On Receiving Advice Of This Siege,
Don Enrique Sent A Reinforcement Of 150 Men In Two Caravels Commanded By
Christopher Jusarte And Duarte Fonseca.
They succeeded in forcing their
way into the fort in spite of a violent opposition by sea and land.
Immediately afterwards, the enemy endeavoured to take the fort by
escalade, but were repulsed with great slaughter.
A farther
reinforcement of 500 men from Cochin being unable to reach Calicut, Don
Enrique went there with all the naval force he could collect, being
unwilling that his government should suffer the disgrace of allowing
this fortress to be taken by the enemy. Having thrown some strong
reinforcements into the fort, Don Enrique landed with the remainder of
his troops, after clearing the shore of the enemy, by means of his guns
assisted by grenadoes and other fireworks. All the intrenchments and
redoubts of the besiegers were successively carried, with prodigious
slaughter of the Moors and Nayres, of whom above 3000 were slain,
besides many others burnt in their wooden forts and bulwarks. In this
engagement Don George de Menezes made great slaughter of the enemy with
a two-handed sword; till losing his right hand, he took a smaller sword
in his left, and continued to fight with great valour.
Don Enrique remained master of the field, in which he encamped for some
days: But as the fort was not considered important in proportion to its
expence, it was stripped of every thing of value with great care and
privacy, and mines and trains laid to blow it up; after which the whole
army retired to the ships.
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