The Viceroy Behaved With Such Liberality And
Discretion, That He Soon Attracted Abundance Of Inhabitants To This New
Acquisition, And
Reduced the neighbouring island of Balzar, which he
deemed necessary for the security of Daman, of which he gave the
Command
to Don Diego de Noronha with a garrison of 1200, appointing Alvaro
Gonzales Pinto to command in Balzar with 120 men and some cannon.
In 1560, the viceroy went against Jafnapatam in the island of Ceylon,
because the king of that place, who was likewise lord of the isle of
Manar, persecuted the Christians, and had usurped the throne from his
brother, who fled to Goa, and was there baptised by the name of Alfonso.
After some considerable successes, and having even forced the king of
Jafnapatam to cede the island of Manar, and to submit to the vassalage
of Portugal, the viceroy was obliged to desist from the enterprise with
considerable loss, but retained the island of Manar, where he built a
fort. Among the treasure belonging to the king of Jafnapatam, taken in
this expedition, was an idol, or relic rather, which was held in high
estimation by all the idolaters on the coast of India, and, in
particular, by the king of Pegu, who used to send ambassadors yearly
with rich presents, merely to get a print of the precious relic. This
holy relic was nothing more than the tooth of a white monkey; and some
say that the cause of its being so much admired was owing to the rarity
of the colour, like the white elephant of Siam. Others say that the
monkey was held in such veneration for having discovered the wife of an
ancient Indian king who had eloped from her husband. Some again alleged
that it was the tooth of a man who had performed that service. However
this may have been, when the king of Pegu heard that this tooth was in
possession of the viceroy, he made an offer of 300,000 ducats for it,
and it was believed his zeal would extend to a million if the bargain
was well managed. Most of the Portuguese were for taking the money, and
some wished to be employed in carrying the tooth to Pegu, expecting to
derive great profit by shewing so precious a treasure by the way. But in
a meeting of the principal clergy and laity of Goa, held on purpose, it
was determined that the tooth should be destroyed; and it was
accordingly pounded in a mortar in presence of the assembly, and reduced
to ashes. All men applauded this act; but, not long afterwards, two
teeth were set up instead of one.
Madrem al Mulk, king of Cambaya, desirous of recovering Daman, was ready
to march against that place with a numerous army; but Don Diego de
Noronha, getting intelligence of the design, contrived to persuade
Cedeme Khan, lord of Surat, that the expedition was intended against
him. Cedeme Khan, giving credit to this fiction, went to visit his
brother-in-law, Madrem al Mulk, and persuaded him, with the principal
leaders of his army, to visit him in the city of Surat, where he killed
them all, and falling upon the camp put the Guzerat army to the rout
with great slaughter.
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