He Likewise Built Two Other Churches, One Dedicated To The Holy
Virgin, And The Other To St Cyriacus.
All of these have been erroneously
ascribed to St Thomas, when in fact they were the works of Thomas
Cananeus, the Armenian.
It may reasonably be believed that the temple or
pagoda, into which Vasco de Gama entered, as he went from Calicut to the
palace of the zamorin, may have been one of these churches, because the
image of the Virgin was there called Mary by the heathens. It is
believed that one of the three kings who went to Bethlem, at the
nativity of our Lord, was king of Malabar. The heathens celebrate yearly
a festival in honour of St Thomas, for the preservation of their ships,
because formerly, every year, many of them used to be lost while sailing
to Parvi.
From this long digression we return to the government of the viceroy Don
Antonio de Noronha, who arrived in the beginning of September 1564, as
formerly mentioned. In consequence of the cruelties exercised on the
Moors of Malabar by Mesquita, as formerly mentioned, those of Cananor
had besieged the Portuguese fort at that place, and had destroyed above
thirty vessels which were under its protection. After a siege of some
endurance, the Portuguese fleet destroyed many of the paraos belonging
to the enemy, while the besieged garrison of Cananor killed great
numbers of their assailants, besides cutting down above 40,000 palm
trees[375] to the infinite injury of the natives, who depend upon these
trees as their principal sustenance. The natives were so exasperated at
this that, collecting forces from all the surrounding districts, to the
amount of 90,000 men, they assaulted and even scaled the walls of the
fort and city; but after fighting from day-break to sunset, during which
time they lost about 5000 men, they were forced to retire to their camp,
resolving to protract the siege, or rather to convert the siege into a
strict blockade. In the farther prosecution of this war, the Portuguese
utterly destroyed the city belonging to Adderajao[376], who commanded
the besieging enemy, and cut down a large wood of palm trees, making
great slaughter of the enemy, without any loss on their own side, so
that the natives were constrained to raise the siege.
[Footnote 375: Assuredly cocoa-nut trees. This explains a circumstance
repeatedly mentioned on former occasions, of the Portuguese anxiously
cutting down the woods in their war with the natives on the coast of
India. - E.]
[Footnote 376: From the name of the commander of the enemy, probably
Adde Rajah, and other circumstances, they were most likely Nagres,
and other native Malabars, though called Moors in the text of De
Faria. - E.]
About this time the fort of Daman, towards the frontier of Guzerat, was
threatened by a detachment of 3000 Mogul horse. Juan de Sousa stood
immediately on his defence, and sent advice to the viceroy and the
neighbouring commanders of his danger, trusting however to the strength
of his defences, and particularly to a pallisade or bound hedge, which
he had made of the plant named lechera or the milk plant, which
throws out when cut a milky liquor which is sure to blind any one if it
touches their eyes.
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