This River Has Its Source In The Mountains Of Great Tartary,
Whence It Runs Southwards Near 600 Leagues, Dividing India Into Two
Parts Infra Et Extra Gangem, Or On This Side And The Other Side Of The
Ganges.
On the great eastern mouth of the Ganges stands the city of
Chatigam or Chittagong, and on the western mouth the city of
Satigam[208].
On the east of the Ganges, which runs through the middle
of Bengal, Caor, Camatii, Sirote, Codovascam, Cou, and Tipora were
subject to that kingdom, but the two last uniting together had thrown
off the yoke. On the west of the river, the country of Cospetir, whose
plain is overflowed annually by the Ganges as the land of Egypt by the
Nile, had been conquered by the Patans. According to the Pagans, God
hath granted to the kingdom of Bengal an infinite multitude of infantry,
to Orixa abundance of elephants, to Bisnagar a people well skilled in
using the sword and buckler, to Delhi a prodigious number of towns, and
to Cou innumerable horses. The kingdom of Bengal, reaching between the
latitudes of 22 deg. and 26 deg. 30' N. is well watered and exceedingly fertile,
producing abundance of fruit, with sugar and long pepper, great
quantities of cotton, which the inhabitants manufacture with much skill,
and has great abundance of cattle and poultry. The natives are heathens
of a pusillanimous character, yet false and treacherous; for it ally the
case that cowardice and treachery go together.
[Footnote 208: It is impossible even to guess what place is meant in the
text by Satigam, unless it may have some reference to the river
Sagar. - E.]
The king is universal heir to all his subjects. The capital city, named
Gowro, on the banks of the Ganges, is three leagues in length. It
contains 1,200,000 families, and is well fortified. The streets are
long, wide, and straight, with rows of trees to shelter the people from
the sun, and are sometimes so thronged with passengers that many are
trodden to death.
About fifty years before the discovery of India by the Portuguese, an
Arabian merchant who dwelt in Gowro became very rich and powerful, and
having defeated the king of Orixa in a great battle grew so much in
favour with the king of Bengal that he was made captain of his guards.
But, ungrateful to his benefactor, he killed the king and usurped the
kingdom, leaving it as an inheritance to the Moors who have since
possessed this rich and fertile kingdom. The succession to this kingdom
proceeds upon no rule of hereditary descent; but is often acquired by
slaves who kill their masters, and whosoever acquires the government,
were it only for three days, is looked upon as established by Providence
and Divine right. Hence during a period of forty years this kingdom had
been ruled by 13 successive princes. At the time when Martin Alfonso
Melo de Jusarte was prisoner in Bengal, Mahomet Shah was king and held
his court in Gowro with such state that there were 10,000 women in his
Zenana, yet was he in continual apprehension of being deposed. Martin
and the other Portuguese prisoners did signal service to Mahomet in his
wars with the Patans; and Martin and his followers obtained their
liberty through the means of one Khojah Sabadim, a rich Moor, who
engaged to procure liberty for the Portuguese to build a fort at
Chittagong, if Nuno de Cuna would carry him to Ormuz. Nano being eager
to acquire an establishment in Bengal, granted all that was asked, and
sent Martin Alfonso with 200 men in five vessels to Bengal, and to
secure the friendship of the king sent him a magnificent present.
Thirteen men who carried the present to Gowro, and thirty others who
accompanied Martin Alfonso to an entertainment at Chittagong were made
prisoners. On learning this event, Nuno sent Antonio de Silva with 350
men in nine vessels, to treat for the liberation of Martin Alfonso and
prisoners, by the assistance of Khojah Sabadim, to whose suggestions the
former unfortunate expedition was owing; and to secure the fidelity of
Sabadim, a ship belonging to him with a rich cargo was detained in
pledge. From Chittagong, Silva sent a messenger to Gowro with a letter
and a present; but as the answer was long in coming, Silva judged that
the king had detained his messenger along with the rest, on which he
rashly destroyed Chittagong and some other places; for which proceeding
the king confined the prisoners more rigidly than before. But his
necessities obliged him soon after to change his severity into kindness.
Xerchan, or Shir Khan, a general of note among the Moguls, being in
disgrace with the padisbah or Great Mogul, fled from Delhi to Bengal
accompanied by his brother Hedele Khan, and both of them rose to eminent
rank in the service of Mahomet. Being now at the head of a large army,
Shir Khan resolved to avenge upon Mahomet the murder of the former
infant king of Bengal; for which purpose he revolted with his army to
Humayun the Mogul padishah, and turned his arms against Mahomet. In his
distress, Mahomet consulted with Martin Alfonso how best to oppose the
arms of Shir Khan. By his advice, some vessels commanded by Portuguese
were stationed in the Ganges at a pass near the fort of Gori where the
Ganges enters Bengal. These effectually barred the passage of Shir Khan
in that direction; but having discovered another ford, he advanced to
Gowro, which he invested with 40,000 horse, 200,000 foot, and 1500
elephants. Shir Khan likewise brought a fleet of 300 boats down the
river, to a place where Mahomet had 800 boats to oppose the enemy. At
this place Duarte de Brito did signal service in the sight of King
Mahomet, and among other things, accompanied by eight other Portuguese,
he took an elephant that was swimming across the river.
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