A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Ii Part 29

During the subsistence of this friendly intercourse, a large Moorish s.h.i.+p was descried from Calicut on its voyage from Cochin for Cambaya; and the zamorin requested our general to make prize of the s.h.i.+p, alleging that it contained a peculiarly fine elephant which he wished to possess, and which had been refused to him although he had offered more than its value.

The general answered that he would do this willingly to gratify his highness; but, as he was informed the s.h.i.+p was large and well manned, both with mariners and soldiers, it could not be expected to surrender without resistance, in which some men might be slain on both sides, and it was therefore necessary he should have the sanction of his highness to kill these people in case of resistance, which was accordingly granted.

Upon which the general sent Pedro de Tayde in his caravel, accompanied by a valiant young gentleman named Duarte, or Edward Pacheco, and by sixty fighting men, with orders to take this s.h.i.+p. Along with them the zamorin sent certain Moors, that they might witness the manner of fighting used by the Portuguese. The caravel gave chase to the Moorish s.h.i.+p till night, and then lost sight of her; but in sailing along sh.o.r.e by moon-light, they saw her riding at anchor, ready for defence, judging her to be about 600 tons burthen, and to contain 300 fighting men. Pacheco, according to his orders, did not think proper to lay the Moorish s.h.i.+p on board, but commanded his s.h.i.+p to be brought to, intending to sink the Moorish s.h.i.+p by means of his ordnance, in case of necessity. The Moors made light of our small force, which they greeted with loud cries and the sound of musical instruments, after which they played their ordnance against our caravel. They were bravely answered by our men, and one of our b.a.l.l.s struck them between wind and water, so that the Moorish s.h.i.+p took in much water; and many of their men being killed and wounded by our shot, they bore away for the bay of Cananor, which was very near, and came there to anchor beside other four Moorish s.h.i.+ps. Pacheco followed them and continued to batter them with his guns, and had a.s.suredly taken them had not certain _paroas_ belonging to the Moors come from the port of Cananor to their a.s.sistance. The night growing very dark, Pacheco quitted the bay lest his caravel might be set on fire by the Moors, and came to anchor close to an island at a short distance, having had nine of his men wounded by arrows during the engagement.

Next morning Pacheco again attacked the Moorish s.h.i.+p, which at last yielded, to the great displeasure of the natives of Cananor, who had flocked to the seaside intending to have succoured the Moors; but, on Pacheco sending a few shots among them, they all dispersed. Pacheco came next day to Calicut with his prize, where the zamorin came down to the water side to see the Moorish s.h.i.+p, giving great praise to our people for their prowess, being much astonished that so great a s.h.i.+p should be taken by one so much inferior in size and number of men. The general commanded this s.h.i.+p to be delivered to the zamorin, together with the seven elephants that were on board, which were worth in Calicut 30,000 crowns.

He also sent a message to the zamorin, saying that he need not be astonished at this action as he would perform much greater actions to serve his highness. The zamorin returned thanks for what had been done, and desired the brave men who had performed this gallant action to be sent him, that he might do them honour and reward them as they deserved; and he bestowed large presents upon Pacheco in particular. Some affirm that the performance of this gallant feat by so small a number of our men against such great odds, raised fear and jealousy of the Portuguese in the mind of the zamorin, and made him anxious to get them away from his country; for which cause he gave his consent to the treachery which was used against them, as I mean to shew in the sequel[23].

The Moors of Calicut were more terrified than ever at the Portuguese in consequence of the capture of this s.h.i.+p, and were much offended by the favour bestowed by the zamorin upon our men for their gallantry on this occasion. They believed that all this was done, out of, revenge against themselves, for the injuries they had done us, and was intended to induce them to retire from Calicut; especially as our people brought there as great store of merchandize as they did, and bought as many spices. Taking all this into consideration, they procured an audience of the zamorin, to whom one of their number made the following oration in the name of all the Moors.

_"Emparather[24]_ of all the Malabars, as great as the mightiest sovereign of the Indies, and most powerful among the princes of the earth.

We are astonished that you should debase yourself by receiving into your country these enemies of your law and strangers to the customs of your kingdom, who seem pirates rather than merchants. We should not wonder at your so doing were your city in want of the commodities they bring, or could not otherwise dispose of the spiceries they purchase: But we, whom you have long known and whose fidelity you are well a.s.sured of by experience, have always done both to the great increase of your revenue.

You appear to forget all this, by receiving those whom you do not know into your favour, and employing them to revenge your injuries, as if your own numerous and faithful subjects were incompetent for the purpose. In this you dishonour yourself, and embolden these strangers to hold your power in contempt, and to act as we know they will hereafter, by robbing and plundering all merchant s.h.i.+ps that frequent your port, to the ruin of your country, and who will at length take possession of your city. This is the true intent of their coming into these seas, and not to trade for spices as they pretend. Their country is almost 5000 leagues from hence, and the voyage out and home is attended by many dangers through unknown and stormy seas, besides the great cost of their large s.h.i.+ps with so many men and guns; Hence at whatever prices they may dispose of their spices in Portugal, it is obvious such a trade must be carried on with great loss; which is a manifest proof that they are pirates, and not merchants, who come here to rob, and to take your city. The house you have given them for a factory, they will convert into a fort, from whence they will make war on you when you least expect it. All this we say more from the good will we owe you, than for any profit; for, if you do not listen to our advice, there are other cities in Malabar to which we will remove, and to which the spices will be conveyed for us."

To this harangue the zamorin gave a favourable answer, saying that he would give attention to all they had said, of which indeed he already had some suspicions. That he had employed the Portuguese to seize the s.h.i.+p to try their courage, and had allowed them to load their s.h.i.+ps, that the money they had brought to purchase goods might remain in the country; and finally, that he would not forsake them in favour of the strangers. The Moors were by no means satisfied with all this, because the zamorin did not order us to depart from Calicut, and did not stop our trade, which was their chief purpose. Though disappointed in these views, they continued to intermiddle in our affairs, particularly by buying up the spices and sending them elsewhere, in hope of irritating our people, and bringing on a quarrel, that they might have a pretext to attack us. This they were much inclined to bring about, as, being greatly more numerous than our men, they hoped the zamorin would take part with them against us.

They likewise used all possible means to draw over the common people of Calicut to their side, and to excite them to enmity, against us, by making them believe that our people had injured them.

Through those devices, our factor was unable to procure more spices than sufficed to load two s.h.i.+ps in the course of three months, from which the general was convinced that the friendly a.s.surances of the zamorin was little to be depended on; and if he had not been afraid of not being able to procure a sufficient supply elsewhere, he would have gone to another port: But, having already consumed a long time and been at heavy charges, he determined to remain at Calicut, and sent a message to the zamorin, complaining of the delays, which ill accorded with the promises of his highness, that the whole fleet should be loaded in twenty days, whereas three months were now elapsed and the loading of two s.h.i.+ps only was procured. He urged the zamorins promise that the Portuguese s.h.i.+ps were to be first loaded; whereas he had a.s.sured information that the Moors had bought up great quant.i.ties of spices at lower prices, and sent them to other places, and begged the zamorin to consider that it was now time for the s.h.i.+ps to begin their voyage to Portugal, and that he anxiously wished for dispatch. On receiving this message, the zamorin pretended to be much surprised that our s.h.i.+ps were still unprovided with a loading, and could not believe that the Moors had secretly bought up and removed the spices, contrary to his orders; and even gave permission to the general to take those s.h.i.+ps belonging to the Moors which were laden with spices, paying the same prices for the spices which had been given by the Moors. This intelligence gave much satisfaction to the Moors, as a favourable opportunity for drawing on hostilities with the Portuguese; and, accordingly, one of the princ.i.p.al Moorish merchants began immediately to load his s.h.i.+p: openly with all kinds of drugs and spices, and suborned several Moors and Indians, who pretended to be the friends of our factor, to insinuate that he would never be able to find a sufficient loading for our fleet, if he did not seize that s.h.i.+p. Correa listened to this insidious advice, which he communicated to the general, urging him to take that Moorish s.h.i.+p, as he had license from the zamorin to that effect.

The general was exceedingly unwilling to proceed to this extremity, afraid of the influence of the Moors with the zamorin, and of producing hostilities with the natives. But Correa remonstrated against delay, protesting that the general should be responsible for all losses that might accrue to the king of Portugal through his neglect. Over-persuaded by this urgency of the factor, the general sent all the boats of the squadron on the 17th of December to take possession of the Moorish s.h.i.+p.

When this intelligence was received on sh.o.r.e, the Moors thought this a favourable opportunity of destroying our people, and immediately raised a great outcry against the Portuguese, incensing the people of the city to join with them in complaining to the zamorin; to whom they went in a tumultuous manner, representing that we had bought and s.h.i.+pped a much larger quant.i.ty of drugs and spices than the value of all our merchandize, and not contented with this, were for taking all like thieves and pirates; they blamed the zamorin for permitting us to trade in the city, and requested his license to revenge themselves upon us for the loss of their vessel. The faithless and inconstant king save them the license they required; on which they immediately armed themselves, and ran furiously to our factory, which was surrounded by a wall eight or ten feet high, and contained at that time seventy Portuguese, among whom was Fra Henriques and his friars. Of our people in the factory, only eight were armed with crossbows, all the rest being only armed with swords, with nothing to defend them but their cloaks. On hearing the tumult, our people went to the gate of the factory, and seeing only a few a.s.sailants, they thought to defend themselves with their swords against a mischievous rabble, but the numbers of the Moors soon increased, and galled our people so severely with their spears and arrows, that they were forced to shut the gates, after killing seven of the enemy, hoping to be able to defend themselves by means of the wall. In this conflict four of our men were slain, and several wounded, and all the remainder mounted the wall to defend it by means of the crossbows, judging that the a.s.sailants were at least four thousand men, among whom were several nayres.

Cores now found himself unable to defend the factory against so great a force, and therefore hoisted a flag as signal to the fleet. The general was at this time sick in bed, having been just blooded, and was not therefore able to go in person to relieve the people in the factory; but immediately sent all the boats of the fleet, well manned, under the command of Sancho de Toar. But he was afraid to venture on land with so small a force against so great a mult.i.tude, or even to approach too near the sh.o.r.e, lest the enemies might a.s.sail him in their almadias and tonis.

He lay off, therefore, at a considerable distance, where he remained a spectator of the valiant defence made by our people at the factory, whence they killed great numbers of the a.s.sailants. But their enemies always increased in numbers, and they at length brought up certain engines to beat down part of the wall, in which they at length succeeded.

On this, our men issued out by a door which led towards the sea side, in hopes of being able to fight their way to the boats, in which attempt Corea was slain, and fifty more of our men were either killed or made prisoners, twenty only escaping who swam to the boats, most of whom were much wounded. Among these were Fra Henriques, and Antonio, the son of Aries Corea, then only eleven years old; who hath since done many n.o.ble feats of arms in the Indies and other places, as I shall afterwards declare in the _Fourth_ Book of this history.

The general was much concerned at this event, not only for the loss of his men, but on seeing how little confidence could be reposed on the promises of the zamorin after all the presents he had received, and the services which had been performed for him. He had now spent three months at Calicut, during which he had only loaded two of his s.h.i.+ps, and knew not how to procure loading for the rest; especially as he could not expect a favourable reception at Cochin on account of having captured the s.h.i.+p with the elephant as before related. Considering the treason which had been practised on our men, the general determined upon taking a signal revenge, if the zamorin did not make an ample excuse for what had taken place, and make a full reparation by immediately providing the rest of the s.h.i.+ps with lading. The zamorin, however, had no such intentions, being much pleased with what the Moors had done, and even ordered all the goods in our factory to be seized, to the value of 4000 ducats. He likewise ordered all of our people who had been taken on sh.o.r.e to be made captives, four of whom died of their wounds. Seeing that no message or excuse was sent by the zamorin all that day, the general held a council with his officers as to the proper steps to be taken on the present emergency; when it was determined to take immediate and ample revenge, without giving time to the zamorin to arm his fleet. On this, orders were issued to take possession of ten large s.h.i.+ps which lay in the road or harbour of Calicut, which was done after some resistance, many of their crews being killed or drowned, and others made prisoners who were reserved to serve as mariners on board our fleet. Some spices and other merchandize were taken in these s.h.i.+ps, and three elephants, which were killed and salted as provisions for the voyage; and it appeared that 600 Moors were slain in defending these s.h.i.+ps. After every thing of value was taken from the Moorish s.h.i.+ps, they were all burnt in sight of the city.

Many of the Moors embarked in their almadias to attempt succouring their s.h.i.+ps, but our men soon put them to flight by means of their ordnance.

The zamorin and the whole city of Calicut were much mortified to see so many s.h.i.+ps destroyed, and them unable to help, but their astonishment and terror were much increased by the events of the ensuing day. During the night, the general ordered all the s.h.i.+ps of the fleet to be towed as near as possible to the sh.o.r.e by means of the boats, and spread out at some distance from each other, that they might be able to reach the city with their ordnance; which, as soon as day broke, was directed to play upon the city in every direction, doing vast damage among the houses. The natives brought down to the sh.o.r.e such small pieces of ordnance as they possessed, which they fired off against us, but without being able to do us any injury; whereas not a shot of ours missed taking effect, either among the mult.i.tude of our enemies which flocked to the sh.o.r.e, or on the buildings of the city, both the houses of the inhabitants and the temples of their deities receiving incredible damage. So great was the consternation, that the zamorin fled from his palace, and one of his chief nayres was killed by a ball close beside him. Part even of the palace was destroyed by the cannonade. Towards afternoon two s.h.i.+ps were seen approaching the harbour, which immediately changed their course on seeing how our fleet was employed; on which the general ceased firing against Calicut, and made all sail after these two s.h.i.+ps to Pandarane, where they took shelter among other seven s.h.i.+ps lying at anchor close to the sh.o.r.e and filled with Moors. Finding that our fleet could not get near enough to attack them, owing to shallow water, and considering that it was now late in the season for his voyage back to Lisbon, the general resolved to be contented with the revenge he had already taken upon Calicut, and made sail for Cochin, where he was informed there was more pepper to be had than even at Calicut, and where he hoped to enter into a treaty with the rajah of that place.'

On his way towards Cochin, Cabral took two s.h.i.+ps belonging to the Moors, which he set on fire, after taking out of them some rice which they had on board. On the 20th of December the fleet arrived at Cochin, which is nineteen leagues to the south of Calicut, and is in nine degrees towards the north[25]. Cochin is in the province of Malabar, on a river close to the sea, and is almost an island, so that it is very strong and difficult of access, having a large and safe harbour. The land in its neighbourhood is low and intersected by branches of the river into many islands. The city itself is built much after the same manner with Calicut, and is inhabited by idolaters, with a good many Moorish strangers, who come hither to trade from many countries, two of whom were so rich as to have each fifty s.h.i.+ps employed. This country does not abound in provisions, but produces large store of pepper, even Calicut being mostly supplied from hence: But as Calicut is greatly more resorted to by merchants, it is therefore much richer than Cochin. The king is an idolater, of the same manners and customs with him of Calicut; but his country being small he is very poor, and has not even the right to coin money, being in many respects subordinate to the zamorin; who, on his accession to the throne always goes to Cochin, and takes possession of that kingdom, either retaining it in his own hands, or restoring the rajah as he may think proper. The rajah of Cochin, consequently, is bound to a.s.sist the zamorin in all his wars, and must always be of the same religion with his paramount.

Having come to anchor in the harbour of Cochin, the general sent one Michael Jogue[26] on sh.o.r.e with a message to the rajah, as he feared to send Caspar on sh.o.r.e, lest he might run away. This person, though an idolater and a stranger, had come aboard our fleet with the intention of becoming a Christian, and of going into Portugal, and our general had him baptised by the name of Michael. He was ordered to give the rajah of Cochin an account of all that had happened at Calicut, and that Cabral had brought great store of merchandize to barter for the commodities of Cochin; or if the rajah were not satisfied with these, he was willing to give ready money for what he wanted; requesting to be furnished with loading for four of his s.h.i.+ps in either way, as most agreeable to the rajah. To this message the rajah[27] made answer, that he was exceedingly glad of the arrival of the Portuguese, of whose power and valour he had already heard, for which he esteemed them highly, and that they were welcome to purchase what spices his country afforded, either in barter for their goods, or for money, as they thought proper. He added, that the general might freely send any agents he pleased on sh.o.r.e to make purchases and sales, and sent two princ.i.p.al nayres as hostages for their safety; conditioning only, that they might be changed daily for others, because any of that cast who chanced to eat even once on s.h.i.+pboard could never appear again in the rajahs presence. Cabral was well pleased with this promising beginning, and immediately appointed Gonzalo Gil Barbosa as factor, who had been a.s.sistant to Aries Correa, giving him Laurenco Morena as clerk, and Madera de Alcusia as interpreter, with four of the banished men as servants.

On receiving notice of the landing of Barbosa, the rajah sent the register[28] of the city to meet him, accompanied by many of the nayres, or princ.i.p.al men of the court, who brought him to visit the rajah, who was much inferior in dress and appearance of state to the zamorin, even the hall of audience having only bare walls, seated around like a theatre, in which the rajah sat with very few attendants. Barbosa presented to the rajah, in name of our general, a basin of silver filled with saffron, a large silver ewer filled with rose water, and some branches of coral, which the rajah received with much satisfaction, desiring his thanks to be returned to the general; and after some conversation with the factor, and interpreter, he gave orders for them to be properly lodged in the city. The general gave especial orders that no more than the seven persons already mentioned should remain on sh.o.r.e, thinking it imprudent to risk a greater number, in case of experiencing a similar misfortune with what had lately happened at Calicut. But there was here no cause for distrust, as the rajah of Cochin was a person of truth and honour, as appeared by his good usage of our men, the quick dispatch that was used in loading our s.h.i.+ps with spices, and the orders he gave to his people to afford every a.s.sistance, which they did with much alacrity and zeal: so that it seemed ordained of G.o.d, that the trade should be transferred from Calicut to Cochin, for the advancement of the Catholic faith in the Indies, and the enrichment of the crown of Portugal[29].

After the s.h.i.+ps were laden, two Indians came to wait upon the general, who said that they were brothers, and Christians, born in Cranganore near Cochin, who were desirous of going to Portugal, and thence to visit the Pope at Rome, and the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem[30]. Being asked by the general what kind of a city Cranganore was, whether it was entirely inhabited by Christians, and whether these Christians followed the order of the Greek or Roman church, one of them gave the following answers.

Cranganore is a large city in the province of Malabar on the mainland, standing near the mouth of a river, by which likewise it is encompa.s.sed, inhabited both by idolaters and Christians, and by some Jews who are held in small esteem. It is much frequented by strangers, among whom are merchants from Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Arabia, who come thither to purchase pepper, a great deal of which commodity is gathered in its territories. It has a king of its own, to whom all the Christian inhabitants pay a certain tribute, and have a quarter of their own in the city, where they have a church resembling ours, in which there were crosses, but no images of the saints, and no bells, being summoned to prayers by the priests as in the Greek church. These Christians hail their popes, with twelve cardinals, two patriarchs, and many bishops and archbishops, all of whom reside in Armenia, to which country their bishops always went for consecration. He had been there himself along with a bishop, where he was ordained a priest. That this rule was observed by all the clergy of the Indies and of Cathay, who have to go to the pope or Catholicos of Armenia for consecration. Of their two patriarchs, one resides in the Indies, and the other in Cathay[31], their bishops residing in different cities as it may seem convenient. Their tonsure is made in form of a cross.

The cause of their having a pope is said to have been on the following account: 'When St Peter was residing at Antioch, there happened a great schism, occasioned by Simon Magus, on which Peter was called to Rome to a.s.sist the Christians in overthrowing that heresy; and, that he might not leave the eastern church without a shepherd, he appointed a vicar to govern at Antioch, who should become pope after the death of Peter, and should always a.s.sist the pope of Armenia. But, after the Moors entered into Syria and Asia Minor, as Armenia remained always in the Christian faith, they came to be governed by twelve cardinals. Marco Polo, in writing concerning Armenia, mentions this pope or Catholicos, and says there are two sects of Christians, the Nestorians and Jacobites, their pope being named Jacobus, whom this Joseph named their Catholicos. The priests of Cranganore are not shaven in the same manner with ours, but shave the whole head, leaving a few hairs on the crown and they have both deacons and subdeacons. In consecrating the elements, they use leavened bread and wine made of raisins, having no other in the country. Their children are not baptized till they are eleven days old, unless they happen to be sickly. They confess as we do, and bury their dead after a similar manner. They do not use the holy oil to the dying, but only bless them; and when any one dies, they gather a large company and feast for eight days, after which the obsequies are celebrated. If any person dies without making a testament, their lands and goods go to the nearest heir; but the widow is ent.i.tled to her dower if she remain a year unmarried. On going into church they use holy water. They hold the writings of the four Evangelists in great veneration. They fast during Lent and Advent with much solemnity, and on Easter Eve they neither eat nor drink the whole day. They have regularly sermons on the night of Holy Friday, and they observe the day of the Resurrection with great devotion. Likewise the two following days, and the ensuing Sunday, are particularly kept holy, because on that day St Thomas thrust his hand into the side of our Saviour. Ascension Day, Trinity Sunday, the a.s.sumption and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, Candlemas Day, Christmas Day, all the days of the apostles, and all the Sundays throughout the year, are kept with much devotion. They sanctify in a particular manner the first day of July every year in honour of St Thomas, but they could give no reason why this was done. They have also native friars and nuns, who live with much regularity. Their priests also live chastely, as those who do otherwise are debarred from executing their functions. They allow of no divorce between married people, who must live together till death. They receive the sacrament regularly three times in every year. They have among them certain learned men, or great doctors, who keep schools, in which they teach the Scriptures, and likewise some excellent interpretations which were left in old times by their ancient doctors. Their dress is similar to that of the Moors. Their day consists of forty hours; and, having no clocks, they judge of the time of the day by the sun, and in the night by the motion of the stars[32]. The general was very glad to receive this Joseph and his brother, and gave orders to provide them with a good cabin in his s.h.i.+p.

While Cabral remained at Cochin, he received messages from the kings of Cananor and Coulan, both considerable princes in the province of Malabar, requesting him to come to their ports, where he should be supplied cheaper than at Cochin, and giving him many offers of friends.h.i.+p. He made answer, with his hearty thanks, that he could not now visit their ports, having already begun to take in his loadings bet that he should certainly visit them on his return to India. Immediately after the Portuguese s.h.i.+ps were laden, a fleet of twenty-five great s.h.i.+ps, and other small vessels was descried in the offing; and notice was sent by the rajah of Cochin to our general, that this fleet contained fifteen thousand fighting men, and had been fitted out on purpose to make him and all his people prisoners.

At the same time the rajah offered to send men to his a.s.sistance, if he stood in need; but the general answered he had no need of any such aid at the present, as he trusted, with G.o.d's blessing, to convince his enemies they were ill advised in seeking now to attack him, having already given them a trial of his strength; alluding to what he had already done to them at Calicut. The enemy continued to hover off at sea, but did not venture to come nearer than a league, though they seemed in fighting order. Seeing this shyness, the general weighed anchor, and went out with all his fleet against them, having on board the two nayres who were hostages for the factory on sh.o.r.e, but his intentions were to have returned with them to Cochin. Soon after leaving the harbour, a great storm arose with a foul wind, so that he was forced to come to anchor without attaining to the enemy. Next morning, being the 10th January 1501, the wind came fair, and being desirous to attack the fleet of Calicut, the general made sail towards them; but missing the s.h.i.+p commanded by Sancho de Toar, who had parted from the fleet in the night, and that being the largest and best manned s.h.i.+p of the fleet, he deemed it prudent to avoid fighting with so large a force, especially as many of his men were sick. The wind, likewise, was now quite fair for beginning his voyage home, and was quite contrary for going back to Cochin to land the hostages. He determined, therefore, to commence his voyage, and stood out to sea; the enemy following him during the whole of that day, but returned towards Calicut when night drew on. Cabral now turned his attention to the forlorn nayres, who had been five days on board without eating, and by dint of much and kind entreaty, he at length prevailed on them to take food.

On the 15th of January, the fleet came in sight of Cananore, which lies on the coast of Malabar, thirty-one leagues north of Cochin. This is a large city with a fine bay, the houses being built of earth, and covered with flat stones or slates, and it contains many Moors who trade thither for many kinds of goods. The neighbourhood produces hardly any more pepper than is necessary for its own consumpt; but has plenty of ginger, cardamoms, tamarinds, mirabolans, ca.s.sia-fistula[33], and other drugs. In several pools of water near this city there are many very large alligators[34], similar to the crocodiles of the Nile, which devour men when they come in their way. They have very large heads with two rows of teeth, and their breath smells like musk, their bodies being covered all over with hard scales like sh.e.l.ls. In the bushes near this city there are many large and very venomous serpents, which destroy men by means of their breath. There are bats likewise as large as kites, which have heads like a fox and similar teeth, and the natives often eat these animals.

The city of Cananore abounds in fish, flesh, and fruits, but has to import rice from other places. The king or rajah is a bramin, being one of the three kings of Malabar, but is not so rich and powerful as the zamorin, or even as the rajah of Coulan. The general came to anchor at this port, both because he had been invited by the rajah, and because he wished to take on board some cinnamon, of which commodity he had not as yet any on board. He accordingly purchased 400 quintals, and might have had more if he would, but refused it; on which the people of the place concluded that he had no more money. On this coming to the knowledge of the rajah, he sent him word that he would trust him with any quant.i.ty he had a mind for of that or any other commodity, till his return from Portugal, or the arrival of any other in his stead. The rajah was induced to make this offer, from his knowledge of the just dealings of the Portuguese, and their faithful performance of their promises. The general sent his hearty thanks to the rajah for his liberality, promising to inform the king his master of his good will, and a.s.suring his highness that he might depend on his constant friends.h.i.+p.

Cabral now took on board an amba.s.sador from the rajah of Cananore for the king of Portugal, who was sent to conclude a treaty of amity between them.

Departing from Cananore, and standing across the gulf, he took a great s.h.i.+p richly laden on the last of January: But on learning that it belonged to the king of Cambaya, he permitted it to proceed on its voyage uninjured; sending word to that sovereign, that the Portuguese did not come to the Indies to make war on any one, excepting indeed with the zamorin of Calicut, who had scandalously broken the peace which had been made between them. He therefore only took a pilot out of this s.h.i.+p, to conduct him through the gulf between India and Africa. While continuing their voyage, and approaching the African sh.o.r.e, a great storm arose on the 12th of February, by which in the night the s.h.i.+p of Sancho de Toar was driven on sh.o.r.e, and taking fire was entirely burnt, the men only being saved. As the tempest still continued, they were unable to stop at Melinda, or any other place till they came to Mozambique, where they cast anchor, in order to take in water and to refit their s.h.i.+ps, the seams of which were all open. From this place, the general dispatched Sancho de Toar to discover Sofala, with orders to make the best of his way from that place to Portugal, with an account of its productions.

The s.h.i.+ps being refitted, Cabral resumed the voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, near which they again experienced a violent storm, in which one of the s.h.i.+ps was separated from the fleet, after firing signals of distress, and was never seen again during the voyage. At length, after many great storms and dangers, which it were tedious to recount, Cabral doubled the Cape on Whitsunday the 22d of May; whence continuing his voyage with a fair wind, he came to anchor at Cape Verd, where he found Diego Diaz, who had separated from the fleet on the outward bound voyage. Diaz had been driven into the Red Sea, where he wintered and lost his boat, and as most of his men died from sickness, his pilot could not venture to carry him to India. He endeavoured therefore to find his way back to Portugal; but after leaving the Red Sea, his men were so consumed with hunger, thirst, and sickness, that only seven of his crew remained. After remaining some time at Cape Verd waiting in vain for the missing s.h.i.+ps, Cabral proceeded on his voyage, and arrived safe at Lisbon on the last day of July, in the year 1501. Soon after his arrival, the s.h.i.+p which had separated in a storm off the Cape of Good Hope, came in; and shortly after that, Sancho de Toar arrived from Sofala. He described Sofala as a small island close on the continent of Africa, inhabited by a black people called Caffres; and reported that much gold is brought to this place from certain mines on the adjacent continent; on which account Sofala is much frequented by Moors from India, who barter merchandize of small value for gold. He brought along with him to Lisbon a Moor whom he had received as an hostage or pledge for the safety of one of his own men, whom he had left there to acquire a knowledge of the country and its language; and from this Moor they got ample information respecting the people and trade of those parts of Africa, which I shall afterwards communicate. Including this last s.h.i.+p, there returned six to Portugal out of the twelve which had sailed on the voyage for India, the other six having been lost.

[1] It will appear in the sequel that there was another captain named Vasco de Tayde.--E.

[2] Astley says only 1200,--Astl. I. 40.

[3] According to Astley, there were eight Franciscan friars besides the vicar, eight chaplains, and a chaplin-major; and that their orders were to begin with preaching, and in case that failed, to enforce the gospel by the sword. In other words, to establish the accursed tribunal of the inquisition in India, to the eternal disgrace of Portugal, and of the pretended followers of the ever-blessed Prince of Peace.--E.

[4] The remainder of this paragraph is given in the precise words and orthography of the original translator, Nicholas Lichfild, as a curious specimen of the nautical language of Britain in 1582.--E.

[5] According to De Faria, this vessel parted in a storm near Cape Verd, and returned to Portugal.--Astl. I. 41. a.

[6] By some unaccountable mistake, the translation of Castaneda by Lichefild says to the _east_.--E.

[7] It appears that Cabral had twenty malefactors on board for such purposes, who had received pardon on condition of submitting to be landed on occasions of danger.--E.

[8] Puerto Seguro is in lat. 16S. and about long. 39 40'W. This country of Brasil derived its name from the dye-wood so called.--E.

[9] Originally, according to Castaneda, there were only ten s.h.i.+ps and two caravels: Both the caravels have been already accounted for as having left the fleet; and after the loss of four s.h.i.+ps, six only ought to have remained. Astley makes the whole fleet originally to have consisted of thirteen vessels, which will allow of seven now remaining.

--E.

[10] This part of the voyage is very indistinctly described. From the lat.

of 27S. where Cabral is said to have fallen in with the eastern coast of Africa, to Sofala, in lat. 19S. the coast stretches out nearly five degrees to the east, to Capes Corientes and St Sebastian, with many rivers, the great bays of Delogoa and Asnea, and the islands of Bocica or Bozarnio, all of which must have been seen by Cabral during the slow navigation close along sh.o.r.e, but all of which are omitted in the text.--E.

[11] Named Inhazato. Sofala is in lat. 13S. and almost 36E. from Greenwich.--E.

[12] According to De Faria, this person was uncle to the king of Melinda, and was named Sheikh Foteyma.--Astl. I. 41. b.

[13] In modern maps this extensive line of coast is divided into the following separate territories, Inhambane, Sabia, Sofala, Mocaranga, Mozambico, and Querimba; which will be ill.u.s.trated in future portions of this work.--E.

[14] This word _miso_ is probably an error of the press for mylyo, by which the African grain named millet is distinguished in other parts of Castaneda. The _small cattle_ of the text are probably meant for sheep, as they are frequently thus contradistinguished in other parts of the original from _great cattle_, not here mentioned.--E.

[15] These vessels were probably precisely similar to the Arab _dows_ of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, which will be afterwards more particularly described.--E.

[16] Thus the translation of Castaneda by Lichefild. It was more probably a superst.i.tious ceremony to guard against witches.--E.

[17] In an account of this voyage by a Portuguese pilot, inserted in the collection of Ramusio, the name of the reigning zamorin is said to have been Gnaffer. Ramus. I. 125.

[18] Probably the person who was carried prisoner from Anchediva by De Gama, in the former voyage.--E.

[19] According to De Faria, the hostages demanded on this occasion were six princ.i.p.al men of the Bramin cast, whose names were brought from Portugal by Cabral, by the advice of Bontaybo or Moncayde, the Moor who went off with De Gama.--Astl. I. 43. b.

[20] Named by De Faria, Coje Cimireci.--Astl. I. 44, a.

[21] Called Coje Bequi by De Faria; or rather Khojah Beki, or Beghi: But most of the foreign names are so corruptly given that it is difficult to rectify them.--Astl. I. 44. b.

[22] According to De Faria, this house was granted not without great difficulty, and was taken possession of by Correa with sixty men.-- Astl. I. 45.