A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Vi Part 7

According to his orders, and by permission of the sheikh or king of Sofala, Annaya erected a strong wooden fort at that place. The king soon afterwards repented of his concession, and was for some time in hopes that the Portuguese would be soon obliged to abandon the place on account of its unhealthiness. About this time, three of the ships were dispatched for India, and two of these which were destined for protecting the coast from the attempts of the Moors were sent off upon a cruise to Cape Guardafu, both of which were lost; the captains and part of their crews saving themselves in the boats: In consequence of the unwholesomeness of Sofala, the Portuguese garrison became so weakened by sickness that it required six of them to bend a single cross-bow.

Encouraged by these disasters and instigated by his son-in-law, the king collected a force of 5000 Kafrs with which he invested the fort, filled up the ditch with fascines, and made a violent a.s.sault, darkening the sun with incessant clouds of arrows. Though only 35 Portuguese were able to stand to their arms, they made such havock among the a.s.sailants with their cannon, that the part of the ditch which had not been filled up with wood was levelled with dead bodies. The enemy being thrown into confusion Annaya made a sally at the head of fifteen or twenty men[87], with whom he drove the Kafrs before him to a grove of palms, and thence into the town, crying out in consternation that their king had sent them to contend against the G.o.ds. In the ensuing night, Annaya attacked the town, and even penetrated into the house where the king resided, who, standing behind a door, wounded Annaya in the neck with his cymeter as he entered, but was soon killed with many of his attendants. Next day the two sons of the slain king made a new a.s.sault on the fort, but without success, many of the garrison who were sick, being cured by the alarm, joined in the defence, and the Moors were again repulsed with great slaughter. The two sons of the deceased King of Sofala fell out about the succession, and one of them named Solyman made an alliance with Annaya to procure his aid to establish himself in the sovereignty.

[Footnote 87: In the translation of De Faria by Stephens these are called _Moors_; but it is not easy to conceive how Annaya should have had any of these on his side.--E.]

The kingdom of Sofala, now called Sena by the Portuguese who monopolize its whole trade, is of great extent, being 750 leagues in circ.u.mference; but the inland parts are all subject to the Monomotapa, who is emperor of this southern part of Africa, his dominions being likewise known by the same name of Monomotapa, called by the ancients _Ethiopia Inferior_.

This country is watered by two famous rivers, called Rio del Espiritu Santo and Cuama, the latter of which is navigable 250 leagues above its mouth. These and many other rivers which fall into them, are famous for their rich golden sands. Most part of this country enjoys a temperate climate, being pleasant, healthy, and fertile. Some parts are covered with large flocks of sheep, with the skins of which the natives are clothed to defend them from the cold south winds. The banks of the Cuama river are covered with wood, and the interior country rises into hills and mountains, being abundantly watered with many rivers, so that it is delightful and well peopled, being the ordinary residence of the Monomotapa or emperor. Its woods contain many elephants, and consequently produces much ivory. About 50 leagues southwest from Sofala are the gold mines of Manica, in a valley of 30 leagues circ.u.mference, surrounded by mountains on the tops of which the air is always clear and serene. There are other gold mines 150 leagues farther inland, but which are not so much valued.

In the interior of the country there are some buildings of wonderful structure, having inscriptions in unknown characters; but the natives know nothing respecting their origin. The natives of Monomotapa believe in one G.o.d, whom they name _Mazimo_, and have no idols. Witchcraft, theft, and adultery are the crimes most severely punished among them.

Every man is permitted to have as many wives as he pleases or can maintain. The monomotapa has a thousand, but the first wife commands over all the rest, and her children only are ent.i.tled to inherit the throne. Their houses are built of wood; their apparel is made of cotton, those of the better sort being mixed with gold threads; their funerals are very superst.i.tious. The attendance on the monomotapa is more ceremonious than grand, his usual guard being 200 dogs, and he is always attended by 500 buffoons. His dominions are ruled over by a great many princes or governors, and to prevent them from rebelling he always keeps their heirs about him. They have no law-suits. Their arms are bows and arrows, javelins, daggers, and small sharp hatchets, and they all fight on foot. The women of this country are used with so much respect, that even the kings sons when they meet a woman, give way to her and stand still till she has gone past. The Moors of Magadoxa were the first who possessed the mines of Sofala, after which they were seized by the King of Quiloa: But Yzuf, one of their governors, rebelled and usurped the government to himself, a.s.suming the t.i.tle of king. This was the same person with whom Annaya had now to contend, and whose son Solyman he established in the sovereignty, under the protection and va.s.salage of Portugal.

While these things happened at Sofala, the zamorin of Calicut was using every exertion to raise up enemies to the Portuguese, even entering into alliance with the Mameluke Soldan of Egypt, hoping by his a.s.sistance to drive the Christians from the Indian seas. His measures and preparations however became known to the Rajah of Cochin, who communicated the intelligence to the viceroy Almeyda. He accordingly sent his son Lorenzo with eleven vessels to endeavour to counteract the designs of the zamorin by destroying the fleet he had prepared. Learning that the Calicut fleet was in the port of Cananor, consisting of 260 paraos, 60 of which were larger than the Portuguese ships, Lorenzo sailed thither and put them to flight after a severe engagement. In the pursuit, some of the paraos were taken, but many were sunk and run aground, by which the enemy sustained great loss, while only five or six of the Portuguese were slain. The princ.i.p.al booty taken on this occasion was four ships loaded with spice. Almost immediately after this victory, Don Lorenzo received notice that the fort of Anchediva was beset by 60 vessels belonging to the Moors and Malabars, well armed and manned with a number of resolute men under the command of a renegado. On this occasion the besieged behaved with great gallantry, and the besiegers pressed their attacks with much bravery, but several of their vessels having been destroyed and others much damaged by the cannon of the fort, and hearing of the approach of Lorenzo, the enemy withdrew in all haste.

Finding their trade almost destroyed by the Portuguese, the Moors endeavoured to shun their cruisers by keeping out to sea in their voyages from Cambaya and the ports of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, pa.s.sing through the Maldive Islands, and keeping to the south of Ceylon in their way to Sumatra and Malacca. The viceroy on learning this new course of the Moorish trade, sent his son Lorenzo with nine ships to intercept the trade of the enemy. While wandering through seas unknown to the pilots, Lorenzo discovered the island of Ceylon, formerly called Taprobana, and came to anchor in the port of _Gale_, where many Moors were taking in cinnamon and elephants for Cambaya. To induce Lorenzo not to molest or destroy them, the Moors made him an offer of 400 bahars of cinnamon in the name of the king of Ceylon; and although he well knew this proceeded only from fear, he thought it better to dissemble and accept the present, contenting himself with the discovery of the island, on which he erected a cross with an inscription of the date of his discovery. On his return to Cochin, he attacked the town of Biramjam or Brinjan, which he burnt to the ground and put all the inhabitants to the sword, in revenge for the slaughter of the factor and his people at Coulam, as this place belonged to that kingdom.

While Cide Barbudo and Pedro Quaresme were coming out from Portugal with two ships, they arrived after many misfortunes at Sofala, where they found Annaya and most of his men dead, and the rest of the Portuguese garrison sick. Quaresme remained there to defend the fort; and Barbudo proceeding towards India found Quiloa in as bad a condition, of which he carried intelligence to Almeyda. The viceroy sent immediately Nunno Vaz Pereyra to relieve the forts of Quiloa and Sofala[88]. But that of Quiloa was soon afterwards abandoned and destroyed, after having lost many lives, owing to the ill usage of the Portuguese to the natives, whom they treated with insufferable pride, and boundless avarice.

[Footnote 88: De Faria does not give any dates to the particular transactions in his text, merely noticing the successive years in the t.i.tles of the various sections into which his work is loosely divided, and occasionally on the margin: Even this has been neglected by the editor of Astley's Collection. These last transactions on the coast of Africa seem to have taken place towards the end of 1506.--E.]

Having been informed by Diego Fernandez Pereyra that the island of Socotora near the mouth of the Red Sea was inhabited by Christians who were subject to the Moors, the king of Portugal ordered Tristan de Cunna and Alfonso de Albuquerque to direct their course to that island, and to endeavour to possess themselves of the fort, that the Portuguese ships might be enabled to winter at that island, and to secure the navigation of the Arabian Gulf against the Moors; for which purpose they carried out with them a wooden fort ready to put up. De Cunna was destined to command the trading ships which were to return to Europe, and Albuquerque to cruise with a small squadron on the coast of Arabia against the Moors. These two commanders sailed from Lisbon on the 6th of March 1507, with thirteen vessels in which were 1300 soldiers, some of whom died by the way, having been infected by the plague then raging in Lisbon; but when they came under the line, the sickness left them.

Having come in sight of Cape Augustine in Brasil, they took a new departure from thence to cross the Southern Atlantic for the Cape of Good Hope; but in this course De Cunna held so far to the south that he discovered the islands still called by his name. At this place the ships were parted in a storm, each following a separate course till they met again at Mozambique. Alvaro Tellez, however, who commanded one of these ships, overshot Mozambique and proceeded to Cape Guardafu, where he took six ships belonging to the Moors, so laden with all kind of goods, that he made a sort of bridge from them to his own vessel, consisting of bales thrown into the sea, over which his men pa.s.sed as on dry land.

During this part of the voyage likewise, Ruy Pereyra put into the port of Matatama in the island of Madagascar; and being informed that this island abounded in spice, especially ginger, Tristan de Cunna was induced to go there, and anch.o.r.ed in a bay which his son Nunno named _Angra de Donna Maria_, after a lady whom he courted. By others it is named the bay of _Santa Maria delta Conception_. As some Negroes appeared on the coast, De Cunna sent a Moor to converse with them; but when he mentioned that the ships belonged to Christians, they endeavoured to kill him, and had to be driven away by the Portuguese cannon. About three leagues farther on, they came to a village, the _xeque_ or sheikh of which carried them to another town on an island in a well sheltered bay into which the great river Lulangan discharges its waters. This town was inhabited by Moors[89] somewhat civilized, who, being afraid of the fleet made their escape to the main-land, but so overloaded their boats that many of them perished by the way. The Portuguese surrounded the island and took 500 prisoners, only twenty of whom were men, among whom was the _xeque_ or chief, an aged man of a respectable appearance. Next morning the sea was covered with boats, bringing over 600 men to demand the release of their wives and children.

After some negociation, the Portuguese commander restored the prisoners to their liberty. He here learnt that the island of Madagascar was chiefly inhabited by negro _cafrs_, and produced but little ginger. He afterwards wished to have entered a town on this island called _Zada_, but the inhabitants set it on fire.

[Footnote 89: By Moors in the writings of the early Portuguese, Mahometans are always to be understood. The Moors of Madagascar were a mixed breed between the Arabs and Negroes.--E.]

From this place, De Cunna sent on Alfonso de Albuquerque with four ships to Mozambique, with orders to reduce some places on the coast of Melinda; while he went himself with three ships to Matatama in Madagascar, where he was told that cloves, ginger, and silver were to be had. On this expedition however, he lost one of his ships, only the pilot and seven men being saved; on which account he steered for Mozambique, but was forced by stress of weather into the island of Angoza. At night he discovered the lights of the ship St Jago which he had left at Mozambique, and soon after Juan de Nova arrived from Angoza, where he had wintered[90], laden with pepper. At Mozambique he rejoined Albuquerque, whom he sent on before him to Melinda; and meeting two other ships of his squadron at Quiloa, he proceeded to Melinda. To oblige the king of Melinda, the Portuguese attacked the city of Oja, the king of which place, aided by the king of Mombaza, made war on the king of Melinda. In this country, which is inhabited by Arabs, there are some ancient and wonderful structures. Each city, and almost every village has a separate king, whom they call _xeque_ or sheikh; but the princ.i.p.al among these are the sheikhs of Quiloa, Zanzibar, and Mombaza, while the sheikh of Melinda pretends to be the most ancient, deducing his pedigree from the sheikhs of Quitau, which, though in ruins, shows evident marks of ancient grandeur, having been superior to all its neighbours. These are Luziva, Parimunda, Lamon, Jaca, Oja, and others. This country is watered by the river Gulimanja, up which George Alfonso sailed for the s.p.a.ce of five days, finding the banks every where covered with impervious woods, and the river inhabited by a prodigious number of sea horses or _hippopotami_.

[Footnote 90: This wintering, being in the southern hemisphere, probably refers to June and July 1507.--E.]

Having now only six ships out of thirteen with which he left Portugal, one being lost, some separated by storms, and others sent away, Tristan de Cunna appeared before the city of Oja, on an open sh.o.r.e seventeen leagues from Melinda, and defended by a wall towards the land, to protect it against the Kafrs. De Cunna sent a message to the sheikh desiring an interview, as having some important matters to arrange with him; but the sheikh answered, that he was subject to the soldan of Egypt, caliph or head of the Musselmans, and could not therefore treat with a people who were enemies to the prophet. Considering delay dangerous, Tristan resolved upon an immediate attack, and dividing his men into two parties, one commanded by himself and the other by Albuquerque, made for the sh.o.r.e as soon as day light appeared. The Moors were drawn up on the sh.o.r.e to resist the landing, but were soon forced to take shelter behind their walls; and, not trusting to them for protection, no sooner entered at the sea gate but they ran out at the gate opposite. Nunno de Cunna and Alfonso de Noronha pursued the sheikh and his people to a grove of palm trees, in which the sheikh and many of his attendants were slain. At this time, George Silveyra observed a grave Moor leading a beautiful young woman through a path in the wood, and made towards them. The Moor turned to defend himself, desiring the woman to make her escape while he fought; but she followed him, declaring she would rather die or be taken along with him, than make her escape alone. Seeing them thus strive who should give the strongest demonstration of affection, Silveyra allowed both to go away unhurt, unwilling to part so much love. The town was plundered and set on fire, and burnt with such fury that some of the Portuguese perished in the flames while in anxious search of plunder.

On being informed of what had happened at Oja, the sheikh of Lamo, fifteen leagues distant, came to make his submission, and to render himself more acceptable offered to pay a tribute of 600 meticals of gold yearly, about equal to as many ducats, and paid the first year in advance. From hence De Cunna proceeded to Brava, a populous town which had been formerly reduced, but the sheikh was now in rebellion, trusting to a force of 6000 men with which he opposed the landing of the Portuguese. But De Cunna and Albuquerque landed their troops next day in two bodies, in spite of every opposition from showers of arrows, darts, and stones, and scaled the walls, routing the Moors with prodigious slaughter. The city was plundered, and burnt; but in this enterprise the Portuguese lost forty-two men; not the half of them by the sword, but in consequence of a boat sinking which was overloaded with spoil. Those who were drowned had been so blinded with covetousness while plundering the town, that they barbarously cut off the hands and ears of the women to save time in taking off their bracelets and earrings. Sailing from Brava, Tristan de Cunna was rejoined off Cape Guardafu by Alvaro Tellez, who had been in great danger in a storm of losing his ship with all the rich booty formerly mentioned. Having got sight of Cape Guardafu, De Cunna now stood over for the island of Socotora, according to his instructions.

Socotora, or Zakatra is an island twenty leagues long and nine broad, stretching nearly east and west, in lat. 12 40' N. and is the largest of the islands near the mouth of the Red Sea, but has no ports fit for any great number of ships to ride in during winter. Through the middle of this island there runs a chain of very high hills, yet covered over with sand blown up by the north winds from the sh.o.r.e to their tops, so that they are entirely barren and dest.i.tute of trees or plants, excepting some small valleys which are sheltered from these winds. It is 30 leagues from Cape Guardafu, and 50 leagues from the nearest part of the Arabian continent. The ports princ.i.p.ally used by us are Zoco or Calancea to the westwards, and Beni to the east, both inhabited by Moors, who are very unpolished. In those valleys that are sheltered from the sand, apple and palm trees are produced, and the best aloes in the world, which from its excellence is called Socotorine aloes. The common food of the people is maize, with milk and tamarinds. The inhabitants of this island are Christians of the Jacobite church, similar in its ceremonies and belief to that which is established in Ethiopia[91]. The men generally use the names of the apostles, while most of the women, are named Maria. They worship the cross, which they set up in all their churches, and wear upon their clothes, worshipping thrice a-day in the Chaldean language, making alternate responses as we do in choirs. They have but one wife, use circ.u.mcision, pay tythes, and practice fasting.

The men are comely, and the women so brave that they go to war like Amazons. They are clothed mostly in skins, but some of the better sort use cloth; their weapons are stones, which they sling with much dexterity, and they live mostly in caves[92]. This island was subject to the sheikh or king of Caxem[93] in Arabia.

[Footnote 91: Abyssinia is obviously here meant.--E.]

[Footnote 92: Though not distinguished in the text, Faria seems here to confine himself to the barbarous Christian natives, inhabiting the country; as the towns appear to have been occupied by Mahometan Arabs.--E.]

[Footnote 93: Cashen or Ca.s.sin.--Astley, I. 63.]

At this place[94] De Cunna found a tolerable fort, not ill manned, and decently provided for defence. He sent a friendly message to the sheikh, but receiving an insolent answer he resolved to attack the place, though the attempt seemed dangerous. He and Albuquerque went towards the sh.o.r.e with the troops, but Don Alfonso de Noronha, nephew to De Cunna, leapt first on sh.o.r.e, determining to shew himself worthy of the choice which the king had made of him to command in Socotora, if gained.

Noronha immediately advanced against the sheikh with a few brave men.

The sheikh defended himself with great resolution, and had even almost repulsed the a.s.sailants, when he was struck down by the lance of Noronha. The Moors endeavoured with much valour to rescue their wounded chief, but he and eight more were slain, on which the rest fled to the castle. This was immediately scaled by a party of the Portuguese, who opened the gate for the rest, who now rushed into the large outer court.

[Footnote 94: By a marginal note in Faria, it appears to have been now the year 1508; but the particular place or town in Socotora attacked by De Cunna is not mentioned. I am disposed however to believe that date an error of the press, for 1507.--E.]

The Moors bravely defended their inner fort to the last man, so that of eighty-three men only one was taken alive, besides a blind man who was found hidden in a well. Being asked how he had got there, being blind, he answered that blind men saw only one thing, which was the way to liberty. He was set free. In this a.s.sault the Portuguese lost six men.

During the a.s.sault the natives of the island kept at a distance, but now came with their wives and children, joyfully returning thanks to the Portuguese commander for having delivered them from the heavy yoke of the infidels; and De Cunna received them to their great satisfaction under the protection of the crown of Portugal[95]. The Mosque was purified by the solemnities of the Catholic church, and converted into a church dedicated to the _Invocation of Neustra Sennora della Vittoria_, in which many were baptised by the labours of Father Antonio of the order of St Francis. De Cunna gave the command of the fort, now named San Miguel, to Don Alfonso de Noronha, his nephew, who had well deserved it by his valour, even if he had not been nominated to the command by the king. Noronha was provided with a garrison of an hundred men, with proper officers; after which De Cunna wintered at the island of Socotora, though very ill accommodated, and then sailed for India, sending Albuquerque, according to the royal orders, to cruise on the coast of Arabia[96].

[Footnote 95: Little did these poor Jacobite Christians suspect, that in exchanging masters they were subjected to the more dreadful yoke of the Portuguese Inquisition! The zeal of the Portuguese for the liberty of the Christian inhabitants of Socotora soon cooled, when it was found unable to pay the expence of a garrison, and it was soon abandoned to the milder oppression of its former Mahometan masters.--E.]

[Footnote 96: From an after part of the text of Faria, we learn that this fort in the island of Socotora was taken on the 20th of August, probably of the year 1507.]

While these things occurred at Socotora, the zamorin of Calicut was arming afresh against the Portuguese, relying on the promises of his wizards and soothsayers; who, finding that the succours under Tristan de Cunna were long delayed, a.s.sured him of success in that lucky opportunity, and predicted a great change of affairs, as indicated by an earthquake and a great eclipse of the sun, so complete that the stars were seen at noon for a considerable time, and which they pretended was a sure sign of the approaching destruction of the Portuguese. But on the viceroy Almeyda receiving notice of the preparations at Calicut, he sent his son Don Lorenzo thither with a squadron of ten ships. At this time Gonzalo Vaz was in Cananor with his ship, taking in water; and on his voyage to join Don Lorenzo he fell in with a ship belonging to Cananor having a Portuguese pa.s.s, which he sunk with all her moorish crew sewed up in a sail that they might never be seen. But this wicked action was afterwards discovered, for which Vaz was broke; a very incompetent punishment for so great a crime, owing to which the Portuguese afterwards suffered severe calamities, as will appear in the sequel.

On his way towards Dabul in search of the Calicut fleet, Don Lorenzo cast anchor at the entrance of the port of Chaul, into which seven vessels belonging to the Moors entered without making any return to his salute. On this Lorenzo followed them in his boats, and the Moors leaped overboard to escape on sh.o.r.e, but many of them were slain by the Portuguese in the water. Lorenzo then took possession of the ships, which were laden with horses and other goods; and as the Moors endeavoured to overreach him with regard to ransoming their vessels, greatly underrating their cargoes, he ordered them all to be burnt.

Going thence to Dabul, where he found the Calicut fleet, he anch.o.r.ed off the mouth of the river, and called a council of his officers to consult on the proper measures for an attack; but owing to the narrowness of the river it was carried in the council not to attack, contrary to the opinion of Lorenzo, who was eager to destroy the enemies ships. Pa.s.sing on therefore to a river four leagues beyond Dabul, a brigantine and parao which led the van saw a ship sailing up the river, and pursued the vessel till it came to anchor over against a town, where there were many other vessels. Seeing the two vessels in pursuit of the ship Lorenzo sent a galley after them, and the three began to clear the sh.o.r.e with their shot of many Moors who flocked thither to defend their ships.

Supposing from the noise of firing that his a.s.sistance was necessary, Lorenzo made all possible haste up the river; but before his arrival the others had taken all the vessels in the harbour, and had burnt a house on sh.o.r.e full of valuable commodities. All the ships in this harbour were burnt, except two from Ormuz having very rich cargoes, which were carried away. On his return to Cochin with victory and rich spoil, expecting to be received by his father with applause, he was astonished to find himself threatened with severe punishment for not having fought with and destroyed the Calicut fleet. He was however excused, as it appeared he had been overruled by the votes of the other captains, contrary to his own opinion. The viceroy broke them all therefore, and sent them home in disgrace to Portugal. By this severity, Don Lorenzo was much troubled, and in afterwards endeavouring to restore himself to the esteem of his father, he lost his life in rashly displaying his valour.

The body of one of the Moors who had been basely destroyed by Vaz, as formerly mentioned, was washed on sh.o.r.e, and discovered to be the nephew of _Mamale_, a rich merchant of Malabar. Founding on this circ.u.mstance, the zamorin prevailed upon the rajah of Cananor to break with the Portuguese; and as it was not known who had been guilty of that barbarous act, the blame fell upon Lorenzo de Brito, captain of the fort at Cananor, who got notice of his danger, and not being in sufficient force to defend himself, sent intelligence to the viceroy. This message was delivered to Almeyda while in church a.s.sisting at the service on _Maunday_ Thursday; and was of so pressing a nature that he immediately left the church, to give orders for the immediate shipment of provisions and men to succour Brito; and these orders were executed with such speed, that those who had lent their arms to others _to watch the sepulchre_, as the custom is, had to go to the church to get them back.

Don Lorenzo was appointed to command this relief of Cananor, with orders on his arrival at that place to put himself under the command of Brito, who insisted that as son to the viceroy and an officer of reputation and experience he should take the command: But Lorenzo was positive that he would not take the command over Brito, pursuant to the orders of his father; and being unable to prevail, he left the relief at Cananor, and returned to Cochin.

By this time the rajah of Cananor had drawn together a force of 20,000 men, with which he besieged the Portuguese fort, which Brito determined to defend to the last extremity, and used every possible means to strengthen the place. Much blood was spilt about the possession of a well, which the Portuguese at length made themselves masters of by means of a mine. After this loss, the enemy retired to a wood of palm-trees, meaning to prepare engines to batter the fort, of which circ.u.mstance intelligence was conveyed to Brito by a nephew to the rajah of Cananor, who wished to acquire the friendship of the Portuguese, so that Brito was prepared to receive the intended a.s.sault. Having completed their preparations, the enemy moved on to fill up the ditch and a.s.sault the fort; but were opposed with so much energy, at first by incessant discharges of cannon, and afterwards by means of a sally, that the ditch was filled with dead bodies instead of fascines. After losing a prodigious number of men, the enemy retreated to the wood; and next night, which was cold and rainy, Brito sent out eighty men to beat up their quarters under the command of a Spanish officer named Guadalaxara, who was next in command. This enterprise was so vigorously executed, that after the discharge of a few small pieces of artillery, the enemy fled in every direction to save themselves, leaving 300 of their men slain. The joy for this victory on the side of the Portuguese was soon miserably abated in consequence of the destruction of their entire magazine of provisions by fire, by which they were reduced to the extremity of famine, and under the necessity of feeding on all kinds of vermin that could be procured. In this extreme distress, they were providentially relieved by a rough sea throwing up vast quant.i.ties of crabs or lobsters on the point of land where the chapel of the Virgin stands, which was the only food which could be procured by the garrison for a long while. While in this situation, in consequence of powerful a.s.sistance from the zamorin, the rajah of Cananor made a fresh a.s.sault upon Brito with 50,000 men, and was again repulsed with prodigious slaughter, without the loss of one man on the side of the Portuguese.

Immediately after this exploit, Tristan de Cunna arrived at Cananor with a reinforcement and a supply of provisions, by which and the n.o.ble defence made by Brito the rajah of Cananor was so much intimidated that he sued for peace, which was granted upon conditions highly honourable and advantageous to the Portuguese.

As Tristan de Cunna was now ready to depart for Portugal with the homeward bound ships, the viceroy went along with him to Paniani, a town belonging to Calicut which he proposed to destroy, as it was much frequented by the Moors, who took in loadings of spices at that place under the protection of four ships belonging to the zamorin commanded by a valiant Moor named Cutiale[97]. The viceroy and Tristan, having anch.o.r.ed off the bar, held a council of war to deliberate upon a plan of attack, when it was determined to send their two sons in two barks and several boats to attack the place, while the viceroy and admiral should follow in a galley. When the foremost of the Portuguese a.s.sailants were attacking the trenches, on which some of them had mounted, Pedro Cam having even planted the colours of Lorenzo Almeyda on the summit, the viceroy on coming up observed his son climbing up with some difficulty.

He immediately called out, "How comes it Lorenzo that you are so backward?" When the young man answered, "I have given way, Sir, to him who has gained the honour of the day." At this moment a gigantic Moor a.s.sailed Lorenzo and even wounded him; but in return he cleft the head of the Moor down to the breast. The town was now carried by storm, and all its defenders put to the sword, after which all the ships in the port were burnt. In this exploit the Portuguese lost only eighteen men, none of whom were of any note; but above 500 of the enemy were slain.

Though the plunder of this place was of great value, it was all burnt along with the town and ships, the artillery only being carried off.

[Footnote 97: In an after part of De Faria, this officer is said to have been a Chinese.--E.]

After this the fleet and army returned to Cananor where De Cunna completed his lading, and then set sail for Portugal. At Mozambique, on his way home, he met several ships belonging to a squadron of twelve sail sent from Lisbon in the former year; seven of which were to return with goods, and the other five to cruise on the eastern coast of Africa, under the command of Vasco Gomez de Abreu, who was likewise to command in the fort of Sofala. There were also two other ships in this fleet, destined to reinforce the squadron of Albuquerque on the coast of Arabia. Of this fleet, the ship commanded by Juan Chanoca was lost in the river Zanaga, that of Juan Gomez in another place, and Abreu was lost with four vessels while going to Mozambique. Other vessels of this fleet were driven to various parts, after enduring terrible storms and imminent dangers; yet these dire misfortunes were insufficient to damp the boldness of our nation in quest of riches, so prevalent is covetousness over every consideration of difficulty or danger.

We must now return to Alfonso de Albuquerque, who parted from De Cunna, after the taking of Socotora on the 20th of August, as formerly related, being bound for the coasts of Arabia and Persia, pursuant to the commands of the king, having with him seven ships and 460 soldiers. He came first to Calayate, a beautiful and strong place in the kingdom of Ormuz, built after the manner usual in Spain, but which had once been more populous. Sending a message to the governor, he received supplies of water and provisions, and entered into a treaty of peace. Proceeding to Curiate, ten leagues farther on, he was very ill received, in revenge for which he took the place by storm, losing only three of his own men, while eighty of the defenders were slain. After plundering this place, it was destroyed by fire along with fourteen vessels which were in the harbour. From thence he sailed for Muscat, eight leagues farther, which was stronger than the two former, and well filled with people, who had resorted there from all quarters on hearing of the destruction of Curiate. Being afraid of a similar disaster, the governor sent great supplies of provisions to Albuquerque, and entered into a treaty of peace; but while the boats were ash.o.r.e for water, the cannon of the town began unexpectedly to play upon the ships, doing, considerable damage, and obliged them hastily to haul farther off, not knowing the cause of these hostilities; but it was soon learnt that 2000 men had arrived to defend the town, sent by the king of Ormuz, and that their commander refused to concur in the peace which had been entered into by the governor. Although Albuquerque had received considerable damage from the smart cannonade, he landed his men early next morning, and attacked the place with such resolution that the Moors fled at one gate, while the Portuguese entered at another. The town was given up to plunder, all except the residence of the governor, who had received the Portuguese in a friendly manner, and had very honourably given them notice to retire, when the troops of Ormuz arrived; but he was slain during the first confusion, without being known.

After the destruction of Muscat, Albuquerque proceeded to Soar, all the inhabitants of which fled, except the governor and some of the princ.i.p.al Moors, who offered to surrender the town; but Albuquerque gave it back to them, on condition of holding it in va.s.salage from the crown of Portugal, and payment of the same tribute which used to be given to the king of Ormuz. Fifteen leagues farther he came to Orfucam, which was deserted by the inhabitants. Albuquerque sent his nephew, Don Antonio, to pursue them at the head of 100 men; who, though he brought back twenty-two prisoners, received almost as much damage from the Moors as he did, as they were very numerous and fought bravely in defence of their wives and children. The deserted town of Orfucam was plundered for three days, during which time Albuquerque disposed all things in readiness for proceeding against Ormuz, which was the chief object of his voyage, deeming these previous exploits only a prelude to his grand enterprise, and accounting them but trifles, though they might appear considerable to others.

The city of Ormuz or Hormuz is situated on the small island of Jerun at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, only three leagues in compa.s.s, and so barren that it produces nothing but salt and sulphur. The buildings of the city are sumptuous. It is the great mart for all the goods of Africa, Arabia, and India; by which means, though having nothing of its own, it abounds in all things. It is plentifully supplied with provisions from the province of Mogostan or Laristan in Persia, and from the islands of Kishom, Kissmis, or Kishmish, Larek, and others. About the year 1273, Malek Kaez possessed all the land from the isle of Jerun to that of Bahrayn, bordering on the kingdom of Gordunshah of the province of Mogostan[98]. This king by subtile devices prevailed upon Malek to give him the island of Jerun, being a place of no value whatever; after which he fortified himself there, and transplanting the inhabitants of the ancient city of Ormuz on the coast, where the king used to reside to that island, the king of Persia, fearing he would refuse the accustomed tribute, prepared to invade him: But the king of Gordunshah diverted him from his purpose, by engaging to be responsible for the tribute, and by doing homage by his amba.s.sadors once in every five years. By these means the city and kingdom of Ormuz was established, which continued to be ruled over by the heirs of the first possessor and others, mostly by violence[99].

[Footnote 98: The expression in the text is obscure. It appears that Malek Kaez, ruled over the sea coast of the kingdom or province rather of Mogostan, of which Gordunshah was king or governor.--E.]

[Footnote 99: The account in the text is unintelligible and contradictory: But we fortunately have one more intelligible from the editor of Astley's Collection, I. 65. c. which being too long for a note, has been placed in the text between inverted commas.--E.]

"This account of the origin of the kingdom of Ormuz or Harmuz is related differently in a history of that state written by one of its kings, and given to us by Teixeira at the end of his history of Persia, as follows.--In the year of _Hejirah_ 700, and of Christ 1302, when the Turkomans, or Turks from Turkestan, overran Persia as far as the Persian Gulf, _Mir Bahaddin Ayaz Seyfin_, the fifteenth king of Ormuz, resolved, to leave the continent where his dominions then were, and to retire to some of the adjacent islands. He first pa.s.sed over with his people to the large island of _Brokt_ or Kishmish[100], called Quixome by the Portuguese, and afterwards removed to a desert isle two leagues distant eastward, which he begged from _Neyn_ king of _Keys_, and built a new city, calling it _Harmuz_ after the name of his former capital on the coast, the ruins of which are still visible to the east of _Gamrun_ or Gambroon. By the Arabs and Persians, this island is called _Jerun_, from a fisherman who lived there at the time when Ayaz first took possession.

In the course of two hundred years, this new city and kingdom advanced so much in wealth and power, that it extended its dominion over a great part of the coasts of Arabia and Persia, all the way to _Basrah_ or Basora. It became the chief mart of trade in all these parts, which had formerly been established at Keys; but after the reduction of Ormuz, by the Portuguese, its trade and consequence declined much, owing to their tyranny and oppression. Ayaz Seyfin, was succeeded by Amir Ayas Oddin Gordun Shah. Thus it appears distinctly, that the Malek Kaes in the text of Faria, ought to have been called the Malek or king of Kaes or Keys; and that instead of the kingdom of Gordunshah of the province of Mogostan, it should have been Gordun Shah king of Mogostan; besides, the island was not granted to him, but to his predecessor Ayaz. As a mark of their sense of the riches of Ormuz, the orientals used to say proverbially, if the world were considered as a ring, Ormuz was its jewel."

[Footnote 100: In a plan of Ormuz given in Astley's Collection, the isle of Kishoma or Kishmis is placed at a small distance from that of Ormuz or Jerun, and is said to be the place whence Ormuz is supplied with water. In fact the island of Kismis or Kishom is of considerable size and some fertility, though exceedingly unhealthy, while that of Jerun on which Ormuz was built, though barren and without water, was comparatively healthy. It was a commercial garrison town of the Arabs, for the purpose of carrying on the trade of the Persian Gulf, and at the same time withdrawing from the oppressive rule of the Turkoman conquerors of Persia.--E.]

When Albuquerque arrived at Ormuz about the end of September 1507, Sayf Oddin a youth of twelve years of age was sovereign, under the guardianship of a slave named Khojah Attar, a man of courage but of a subtile and crafty disposition. Hearing what had been done by Albuquerque at the towns upon the coast, Attar made great preparations for resisting the new enemy. For this purpose he laid an embargo on all the ships in the port, and hired troops from all the neighbouring countries, so that when the Portuguese entered the port there were 30,000 armed men in the city, of whom 4000 were Persians, the most expert archers then in the world. There were at that time 400 vessels in the harbour, 60 of which were of considerable size, the crews of which amounted to 2500 men. Albuquerque was not ignorant of the warlike preparations which had been made for his reception; but to shew his determined resolution, he came immediately to anchor in the midst of five of the largest ships riding in the harbour, firing his cannon as he sailed along to strike a terror into the inhabitants, and the sh.o.r.e was soon lined by 8000 troops. As no message was sent to him by the king, he commanded the captain of the largest ship, which seemed admiral over the rest, to repair on board of him, who immediately complied, and was received with much civility, but in great state. He then desired this man to go on sh.o.r.e and inform the king of Ormuz, that he had orders from the king of Portugal to take him under the protection of that crown, and to grant him leave to trade in the Indian seas, on condition that he submitted himself as va.s.sal to the crown of Portugal, and agreed to pay a reasonable tribute: But if these proposals were rejected, his orders were to subdue Ormuz by force of arms. It was a.s.suredly no small presumption to offer such degrading terms to a king who was at the head of above 30,000 fighting men, and 400 ships, while all the force he had against such prodigious force, was only 460 soldiers and seven ships.

The Moorish captain, who was from Cambaya, went on sh.o.r.e and delivered this insolent message to the king and his governor Attar; who immediately sent Khojah Beyram with a message to Albuquerque, excusing them for not having sent to inquire what the Portuguese wanted in their port, and promising that the governor should wait upon him next day.

Attar however did not perform this promise, but endeavoured to spin out the time by a repet.i.tion of messages, in order to strengthen the fortifications of the city, and to receive farther supplies. Albuquerque immediately perceived the purport of these messages, and told Beyram that he would listen only to the acceptation of peace on the terms proposed, or an immediate declaration of war. To this insolent demand, Beyram brought back for answer, that Ormuz was accustomed to receive, and not to pay tribute.

During the night, the noise of warlike instruments, and the shouts of the troops collected in Ormuz were heard from all parts of the city; and when morning came, the whole walls, the sh.o.r.e, and the vessels in the harbour were seen crowded with armed men, while the windows and flat tops of all the houses were filled with people of both s.e.xes and all ages, anxious to behold the expected events. Albuquerque immediately began to cannonade the city and the large Moorish ships, and was spiritedly answered by the enemy, who took advantage of the obscurity occasioned by the smoke to send a large party of armed men in 130 boats to attack the ships, and did some damage among the Portuguese by incessant and prodigious discharges of arrows and stones. But as many of the boats were sunk by the Portuguese artillery, and numbers of the men slain and drowned, they were forced to retire. They returned again to the charge with fresh numbers; but after a severe conflict were again obliged to retreat with prodigious loss, the sea being dyed with blood, and great numbers of them slain. By this time, Albuquerque had sunk two of the largest ships in the port and taken a third, not without considerable opposition on the part of the enemy, forcing the surviving Moors to leap into the sea; and the other captains of his squadron had captured three ships, and had set above thirty more on fire. The crews of these cut their cables and drifted over to the Persian sh.o.r.e to enable themselves to escape; but by this means communicated the conflagration to other vessels that were lying aground. These disasters struck such terror into the people of Ormuz that they all fled in dismay within their walls, and Khojah Attar sent a message to Albuquerque offering to submit to his proposals; on which he put a stop to farther hostilities, yet suspecting the governor of treachery, he threatened to inflict still heavier calamities on the city unless the terms were performed with good faith. Thus, with the loss only of ten men on the side of the Portuguese, most of the numerous vessels belonging to the enemy, full of various rich commodities, were taken, burnt, sunk, or torn to pieces, and above seventeen hundred of the Moors were slain, numbers of whose bodies were seen floating in the harbour. Many of these were seen to have ornaments of gold, which the Portuguese anxiously sought after, and on this occasion it was noticed that several of the enemy had been slain by their own arrows, none being used by the Portuguese.

Khojah Attar, dismayed by the prodigious injury sustained in the conflict, and afraid of still heavier calamities, called a council of the chief officers of the kingdom to deliberate on what was best to be done, when it was agreed to submit for the present to the demands of Albuquerque; after which articles of pacification were drawn up and sworn to between the parties. The two princ.i.p.al articles were, that the king of Ormuz submitted to pay a tribute to the king of Portugal of 15,000 _Xerephines_ yearly[101], and that ground should be allowed for the Portuguese on which to build a fort. The fort was accordingly immediately commenced, and considerable progress was made in its construction in a few days. On purpose to avoid the payment of the tribute, Khojah Attar dressed up a pretended emba.s.sy from the king of Persia demanding payment of the usual tribute, and required that Albuquerque should give them an answer, as the king of Ormuz was now subject to the crown of Portugal. Albuquerque penetrated into this design, and desired Attar to send some one to him to receive the answer.

The pretended Persian amba.s.sador accordingly waited upon him, to whom he gave some spears and bullets, saying such was the coin in which the tribute should be paid in future. Finding this contrivance fail, Attar endeavoured to corrupt some of the Portuguese, and actually prevailed on five seamen to desert, one of whom had been bred a founder, who cast some cannon like those belonging to the Portuguese. Being informed by these deserters that Albuquerque had only about 450 soldiers, Attar began to pick up fresh courage, and entered into contrivances for breaking the peace, pretending at the same time to lay the blame on Albuquerque, and refused to deliver up the deserters.