Pereyra Waking With The Noise, Threw Down Those
Who Had Mounted, And The Rest Fled Carrying His Chest Of Silver On Board
Their Ships.
While passing Cananor, Don Diego de Menezes fell upon the
Malabar squadron, which he totally routed and drove up the river
Tiracole, where every one of the ships were taken or destroyed, the
admiral Catiproca slain, his nephew Cutiale made prisoner, and the chest
of money belonging to Pereyra recovered.
Even by the fitting out of this unfortunate fleet, the zamorin did not
fulfil the conditions of the confederacy against the Portuguese, as each
of the high contracting parties had engaged to undertake some
considerable enterprize against them in person; but he had been hitherto
deterred by the presence of Diego de Menezes with a squadron in their
seas, who burned several of his maritime towns and took many of his
ships. Towards the end of June 1571, Diego de Menezes having withdrawn
from the coast with his squadron, and when Adel Khan and the Nizam were
both about to desist from their enterprises upon Goa and Chaul, the
zamorin took the field with an army of 100,000 men, most of them armed
with firelocks, with which he invested the fort of Chale about two
leagues from Calicut, which was then under the command of Don George de
Castro. Having planted forty pieces of brass cannon against the fort and
straitly invested it with his numerous army so as to shut out all
apparent hope of relief, a small reinforcement under Noronha was unable
to penetrate; but soon afterwards Francisco Pereyra succeeded by an
effort of astonishing bravery to force his way into Chale with a few
men.
Advice being sent to the viceroy of the dangerous situation of Chale,
Diego de Menezes was sent with 18 sail to carry supplies and
reinforcements to the besieged. De Menezes got to Chale with great
difficulty about the end of September, at which time the besieged were
reduced to great extremity, having not above 70 men able to bear arms
out of 600 persons then in the fort. The relief of the fort seemed
impracticable, as the mouth of the harbour was very narrow, and was
commanded on all sides by numbers of cannon on surrounding eminences.
Diego resolved however to surmount all difficulties. A large ship was
filled with sufficient provisions to serve the garrison for two months,
and carried likewise fifty soldiers as a reinforcement. One galley
preceded to clear the way and two others followed the large ship to
defend her against the enemy. By this means, but with incredible
difficulty and danger, the relief was thrown in, but it was found
impossible to bring away the useless people from the fort as had been
intended. Thus, by the valour and good fortune of the viceroy, this
formidable confederacy was dissipated, which had threatened to subvert
the Portuguese power in India, and their reputation was restored among
the native princes.
SECTION VII.
Portuguese Transactions in India from 1571 to 1576.
At this period Sebastian king of Portugal made a great alteration in the
government of the Portuguese possessions in the east, which he deemed
too extensive to be under the management of one person. He divided them
therefore into three separate governments, which were designated
respectively, India, Monotmotapa, and Malacca. The first, or India,
extended from Gape Guardafu, or the north-east extremity of Africa on
the Indian ocean, to the island of Ceylon inclusive. The second, or
Monomotapa, from Cape Corrientes to Cape Guardafu; and the third, or
Malacca, from Pegu to China both inclusive. To the command of the first,
or India, Don Antonio de Noronha was sent with the title of viceroy.
Francisco de Barreto was appointed to Monomotapa, and Antonio Moniz
Barreto to Malacca, both stiled governors. It will be necessary
therefore to treat of these governments separately, though by this we
must necessarily in some measure neglect the consideration of regular
chronology in the distribution of events. We begin therefore with the
viceroyalty of Noronha.
Don Antonio de Noronha arrived at Goa in the beginning of September
1571, having lost 2000 men by sickness out of 4000 with whom he sailed
from Lisbon. Don Luis de Ataine, who surrendered to him the sword of
command, was a nobleman of great valour and military experience, and so
free from avarice that instead of the vast riches which others brought
from India to Portugal, he carried over four jars of water from the four
famous rivers, the Indus, Ganges, Tigris, and Euphrates, which were long
preserved in his castle of Peniche. After serving both in Europe and
Africa, he went out to India, where at twenty-two years of age he was
knighted on Mount Sinai by Don Stefano de Gama. Returning to Portugal,
he went ambassador to the Emperor Charles V. and was present in the
battle in which that emperor defeated the Lutherans under the Landgrave
and the Duke of Saxony. He behaved so bravely in that battle, that the
emperor offered to knight him; but having already received that honour
on Mount Sinai, he could not again accept the offer, on which the
emperor declared in public that he envied that honour beyond the victory
he had just gained. On his return to Lisbon from administering the
government of India with such high reputation, he was received with much
honour by King Sebastian, yet was afterwards much slighted, as Pacheco
had been formerly by King Emanuel, as will be seen afterwards, when
appointed a second time to the viceroyalty.
The first attention of the new viceroy was bestowed for the relief of
Chale, to which Diego de Menezes was sent with 1500 men; but he came too
late, as the fort had been already surrendered to the zamorin upon
conditions. This surrender had been made by the commander Don George de
Castro, contrary to the opinion of the majority of his officers,
overcome by the tears and entreaties of his wife and other ladies,
forgetting that he who was now eighty years of age ought to have
preferred an honourable death to a short and infamous addition to his
life.
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