1530 along with Francisco de Albuquerque.

While Nuno was at Madagascar, his own s.h.i.+p perished in a storm. The men were saved in the other two s.h.i.+ps, but much goods and arms were lost.

Sailing thence to Zanzibar, he landed 200 of his men who were sick, under the care of Alexius de Sousa Chichorro, with orders to go to Melinda when the people were recovered. Being unable to continue his voyage to India, on account of the trade wind being adverse, he determined upon taking revenge upon the king of Mombaza, who infested those of Melinda and Zanzibar from hatred to the Portuguese. If successful, he proposed to have raised _Munho Mahomet_ to the throne, who was son to him who had received De Gama on his first voyage with so much kindness. Mahomet however objected to this honour, saying, "That he was not deserving of the crown, being born of a Kafr slave: But if Nuno wished to reward the friends.h.i.+p of his father, he might confer the crown on his brother _Cide Bubac_, a younger son of his father by a legitimate wife, and who was therefore of the royal blood of the kings of Quiloa."

Nuno set off on this expedition with 800 men, accompanied by Mahomet and Bubac, each of whom had sixty followers. On the way he was joined by the sheikh of _Otonda_, a neighbouring town, who offered to accompany him with a well appointed vessel. This prince had silver chains on his legs, which he wore as a memorial of having been wrongfully imprisoned by the king of Mombaza, and had sworn never to take them off till revenged, having been so used merely because he had shewn friends.h.i.+p to the Portuguese.

Having been apprized of the intended attack, the king of Mombaza had provided for his defence, by planting cannons on a fort or bulwark at the mouth of the river, and brought 600 expert archers into the city.

Though opposed by a heavy cannonade from the bulwark, Nuno forced his way up the river and anch.o.r.ed in the evening close to the city, whence the archers shot continual flights of arrows into the s.h.i.+ps, and were answered by the Portuguese cannon. Next morning early the troops were landed under Pedro Vaz, brother to Nuno, who carried all before him, and planted the Portuguese colours, after killing many of the Moors and driving the rest from the city, without losing a single Portuguese soldier. To secure and repeople the city, Nuno sent for a nephew of the king of Melinda, who came with 500 men, many of whom were of some rank; and these were followed by the prince of Montangue with 200 more. Many likewise of the former inhabitants came in and submitted, so that the island began to rea.s.sume an appearance of prosperity. The expelled king, sensible of the desperate situation of affairs, sent one of his princ.i.p.al men to propose an accommodation, offering to pay a ransom to preserve his city from destruction, and to become tributary. An agreement was accordingly entered into to this effect, and the king began to make the stipulated payments; but finding sickness to prevail among the Portuguese of whom two hundred soon died, and many more were incapacitated from service, he began to fall off from the completion of the agreement, and as the prince of Melinda durst not undertake to defend the place without a considerable force of Portuguese, Nuno destroyed the city by fire and returned to Melinda, carrying with him those he had formerly left sick at Zanzibar. Leaving Melinda, he left 80 of his men there sick, to be carried to India on their recovery by Tristan Homem: who afterwards defended Melinda with these men against the king of Mombaza, who endeavoured to revenge himself there for the injury he had sustained from the Portuguese.

It has been formerly mentioned that Nuno de Cuna arrived at Ormuz in May 1529, into which he made a formal and pompous entry, to the great admiration of the natives. He immediately issued a proclamation at that place and its dependencies, "That all who had cause of complaint against the Portuguese should appear before him for redress." Many complainers accordingly came forwards, and the offenders were obliged to make rest.i.tution, to the great astonishment and satisfaction of the Moors, who had not been accustomed to see justice executed on their behalf. He found that _Reis Xarafo_; great _guazil_[179] or rather arch tyrant over the king and people of Ormuz, though restored to that situation by Sampayo, was by no means clear of the great crimes he had been formerly accused of, particularly of rapine and murder. On a representation of this to the king of Portugal, Manuel de Macedo had orders to bring him prisoner to Lisbon, and accordingly had him arrested by the a.s.sistance of Nuno, who waited upon the king of Ormuz to justify this procedure.

The king readily acquiesced, and presented the governor with a rich present of jewels and cloth of gold, together with a fine horse richly caparisoned in the Persian manner. As the reigning king was implicated in the murder of his predecessor Mahomet, Nuno imposed upon him a fine of 40,000 Xerephines, in addition to the tribute of 60,000 which he had to pay yearly; that crime being used as a pretence to overburthen him with a tribute equal to a third part of the yearly revenue of Ormuz[180]. Xarafo, or Ashraf, was sent to Portugal with examinations respecting the crimes laid to his charge; but he carried such riches along with him, that he was not only able to purchase a remission of punishment, but was actually reinstated in his former employment. While Nuno still remained at Ormuz, Tavarez de Sousa came there, who had been with forty men to a.s.sist the king of _Basrah_ against the lord of _Gizaira_[181]; having been the first Portuguese who went up the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Basrah or Bazora, in about the lat. of 30 N. is about 30 leagues from the mouth of the great river Euphrates, and received its name in commemoration of the more ancient city of Basrah, eight leagues higher up, the ruins of which are said by eye-witnesses to be twice as extensive as the city of Grand Cairo. The island of Gizaira, or Jazirat, is formed by the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates, being about 40 leagues in circ.u.mference, and is said to contain 40,000 archers. The river Tigris rises among the _Curds_ in the greater Armenia, and the springs of the Euphrates are in Turkomania. The king of Basrah received Sousa with much state, and appeared greatly satisfied at his a.s.sistance. Sousa accompanied him on his expedition against the lord of Jazirat, the infantry of Basrah amounting to 5000 men, 600 of whom carried firelocks, were conveyed up the river in 200 _dalacs_ or large boats, accompanied by seven vessels full of Turks with a considerable number of cannon. The king went along with his infantry by water, while his nephew marched by land at the head of 3000 horse. The king established his camp on the right or Arabian side of the river, opposite to the encampment of the lord of Jazirat, who was, posted on the island with 12,000 men. By order of the king of Basrah, Sousa wrote to the lord of Jazirat, saying that he was sent by the Portuguese commander of Ormuz, either to make peace between the contending parties on reasonable terms, or in case of refusal to take part with the king of Basrah. The king of Jazirat made answer, that as this was the first request of the captain of Ormuz, and as Sousa was the first Portuguese who had come into these parts, he agreed to comply with the terms demanded, which were merely the restoration of certain forts belonging to the king of Basrah which he had taken possession of. Persons were accordingly appointed on both sides to treat for an accommodation, which was satisfactorily concluded. But the king of Basrah now refused to perform what he had promised to Sousa for his aid; which was to deliver up the seven Turkish vessels, and not to admit any more of that nation into his dominions, because enemies of the Portuguese. Enraged at this breach of compact Sousa after embarking with his men, took one of the large barks belonging to Basrah, after which he landed with thirty-six of his men and burnt a town of 300 houses on the Arabian side of the river, and a smaller one on the Persian side.

[Footnote 179: In Astley, I. 80, this person is named Reis or _Raez Ashraf, Wazir_ or Visier of Ormuz. The strange t.i.tle in the text, _great guazil_, is probably a translation of _Alguazil mayor_, giving a Portuguese or rather a Spanish denomination to an Arab officer.--E.]

[Footnote 180: On a former occasion, the Xerephine was stated as equal in value to 3s. 9d. Hence the total revenue of Ormuz was only about L.83,750 yearly: The tribute to Portugal L.11,250; and the fine L.7500.