But Having Rebelled Against His Benefactor, He Was Driven
From Thence By The King Of Siam, And Was Forced To Wander About Malacca,
As A Just Punishment For His Ingratitude.
Having drawn together a number
of the before-mentioned natives, with whom he established a new colony,
he gave the name of Malacca to the rising city, signifying in the
language of the country a banished man, as a memorial of his own
fortunes.
The first king of Malacca was Xuque Darxa, or sheikh
Dar-shah, called by some authors Raal Sabu, or Ra-el-Saib, who was the
son of Paramisora, and was subject to the kings of Siam; but from whom
his successors revolted. The country of Malacca is subject to
inundations, full of thick woods, and infested by dangerous and savage
beasts, particularly tigers, so that travellers are often forced to pass
the nights on the tops of high trees, as the tigers can easily take them
off from such as are low by leaping. The men of Malacca are courageous,
and the women very wanton. At this time the city of Malacca was rich and
populous, being the centre of trade between the eastern and western
parts of India, Mahomet was then king of Malacca, against whom the king
of Siam had sent an army of 40,000 men, most of whom perished by sundry
misfortunes, but chiefly through similar treacherous devices with those
which had been put in practice against Sequeira. But now Albuquerque
approached to revenge them all. Mahomet, fearing to meet the reward of
his former treachery to the Portuguese, had procured the assistance of
the king of Pam[124], who brought an army of 30,000 men with a great
number of pieces of artillery[125].
[Footnote 123: In lat. 2 deg. 25' N.]
[Footnote 124: Named Pahang or Pahan, by the editor of Astleys
Collection.]
[Footnote 125: In the text of Faria, and following him in Astley, the
number of cannon is said to have been 8000; a number so incredible that
we have used a general expression only on this occasion in the
text. - E.]
On the 2d of May 1511, Albuquerque sailed from Cochin on his expedition
against Malacca, with 19 ships and 1400 soldiers, 800 of whom were
Portuguese, and 600 Malabars. While off the island of Ceylon he fell in
with and captured five vessels belonging to the Moors, which were bound
for Malacca. On arriving at the island of Sumatra, the kings of Pedier
and Pisang sent friendly messages to Albuquerque, on which occasion Juan
de Viegas, one of the men left behind by Sequeira was restored to
freedom, he and others having made their escape from Malacca. About this
time likewise, Nehoada Beguea, who had been one of the principal authors
of the treachery practiced against Sequeira, fled from Pedier and being
taken at sea by Ayres Pereira, to the great astonishment of every one
shed not one drop of blood, though pierced by several mortal wounds; but
on taking off a bracelet of bone from his arm the blood gushed out.
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