Soon After
The Departure Of The Portuguese Ships, The King Of Aracan Invaded And
Conquered The Island Of Sundiva, By Which Sebastian Gonzalez Was Reduced
To His Original Poverty, His Sovereignty Passing Away Like A Dream, His
Pride Humbled In The Dust, And His Villainous Conduct Deservedly
Punished.
In 1616, Don Nunno Alvarez Pereyra succeeded Emanuel Mascarennas Homem
as general of the Portuguese in Ceylon, and made several successful
inroads into the kingdom of Candy, whence he brought off many
prisoners and great numbers of cattle.
From the commencement of the
Portuguese dominion in that island, they had been engaged in almost
perpetual wars with the different petty sovereigns who ruled over its
various small maritime divisions, and with the central kingdom of Canea,
most of which have been omitted in this work as not possessing
sufficient interest. At this time a dangerous commotion took place in
the island, occasioned by a circumstance which, though not new in the
world, is still admired though often repeated. Some years before,
Nicapeti the converted king of Ceylon died without issue, and left the
king of Portugal heir to his dominions. A poor fellow of the same name
got admittance to one of the queens of Valgameme from whom he learnt
several particulars respecting the deceased king, taking advantage of
which he determined to assume the character of the late sovereign, and
to endeavour to persuade the people that he was their prince who had
come again-to-life. For this purpose he feigned himself a jogue,
similar to a hermit among the christians; and making his appearance in
the neighbourhood of Maregnepora, he gave out that he came to free his
country from the tyranny of the Portuguese. Finding credit among the
people, many of whom flocked to him, he entered the seven corlas
during the absence of the Dissava Philip de Oliveyra, and being
assisted by 2000 men sent to him by the king of Candy, he was
acknowledged as king by most of the country. Hearing of this commotion,
Pereyra sent a force under Emanuel Cesar to suppress the insurrection.
Cesar encountered the false Nicapeti at Gandola, a village on the
river Laoa, where the insurgents had collected a force of 6000 men. In
the heat of the battle, 1000 Chingalese troops who served under Luis
Gomez Pinto deserted to the enemy; but Don Constantine, a native
Christian of the blood royal who served the Portuguese, called them back
by declaring himself their lawful king, on which they immediately
returned and proclaimed him their sovereign. After a long engagement the
enemy was defeated and fled across the river.
Philip de Oliveyra returned at this time from Candy to his command in
the seven corlas, having heard of the insurrection but not of the
victory at Gandola, to which place he immediately marched with about 800
Chingalese lascarins. On reaching the field of battle above 1000 men
were found slain, but no indication by which he could ascertain which
party had gained the victory. An inscription was found on a tree,
signifying that all the Portuguese were slain, none of that nation
remaining in Ceylon, and that Columbo had surrendered to Nicapeti, which
startled the Portuguese who accompanied Oliveyra, and gave great
satisfaction to his Chingalese troops. Continuing his march he was
attacked in the rear by 300 of the enemy, but on facing about they all
fled; soon after which he joined Emanuel Cesar on the river Laoa, and
the insurgents fled to the woods. Cesar and Oliveyra by way of obliging
the insurgents to return to their duty, seized above 400 of their women
and children; but it had the contrary effect, as all their Chingalese
troops immediately deserted with their arms, leaving only about 200
Portuguese. In this dilemma Cesar marched to the pagoda of Atanagala,
not far from Maluana where the general resided, who sent him a
reinforcement of 500 men, 200 of whom were Portuguese.
Nicapeti had so much success with the natives that he collected an army
of 24,000 men, with which he marched against Columbo, and was so vain of
his good fortune that he caused himself to be proclaimed emperor of
Ceylon, and transmitted an order to the king of Candy to send him one of
his two wives. The answer on this occasion was, that it should be done
when the Portuguese were subdued. Nicapeti was so enraged at this
answer, that he threatened to use the king of Candy like the
Portuguese; and on this threat coming to the knowledge of the 2000
auxiliaries from Candy, they immediately returned home. By these means
the two enemies of the Portuguese became at variance with each other, to
the great benefit of the Portuguese interests. Emanuel Cesar being
joined by a considerable reinforcement, marched against Nicapeti, and
found the road by which Nicapeti intended to march clean swept and
strewed with flowers. A Chingalese who carried intelligence of the
approach of Cesar to Nicapeti, was ordered to be impaled, the tyrant
declaring there were no Portuguese in Ceylon; but he was soon
undeceived, as the van guards of the two armies came in sight of each
other. Nicapeti immediately took possession of a hill with 7000 men,
where he entrenched himself; but his works were soon carried, 1000 of
his men slain, and the usurper was forced to flee into the woods, laying
aside his regal ornaments for better concealment. The rest of the
insurgent army immediately fled on seeing their chief defeated, and the
morning after the battle 500 of the Chingalese deserted from the enemy
and joined the victors.
At this time a native Chingalese of low birth, named Antonio Barreto,
who had been a Christian and in the service of the Portuguese, but had
gone over to the king of Candy, who appointed him general of his forces
with the title of prince and governor of the kingdom of Uva, took
advantage of the revolt of Nicapeti to seize upon the Portuguese fort of
Safragan, which he got possession of by treachery and slew the
Portuguese garrison.
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