At First The King
Consented To Have The Fort Built, But Changed His Mind At The
Instigation Of The Moors,
And put Soarez to considerable difficulty; but
in the end the Moors were put to flight, the fort built, and
The king
constrained to become a tributary vassal of Portugal, by the yearly
payment of 1200 quintals of cinnamon, twelve rings of rubies and
sapphires, and six elephants.
At this time Juan de Sylveira returned from the Maldives, where he had
taken two ships belonging to Cambaya, and had got permission of the king
of the Maldives to erect a fort at the principal harbour. Sylveira went
upon a similar mission to Bengal, where he was in great danger; as a
young man of Bengal who sailed there with him, gave notice of his having
taken these two ships, so that he was considered as a pirate. He had
fared worse than he did, but for the arrival of Juan Coello from Pisang,
sent by Andrada to the king of Bengal. After passing the winter in
Bengal with great difficulty on account of famine, Sylveira set sail,
being invited by the king of Aracan to come to his port of Chittagon by
a messenger who brought him a valuable present; but all this kindness
was only intended to decoy him to his ruin, at the instigation of the
king of Bengal. He escaped however from the snare, and arrived at Ceylon
as Soarez had finished the fort of Columbo, of which he appointed
Sylveira to the command, leaving Azevedo with four ships to guard the
sea in that neighbourhood.
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