A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Ii Part 31

"I am informed that you favour the Christians, whom you have admitted into your city and supplied with goods and provisions. It is possible you may not see the danger of this procedure, and may not know how displeasing it is to me. I request of you to remember the friends.h.i.+p which has. .h.i.therto subsisted between us, and that you now incur my displeasure for so small a matter in supporting these Christian robbers, who are in use to plunder the countries belonging to other nations. My desire is, therefore, that for the future you may neither receive them into your city, nor give them spices; by which you will both do me a great pleasure, and will bind me to requite your friends.h.i.+p in whatever way you may desire. I do not more earnestly urge these things at the present, being convinced you will comply without further entreaty, as I would do for you in any matter of importance."

The rajah of Cochin answered in the following terms: That he knew not how to expel the Christians from his city, whom he had received as friends, and to whom he had pa.s.sed his word for trade and amity. He denied that his friendly reception of the Christians could be construed as any offence to the zamorin, as it was the custom in the ports of Malabar to favour all merchants who resorted thither for trade; and declared his resolution to maintain his engagements inviolate to the Portuguese, who had brought great sums of gold and silver, and large quant.i.ties of merchandize into his dominions in the course of their trade. The zamorin was much offended by this answer of the rajah of Cochin; to whom he wrote a second time, advising him earnestly to abandon the Portuguese if he had any respect for his own welfare. The rajah of Cochin was not to be moved, either by the persuasions or threatening of the zamorin, and sent a reply to his second letter, in which he declared he should never be induced to commit a base or treacherous action by fear of the consequences, and was resolved to persist in maintaining his treaty of trade and amity with the Portuguese. Finding that he could not prevail on the rajah of Cochin to concur with him, he commanded twenty-nine large s.h.i.+ps to be fitted out in order to a.s.sail the Portuguese fleet when on its return homewards, expecting that he should be able to destroy them with more ease when fully laden.

The rajah of Cochin gave no intimation to the admiral of the letters and messages which had been interchanged between him and the zamorin, until he went to take leave; at which time, he declared he would hazard the loss of his dominions to serve the king of Portugal. The admiral, after many expressions of grat.i.tude for his friendly disposition and honourable regard for his engagements, a.s.sured him that the king his master would never forget the numerous demonstrations he had given of friends.h.i.+p, and would give him such a.s.sistance as should not only enable him to defend his own dominions, but to reduce other countries under his authority. He desired him not to be in fear of the zamorin, against whom there should henceforwards be carried on so fierce war, that he would have enough of employment in defending himself, instead of being able to attack others.

In this the general alluded to the aid which the rajah might expect from the s.h.i.+ps that were to remain in India under the command of Vincent Sodre.

All this conversation took place in presence of many of the princ.i.p.al nayres, of which circ.u.mstance the rajah was much pleased, as he knew these people were in friends.h.i.+p with the Moors, and had opposed the grant of a factory to us at Cochin[17].

Having completed the loading of ten s.h.i.+ps, the admiral sailed from Cochin on his homeward-bound voyage; and when about three leagues from Pandarane, he descried the Moorish fleet of twenty-nine large s.h.i.+ps coming towards him. After consulting with the captains of his fleet, and the wind being favourable for the purpose, he immediately bore down to engage them. The s.h.i.+ps commanded by Vincente Sodre, Pedro Raphael, and Diego Perez, being prime sailers, closed up first with the enemy, and immediately attacked two of the largest s.h.i.+ps of the Moors. Sodre fought with one of these alone, and Raphael and Perez a.s.sailed the other. Almost on the first onset, great numbers of the enemies were so dismayed that they leapt into the sea to escape by swimming. On the coming up of De Gama with the rest of the fleet, all the enemies s.h.i.+ps made off as fast as they could towards the sh.o.r.e, except those two which were beset at the first, and were unable to escape, which were accordingly taken possession of. De Gama, considering that all his s.h.i.+ps were richly laden, would not pursue the flying enemy, being afraid he might lose some of his s.h.i.+ps on the shoals; but our men went in their boats and slew about 300 of the Moors who had endeavoured to save themselves by swimming from the two captured s.h.i.+ps. These vessels were accordingly discharged of their cargoes; which consisted of great quant.i.ties of rich merchandize, among which were six great jars of fine earthen ware, called porcelain, which is very rare and costly and much admired in Portugal; four large vessels of silver, and many silver perfuming pans; also many spitting basons of silver gilt: But what exceeded all the rest, was a golden idol of thirty pounds weight, with a monstrous face. The eyes of this image were two very fine emeralds.

The vestments were of beaten gold, richly wrought and set with precious stones; and on the breast was a large carbuncle or ruby, as large as the coin called a crusado, which shone like fire.

The goods being taken out, the two s.h.i.+ps were set on fire, and the admiral made sail for Cananor, where the rajah gave him a house for a factory, in which Gonzalo Gill Barbosa was settled as factor, having Sebastian Alvarez and Diego G.o.dino as clerks, Duarte Barbosa as interpreter, and sundry others as a.s.sistants, in all to the number of twenty. The rajah undertook to protect these men and all that might be left in the factory, and bound himself to supply lading in spices to all the s.h.i.+ps of the king of Portugal at certain fixed prices[18]. In return for these favourable conditions, the admiral engaged on behalf of the king of Portugal to defend the rajah in all wars that might arise from this agreement; conditioning for peace and friends.h.i.+p between the rajahs of Cochin and Cananor, and that the latter should give no aid to any one who might make war upon the former, under the pain of forfeiting the friends.h.i.+p of the Portuguese. After this, the admiral gave orders to Vincente Sodre to protect the coast with his squadron till the month of February; and if any war should break out or seem probable between the zamorin and Trimumpara, he was to winter in Cochin for the protection of that city; otherwise he was to sail for the straits of the Red Sea, to make prize of all the s.h.i.+ps belonging to Mecca that traded to the Indies.

All these matters being properly arranged, De Gama departed from Cananor for Portugal on the 20th December 1502[19]; with thirteen s.h.i.+ps richly laden, three of which had taken in their cargoes at Cananor, and the other ten at Cochin. The whole fleet arrived in safety at Mozambique, where the s.h.i.+p commanded by Stephen de Gama having sprung a great leak, was unladen and laid on sh.o.r.e to be repaired. Seven days after their departure from Mozambique, the s.h.i.+p commanded by Lewis Cotinho sprung a great leak, and they were forced to endeavour to return to Mozambique to repair her; but, the wind being contrary, they had to do this in a creek on the coast. Continuing their voyage, they were a.s.sailed by a sudden tempest off Cape Corientes, in which the s.h.i.+p commanded by Stephen de Gama had her sails all split by the storm, owing to which she was separated from the fleet, and no more seen till six days after the arrival of the admiral at Lisbon, when she came in with her mast broken.

The storm having abated, during which the fleet took shelter under the lee of Cape Corientes, the admiral prosecuted his voyage to Lisbon, and arrived safe at Cascais on the 1st September 1503. All the n.o.blemen of the court went to Cascais to receive him honourably, and to accompany him to the presence of the king. On his way to court, he was preceded by a page carrying a silver bason, in which was the tribute from the king of Quiloa. The king received him with great honour, as he justly merited for his services in discovering the Indies, and in settling factories at Cochin and Cananor, to the great profit of the kingdom; besides the great fame and honour which redounded to the king, as the first sovereign who had sent to discover the Indies, of which he might make a conquest if he were so inclined. In reward for these brilliant services, the king made him admiral of the Indies, and likewise gave him the t.i.tle of Lord of Videgueyra, which was his own.

Note.--As De Gama did not return again to India till the year 1524, which is beyond the period contained in that part of Castaneda which has been translated by Lichefild, we shall have no occasion to notice him again in this part of our work. For this reason, it has been thought proper to give the following short supplementary account of his farther services in India.

"In 1524, Don Vasco De Gama, now Count of Videgueyra, was appointed viceroy of India by John III. king of Portugal, and sailed from Lisbon with fourteen s.h.i.+ps, carrying 3000 fighting men. Three were lost during the voyage, with all the men belonging to two of them. While in the Gulf of Cambaya, in a dead calm, the s.h.i.+ps were tossed about in so violent a manner that all onboard believed themselves in imminent danger of peris.h.i.+ng, and began to consider how they might escape. One man leapt over-board, thinking to escape by swimming, but was drowned; and such as lay sick of fevers were cured by the fright. The viceroy, who perceived that the commotion was occasioned by the effects of an earthquake, called aloud to his people, _courage my friends, for the sea trembles from fear of you who are on it_. To make some amends for the misfortunes of the voyage, Don George de Meneses, one of the captains, took a large s.h.i.+p belonging to Mecca, worth 60,000 crowns, a large sum in those days. After his arrival at Goa, the viceroy visited some forts, and issued the necessary orders for regulating the affairs of his government; but he had not time to put any of his great designs into execution, as he died on Christmas eve, having only held the government of Portuguese India for three months. De Gama is said to have been of middle stature, with a ruddy complexion, but somewhat gross. His character was bold, patient under fatigue, well fitted for great undertakings, speedy in executing justice, and terrible in anger. In fine, he was admirably fitted for all that was entrusted to his conduct, as a discoverer, a naval and military commander, and as viceroy. He is painted with a black cap, cloak, and breeches, edged with velvet, all slashed, through which appears the crimson lining. His doublet is of crimson satin, over which his armour is seen inlaid with gold. He was the sixth successive governor of India, and the second who had the rank of viceroy."--Astl I. 54. b.

[1] According to Astley, much difference of opinion took place in the council of Portugal, whether to continue the trade to India for which it was requisite to employ force, or to desist entirely from the attempt; but the profits expected from the trade, and the expectation of propagating the Romish religion and enlarging the royal t.i.tles, outweighed all considerations of danger; and it was resolved to persist in the enterprize.--Astl. I. 50.

[2] The distribution, of this force is somewhat differently related by Astley. Ten s.h.i.+ps only are said to have been placed under the immediate command of Vasco de Gama; five s.h.i.+ps under Vincente Sodre, who had orders to scour the coast of Cochin and Cananor, and to watch the mouth of the Red Sea, on purpose to prevent the Moors, or Turks and Arabs, from trading to India; the third, as in the text, was under Stephen de Gama, but with no particular destination mentioned; and the whole were under the supreme command of Vasco de Gama, as captain- general.--Astl. I. 50.

[3] Such is the expression in the translation by Lichefild; but which I suspect ought to have been, "and had pa.s.sed Cape Corientes."--E.

In Astley, the following incident is mentioned: When off Cape Verd, Vasco de Gama met a caravel bound from La Mina, on the western coast of Africa, carrying much gold to Lisbon. He shewed some of this to the amba.s.sadors whom Cabral had brought from Cananor, and who were now on their return to India. They expressed much surprize at this circ.u.mstance; as they had been told by the Venetian amba.s.sador at Lisbon, that the Portuguese could not send their s.h.i.+ps to sea without a.s.sistance from Venice. This insinuation proceeded from envy, as the Venetians were afraid of losing the lucrative trade with India which they had long enjoyed through Egypt. --Astl. I. 51.

[4] According to De Faria, De Gama began by cannonading the city of Quiloa; but on the king consenting to become tributary, all was changed to peace and joy--Astl. I. 51. a.

[5] According to Astley, De Gama was forced beyond Melinda, and took in water at a bay eight leagues farther on; and going thence towards India, he spread out his fleet that no s.h.i.+p might escape him; in consequence of which he took several, but was most severe on those belonging to Calicut. --Astl. I. 51.

[6] In Astley this s.h.i.+p is said to have belonged to the soldan of Egypt, and was very richly laden, besides being full of Moors of quality, who were going on pilgrimage to Mecca.--Astl. I. 51.

[7] DeFaria says there were twenty of these children, whom De Gama caused to be made Christian friars, to make amends for one Portuguese who turned Mahometan.--Astl. I. 51. c.

[8] Castaneda, or rather his translator Lichefild, gets somewhat confused here, as if this factory were settled at Cochin, though the whole previous scene is described as at Cananor.--E.

[9] De Faria says the bodies of these unfortunate Malabars were thrown into the sea, to be carried on sh.o.r.e by the tide.--Astl. I. 52. a.

[10] By the straits of Mecca are here meant the straits of Bab-el-mandeb, or the entrance from the Indian Ocean into the Red Sea; and by the coast of Cambaya, what is now called Guzerat.--E.

[11] The rajah or king of Cochin has already been named Triumpara, or Trimumpara, on the authority of De Barros, De Faria, and other ancient authors; yet De Faria, in other instances, calls him Uniramacoul--Astl.

I. 52. b.

[12] It is difficult to say what may have been meant by this last article.

In old French writings _Rouge comme Sendal_ means very high red, or scarlet; from which circ.u.mstance, this may have been a piece of scarlet satin or velvet.--E.

[13] Of the animal called bulgoldolf in the text we have no knowledge, nor of this stone of wonderful virtue; but it may possibly refer to the long famed bezoar, anciently much prized, but now deservedly neglected.--E.

[14] According to De Faria, this messenger was a bramin, who left his son and nephew at Cochin as hostages, and accompanied De Gama to Calicut, where he carried various messages between the zamorin and the admiral.

--Astl. I. 53. b.

[15] De Faria says he was accompanied by a caravel.--Astl. 1.53. b.

[16] The son and nephew of the messenger, according to De Faria.--Astl. I.

53. c.

[17] In addition to the narrative of Castaneda, De Barros, Maffi, and De Faria relate, that amba.s.sadors came to De Gama while at Cochin from the Christian inhabitants in Cranganore and that neighbourhood, who they said amounted to 30,000. They represented, that they knew he was an officer of the most Catholic king in Europe, to whom they submitted themselves; in testimony of which, they delivered into his hands the rod of justice, of a red colour, tipped with silver at both ends, and about the length of a sceptre, having three bells at the top. They complained of being much oppressed by the idolaters; and were dismissed by De Gama with promises of a powerful and speedy a.s.sistance.--Astl. I. 53. d.

[18] De Faria alleges that the persons who were appointed to settle matters relative to trade at this port, differed much upon the price of spices: on which occasion many threatening messages were sent to the rajah, who at length through fear complied with all the demands of the Portuguese. He says that the rajahs of Cochin and Cananor were as refractory and adverse at first as the zamorin; and that when De Gama arrived at Cochin, the three princes combined to make him winter there by fraud, and joined their fleets to destroy him. That on the failure of this combination, a durable peace was made with Trimumpara; and the rajah of Cananor, fearing the Portuguese might not return to his port, sent word to De Gama that he was ready to comply with all his demands, --Astl. I. 54, a.

[19] In Castaneda this date is made 1503; but from an attentive consideration of other dates and circ.u.mstances in that author, this must have been a typographical error.--E.

SECTION VI.

_Transactions of the Portuguese in India, from the departure of De Gama in December 1502, to the arrival of Alonzo de Albuquerque in 1503._

As soon as the zamorin was a.s.sured of the departure of De Gama for Europe, he determined on putting his threats in execution against the rajah of Cochin, for which purpose he gathered an army at the village of Panani, not far from Cochin[1]. This was soon known to the inhabitants of Cochin, who were exceedingly afraid of the great power of the zamorin, and were much dissatisfied with their sovereign for incurring the displeasure of that prince out of respect to the Christians, whom they inveighed against with much bitterness on all occasions, and openly insulted wherever they were seen. Some that were in high credit with the rajah said openly, that as the zamorin was much more powerful than their state, our men ought to be delivered up to him, as the war was entirely on our account, for whom the kingdom ought not to be put in hazard. But the rajah, much offended at these people, declared that he was resolved to defend the Portuguese against the zamorin, trusting that G.o.d would favour him in so just a cause. Yet many of his subjects were much inclined to have seized the Portuguese belonging to the factory, but durst not, as the rajah gave them a place of considerable strength to dwell in, and appointed a guard for their security.

At this time Vincente Sodre arrived with his squadron in the bay of Cochin, after having done much damage on the coast of Calicut, both by land and sea. The Portuguese head factor sent Laurenzo Moreno to inform Sodre of the preparations which were making by the zamorin for the attack of Cochin, and requiring him in the name of the king of Portugal to land with his men for its defence. But Sodre answered, that his orders were to defend the sea and not the land; for which reason, if the zamorin had prepared to attack Cochin by sea, he would certainly have defended it; but as the war was to be carried on by land, he could not interfere, and the rajah must defend himself. The factor sent a second message, entreating him, in the name of G.o.d and on his allegiance to the king of Portugal, not to abandon the factory in this state of danger, as the power of the rajah was inadequate to defend Cochin against the zamorin; and as the sole object of the war was for the destruction of the factory and the ruin of the Portuguese trade, it certainly was his duty, as captain-general for the king of Portugal in these seas, both to defend the factory and to give every a.s.sistance in his power to the rajah. But Sodre was immoveable, pretending that he had been ordered to discover the Red Sea, where he expected to make many rich prizes, and set sail from Cochin for Cape Guardafui, preferring the hope of riches to his duty in defending the factory of Cochin.

The zamorin collected his army, as already mentioned, at the village of Panani, where, besides his own subjects and allies, several of the princ.i.p.al subjects of the rajah of Cochin joined his standard, deserting their own sovereign, and carrying along with them all the power they were able to muster: Among these were the caimalls or governors of Chirapipil and Cambalane, and of the large island which is opposite to the city of Cochin. At this place, the zamorin made a long speech to his a.s.sembled chiefs, in which he endeavoured to justify his enmity to the Portuguese, whom he represented as thieves, robbers, and pirates, and as having first commenced hostilities against him without cause. He contrasted the quiet and friendly conduct of the Moors, who had traded for 600 years with Malabar, having never done injury to any in all that time, and had greatly enriched the country, and had raised his city of Calicut to be the greatest emporium in all the Indies: Whereas the Portuguese had taken and destroyed his s.h.i.+ps, made his amba.s.sadors prisoners, insisted on having their s.h.i.+ps laden before those belonging to the Moors, had taken a s.h.i.+p of the Moors, burnt ten of his s.h.i.+ps in his own harbour, had destroyed his city and forced him to escape for safety from his palace; taking law and vengeance for pretended grievances into their own hands, instead of applying regularly to him for redress. And, since the rajah of Cochin was fully informed of all these things, yet persisted in favouring the Portuguese in despite of all remonstrances, he had resolved to make war upon him, to deprive him of his dominions, and to drive these Christian intruders out of India.

This address gave much satisfaction to all the a.s.sembled chiefs, and most especially to the lord of Repelim, who entertained a rooted enmity against the rajah of Cochin, who had dispossessed him of an island called Arrnuul. The only person who opposed the zamorin on this occasion was Nambeadarin[2], who was brother and next heir to the zamorin. He strongly urged the impolicy of driving the Christians from Malabar, to which merchants resorted from all places of the world, seeing that the Portuguese had made richer presents to the zamorin, than he had ever received before, and had brought much gold and silver into the country for the purchase of commodities, which was not usually done by such as came to make war. He represented the attempt of the hostages to escape who had been given for the safety of the Portuguese chief, and whom the zamorin was pleased to call amba.s.sadors, as the first cause of jealousy and distrust; yet they were afterwards reconciled, and took the large Moorish s.h.i.+p at the desire of the zamorin, to whom they presented the great elephant. He said their conduct in trade and otherwise while in Calicut was quite satisfactory to all except the Moors, who were envious against them for interfering in their trade, and accused them falsely of taking pepper against the will of the owners, which in fact they had done themselves to prevent the Christians from loading their s.h.i.+ps; nay that this was so evident that even the zamorin had licensed the Portuguese to take the pepper from the Moorish vessels. After which the Moors had risen against them, slaying their men and seizing all their goods. Yet, after all these outrages, they had given the zamorin a whole day in which to offer reparation, and had not sought revenge of their injuries treacherously like the Moors. That he saw no cause of going to war against the rajah of Cochin for receiving the Portuguese into his city like any other merchants who might frequent his harbour, as had likewise been done by the rajahs of Cananor and Koulan, who would not have done so if they had been robbers and pirates. And if the zamorin meant to drive the Portuguese from the Indies, besides making war on Cochin, it would be necessary for him to do the same against Canauor and all the other princes on the coast.

The zamorin was a good deal staggered by the discourse of Nambendarin, who had much credit and authority with him; insomuch, that it is thought he would have desisted from prosecuting the war, if it had not been for the Moors and the caymals, who represented that it would be a great disgrace to his character to recede after the a.s.semblage of so great an army, and that it was to be expected the rajah of Cochin might now agree from fear to do what the zamorin had desired him. The zamorin then desired his sorcerers to point out a fortunate day for marching forward with his army, which they did accordingly, and promised him an a.s.sured victory. With this a.s.surance, on which he placed great reliance, the zamorin departed from Panani, and took possession of Repelim, which is four leagues from Cochin.

The rajah of Cochin had regular intelligence of all that pa.s.sed in the camp of the zamorin by means of spies, and was in great trouble respecting the event, not having sufficient force for his defence, as many on whom he most relied had gone over to the enemy. Even those who remained served against their inclination, more especially the inhabitants of Cochin, who abhorred our people, and said openly that it were proper the rajah should either deliver them up to the zamorin or send them away from Cochin, to avoid the impending war. Many of the inhabitants of Cochin deserted the place for fear of the consequences.

The members of the Portuguese factory were much alarmed by all these circ.u.mstances, and requested permission from the rajah to withdraw to Cananor, where they might remain in safety till the arrival of the next fleet from Portugal; hoping by this means to remove the cause of war, and to satisfy the subjects of the rajah. Trimumpara was displeased at this request, as not reposing sufficient confidence in his word, and declared he would rather forfeit his kingdom, and even his life, than deliver them up to the zamorin or any other who sought to injure them; and that, although he might lose Cochin in the war, there still were places of sufficient strength in which to keep them safe till reinforcements should arrive from Portugal. That although the zamorin had a great army, yet victory did not always follow numbers, as a few valiant men were often victorious over great odds, especially having justice on their side. He therefore desired the factory to remain, and to pray G.o.d to give him the victory. The Portuguese now offered to give him such aid as their small number would allow; but he declined allowing them to expose themselves to any danger on the present occasion, as his credit depended upon the preservation of their lives, that they might witness, for his faithful adherence to the treaty of amity which he had formed with their nation.

Upon this he placed them under the safeguard of certain naires in whom he had confidence. After this, the rajah called all his n.o.bles into his presence, together with the chief naires, who were the cause of all the murmurs against the Portuguese, and addressed the a.s.semblage to the following effect:

"I am much concerned to find that truth and loyalty should be wanting among men of your quality. I do not wonder at the present misconduct of the lower orders, who are often constrained by their poverty and wretchedness to commit all manner of wickedness. But that naires, who have always been noted for fidelity, should desire me to forfeit the promise which I have made, to the captain-general in behalf of the Portuguese, to defend them to the utmost of my power against all violence as my own subjects, astonishes and distresses me beyond measure. Under these a.s.surances of protection, which were given with your consent, these men were left in my city; and yet, because you see the zamorin coming against me with more men than I have, you would have me to break my promise. Were I so unjust, you of all men ought to abhor me. If you dwelt with any sovereign on the a.s.surance of his word, how would you conceive of him, if he were to treat you as you would now have me to act by these Christians? Is it because you are afraid of the great power of the zamorin? Be a.s.sured it were better for us all to die in the discharge of our duty, and the preservation of our promise, than to live dishonoured.

To me no evil can be greater than to break my word, nor can there be a greater dishonour to yourselves than to be the subjects of a false and treacherous king. These Christians have brought much profit to me and my country, and the zamorin might have kept them in his own city, if he had permitted their factory to settle there in peace. Were it his intention to drive the Christians out of India, and to make war on all who receive them into their dominions, he ought to have begun this war with the rajah of Cananor: But his cause of war is the envy he has conceived at seeing me benefited by the trade which he has lost through his own misconduct, and because he believes in his pride that I am unable to withstand. But I trust in G.o.d and the justness of my cause, that with your a.s.sistance, I shall obtain the victory, and shall be able to protect the Christians, and preserve my honour inviolate." This speech had great effect upon the a.s.sembled naires, who were astonished at the constancy and resolution of the rajah. They all therefore craved pardon for the fears they had entertained, and promised to live and die in his service. The rajah immediately called the factor and the rest of the Portuguese into his presence, to whom he gave an account of all that had taken place between him and the naires; and named before them the prince _Naramuhin_[3], his brother and next heir, as general of the army which was destined to act against the forces of the zamorin, commanding every one to obey him in every respect as if he were himself present. Naramuhin accordingly marched with 5500 naires, and entrenched himself at the ford which forms the only entry by land into the island of Cochin, and which is only knee- deep at low water.

When the zamorin received notice of the army of Cochin having taken post at this ford, he was somewhat afraid, more especially as he knew Naramuhin was considered to be the bravest and most fortunate warrior in Malabar. He therefore made a fresh attempt to induce the rajah of Cochin to accede to his demands, of delivering up the Portuguese and their goods, otherwise threatening to conquer his dominions, and to put all the inhabitants to the sword. Although the rajah of Cochin was quite sensible of the inferiority of his military force, and was convinced what the zamorin threatened might readily happen, he yet determined to remain firm to his engagements, and sent the following answer:

"If you had required with civility what you have proudly commanded me, I should not have esteemed your valour lessened by your courtesy: For with men of wisdom and power there is no need for insolent vaunts. I have not as yet so sinned against G.o.d, that I should humble myself to vain boasting, or think that he should grant you the victory over me and those brave men who fight on my side. In spite of all your pride, I trust even with the small number I have to defend me in my just quarrel, that I shall be enabled to overcome you and all my enemies. However much you may have practised deceit and injustice, it has ever been my rule to avoid shame and dishonour, and I will never consent to deliver up the Christians or their goods, which I have engaged to defend."

The zamorin was much offended by this answer from the rajah of Cochin, and vowed to destroy his whole country in revenge: Leaving, therefore, the isle of Repelim on the last day of March, he entered on the territories of Cochin, yet refrained from doing any injury, as he now occupied those parts which belonged to the chieftains who had joined him against their own sovereign. On the 2d of March, the army of the zamorin made an attempt to force a pa.s.sage by the ford which was defended by prince Naramuhin; yet, in spite of all his prodigious superiority of numbers, he was forced to retire with considerable loss. Disappointed in this first essay, the zamorin encamped close by the ford, and sent the lord of Repelim next day with a still stronger force than had been employed in the first a.s.sault, to attempt forcing the pa.s.sage. He even joined several armed paraws in this attack; but Naramuhin made a resolute defence, in which he was bravely seconded by Laurenzo Moreno and several other Portuguese, and effectually resisted every effort of the zamorins troops, who were obliged to retreat with much loss. Several such a.s.saults were made on the ford, in all of which the zamorin lost many men, and was constantly repulsed, insomuch that he became fearful of a sinister end to his unjust enterprise, and even repented of having begun the war. He sent, however, a fresh message to the rajah, requiring him to deliver up the Christians as a preliminary of peace. But the rajah replied, that as he had refused to do so unjust an action when he had some reason to dread the superior power of the zamorin, it was absurd to expect any such thing now, when the advantage in the war was evidently of his side. He then advised the zamorin to beware of continuing the war, as he would not now satisfy himself with defence, but even hoped to give him a signal overthrow. And this certainly had been the case, if the subjects of the rajah had not shamefully deserted him in this war and given a.s.sistance to the enemy. The zamorin almost despaired of success, and would have given over the enterprize, if he had not been advised by some of his chiefs to a.s.sail several other towns belonging to the dominions of Cochin, so as to distract the attention of Naramuhin, and to weaken his force by obliging him to send detachments for their defence. But that brave prince provided against every emergency, and made so judicious a disposition of his forces, that he repulsed every effort of the enemy, and slew many of their men.

Foiled in every attempt with severe loss, by the bravery and excellent dispositions of Prince Naramuhin, the zamorin corrupted the paymaster of the troops of Cochin, who changed the usual order of payment which had been daily made in the camp, and obliged the soldiers to come up to Cochin for that purpose. Naramuhin was obliged to submit to this arrangement, by giving leave to the naires to go for their wages, yet charged them punctually to return to the camp before day. But the treacherous paymaster kept them waiting till after day-light, by which means the prince was left with very few troops to defend the ford. Taking advantage of this concerted stratagem, the zamorin made an a.s.sault upon the ford with his whole force by sea and land, and constrained Naramuhin to retire with his small band into a grove of palm trees, where he was surrounded by the whole army of Calicut, yet fought the whole day against such terrible odds with the utmost resolution, several times throwing his enemies into disorder, of whom many were slain. But at length, overpowered by numbers, he and two of his cousins who fought along with him were slain, together with most of his faithful followers.

When this melancholy event was announced to the rajah of Cochin, he fainted from extreme grief, and was for some time thought to have actually expired. At this time, the naires were much exasperated against our men, to whom they attributed the overthrow and death of prince Naramuhin, and the desperate situation of their country, and seemed much inclined to have put the Portuguese to death, or to have delivered them up to the zamorin. On the recovery of the rajah, and learning the designs of his people against our men, he called the Portuguese into his presence; he gave them a.s.surance that even this reverse of his affairs should not alter his resolution of protecting them, both against the zamorin and his own subjects. He then addressed his a.s.sembled naires, urging them not to stain his honour and their own by injuring the Portuguese, whom he and they had sworn to protect. He exhorted them to persevere honourably and bravely in defending their country and preserving their honour inviolate to the Christians, and comforted them with the a.s.surance that the Portuguese fleet would soon arrive with sufficient reinforcements to drive out the zamorin and to restore him to his dominions. In the meantime, he proposed that they should retire with what force remained, into the isle of Vaipi, which was of difficult access; and where they could defend themselves till the arrival of the Portuguese fleet, more especially as the winter was at hand, which would stop the progress of the war for some time. The naires were astonished at the resolution of their sovereign, and promised faithfully to obey his commands in all things.