It May Reasonably Be Believed That The Temple Or
Pagoda, Into Which Vasco De Gama Entered, As He Went From Calicut To The
Palace Of The Zamorin, May Have Been One Of These Churches, Because The
Image Of The Virgin Was There Called Mary By The Heathens.
It is
believed that one of the three kings who went to Bethlem, at the
nativity of our Lord, was king of Malabar.
The heathens celebrate yearly
a festival in honour of St Thomas, for the preservation of their ships,
because formerly, every year, many of them used to be lost while sailing
to Parvi.
From this long digression we return to the government of the viceroy Don
Antonio de Noronha, who arrived in the beginning of September 1564, as
formerly mentioned. In consequence of the cruelties exercised on the
Moors of Malabar by Mesquita, as formerly mentioned, those of Cananor
had besieged the Portuguese fort at that place, and had destroyed above
thirty vessels which were under its protection. After a siege of some
endurance, the Portuguese fleet destroyed many of the paraos belonging
to the enemy, while the besieged garrison of Cananor killed great
numbers of their assailants, besides cutting down above 40,000 palm
trees[375] to the infinite injury of the natives, who depend upon these
trees as their principal sustenance. The natives were so exasperated at
this that, collecting forces from all the surrounding districts, to the
amount of 90,000 men, they assaulted and even scaled the walls of the
fort and city; but after fighting from day-break to sunset, during which
time they lost about 5000 men, they were forced to retire to their camp,
resolving to protract the siege, or rather to convert the siege into a
strict blockade. In the farther prosecution of this war, the Portuguese
utterly destroyed the city belonging to Adderajao[376], who commanded
the besieging enemy, and cut down a large wood of palm trees, making
great slaughter of the enemy, without any loss on their own side, so
that the natives were constrained to raise the siege.
[Footnote 375: Assuredly cocoa-nut trees. This explains a circumstance
repeatedly mentioned on former occasions, of the Portuguese anxiously
cutting down the woods in their war with the natives on the coast of
India. - E.]
[Footnote 376: From the name of the commander of the enemy, probably
Adde Rajah, and other circumstances, they were most likely Nagres,
and other native Malabars, though called Moors in the text of De
Faria. - E.]
About this time the fort of Daman, towards the frontier of Guzerat, was
threatened by a detachment of 3000 Mogul horse. Juan de Sousa stood
immediately on his defence, and sent advice to the viceroy and the
neighbouring commanders of his danger, trusting however to the strength
of his defences, and particularly to a pallisade or bound hedge, which
he had made of the plant named lechera or the milk plant, which
throws out when cut a milky liquor which is sure to blind any one if it
touches their eyes. On receiving reinforcements, De Sousa marched out
against the Moguls, who were encamped about three leagues from Daman;
but they fled precipitately, leaving their camp and baggage, in which
the Portuguese found a rich booty.
During the year 1566, the trade of India was reduced to a very low ebb,
owing to a desolating war in the rich and extensive kingdom of Bisnagar,
which then reached from the frontiers of Bengal to that of Sinde. The
kings of the Decan, Nizam al Mulk, Adel Khan, and Cuttub Shah, envious
of the power and grandeur of the king of Bisnagar, entered into a league
to partition his dominions among themselves, and took the field with
50,000 horse and 300,000 foot. To repel this formidable invasion, the
king of Bisnagar, who was then ninety-six years of age, met his enemies
with an army double their numbers. At first the confederates seemed to
have the worst of the war; but fortune favoured them in the end, and the
ancient king of Bisnagar was defeated and slain. The confederates spent
five months in plundering the capital of Bisnagar, although the natives
had previously carried off 1550 elephants loaded with money and jewels
to the value of above an hundred millions of gold, besides the royal
chair of state, which was of inestimable value. Among his share of the
plunder Adel Khan got a diamond as large as an ordinary egg, with
another of extraordinary size though smaller, and other jewels of
prodigious value. The dominions of the old king were partitioned by the
victors among his sons and nephews.
In the year 1567, the great poet Camoens being extremely poor though he
had served sixteen years in India, was prevailed upon to go to Sofala
along with Pedro Barreto, who was going there with the command, and
promised to do great things for him; but after waiting long and
receiving nothing, Camoens resolved to return to Portugal in a ship
which put in at Sofala, in which was Hector de Silveyra and other
gentlemen. Barreto, however, opposed his departure, having promised him
promotion without any intentions of doing so, but only to procure his
company for his own gratification, and now detained him under pretence
of a debt of two hundred ducats. Silveyra and the other Portuguese
gentlemen paid this money and brought Camoens away, so that it may be
said, that the person of Camoens and the honour of Barreto were both
sold for that money. Camoens arrived at Lisbon in 1569, at which time
the plague raged in that city; so that in flying from one plague our
great and famous poet fell into another.
In 1568, Don Antonio de Noronha was succeeded as viceroy of India by Don
Luis de Ataide, count of Atougaia, who arrived at Goa in the October of
that year. At this time Itimi Khan held the administration of the
Kingdom of Guzerat, having by great artifice persuaded the chiefs that
his own son was son of the former king; but the kingdom was in great
confusion.
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