On His Return To Cochin, He Attacked The Town Of Biramjam Or
Brinjan, Which He Burnt To The Ground And Put All The Inhabitants To The
Sword, In Revenge For The Slaughter Of The Factor And His People At
Coulam, As This Place Belonged To That Kingdom.
While Cide Barbudo and Pedro Quaresme were coming out from Portugal with
two ships, they arrived after many misfortunes at Sofala, where they
found Annaya and most of his men dead, and the rest of the Portuguese
garrison sick.
Quaresme remained there to defend the fort; and Barbudo
proceeding towards India found Quiloa in as bad a condition, of which he
carried intelligence to Almeyda. The viceroy sent immediately Nunno Vaz
Pereyra to relieve the forts of Quiloa and Sofala[88]. But that of
Quiloa was soon afterwards abandoned and destroyed, after having lost
many lives, owing to the ill usage of the Portuguese to the natives,
whom they treated with insufferable pride, and boundless avarice.
[Footnote 88: De Faria does not give any dates to the particular
transactions in his text, merely noticing the successive years in the
titles of the various sections into which his work is loosely divided,
and occasionally on the margin: Even this has been neglected by the
editor of Astley's Collection. These last transactions on the coast of
Africa seem to have taken place towards the end of 1506. - E.]
Having been informed by Diego Fernandez Pereyra that the island of
Socotora near the mouth of the Red Sea was inhabited by Christians who
were subject to the Moors, the king of Portugal ordered Tristan de Cunna
and Alfonso de Albuquerque to direct their course to that island, and to
endeavour to possess themselves of the fort, that the Portuguese ships
might be enabled to winter at that island, and to secure the navigation
of the Arabian Gulf against the Moors; for which purpose they carried
out with them a wooden fort ready to put up. De Cunna was destined to
command the trading ships which were to return to Europe, and
Albuquerque to cruise with a small squadron on the coast of Arabia
against the Moors. These two commanders sailed from Lisbon on the 6th of
March 1507, with thirteen vessels in which were 1300 soldiers, some of
whom died by the way, having been infected by the plague then raging in
Lisbon; but when they came under the line, the sickness left them.
Having come in sight of Cape Augustine in Brasil, they took a new
departure from thence to cross the Southern Atlantic for the Cape of
Good Hope; but in this course De Cunna held so far to the south that he
discovered the islands still called by his name. At this place the ships
were parted in a storm, each following a separate course till they met
again at Mozambique. Alvaro Tellez, however, who commanded one of these
ships, overshot Mozambique and proceeded to Cape Guardafu, where he took
six ships belonging to the Moors, so laden with all kind of goods, that
he made a sort of bridge from them to his own vessel, consisting of
bales thrown into the sea, over which his men passed as on dry land.
During this part of the voyage likewise, Ruy Pereyra put into the port
of Matatama in the island of Madagascar; and being informed that this
island abounded in spice, especially ginger, Tristan de Cunna was
induced to go there, and anchored in a bay which his son Nunno named
Angra de Donna Maria, after a lady whom he courted. By others it is
named the bay of Santa Maria delta Conception. As some Negroes
appeared on the coast, De Cunna sent a Moor to converse with them; but
when he mentioned that the ships belonged to Christians, they
endeavoured to kill him, and had to be driven away by the Portuguese
cannon. About three leagues farther on, they came to a village, the
xeque or sheikh of which carried them to another town on an island in
a well sheltered bay into which the great river Lulangan discharges its
waters. This town was inhabited by Moors[89] somewhat civilized, who,
being afraid of the fleet made their escape to the main-land, but so
overloaded their boats that many of them perished by the way. The
Portuguese surrounded the island and took 500 prisoners, only twenty of
whom were men, among whom was the xeque or chief, an aged man of a
respectable appearance. Next morning the sea was covered with boats,
bringing over 600 men to demand the release of their wives and children.
After some negociation, the Portuguese commander restored the prisoners
to their liberty. He here learnt that the island of Madagascar was
chiefly inhabited by negro cafrs, and produced but little ginger. He
afterwards wished to have entered a town on this island called Zada,
but the inhabitants set it on fire.
[Footnote 89: By Moors in the writings of the early Portuguese,
Mahometans are always to be understood. The Moors of Madagascar were a
mixed breed between the Arabs and Negroes. - E.]
From this place, De Cunna sent on Alfonso de Albuquerque with four ships
to Mozambique, with orders to reduce some places on the coast of
Melinda; while he went himself with three ships to Matatama in
Madagascar, where he was told that cloves, ginger, and silver were to be
had. On this expedition however, he lost one of his ships, only the
pilot and seven men being saved; on which account he steered for
Mozambique, but was forced by stress of weather into the island of
Angoza. At night he discovered the lights of the ship St Jago which he
had left at Mozambique, and soon after Juan de Nova arrived from Angoza,
where he had wintered[90], laden with pepper. At Mozambique he rejoined
Albuquerque, whom he sent on before him to Melinda; and meeting two
other ships of his squadron at Quiloa, he proceeded to Melinda.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 40 of 217
Words from 39841 to 40844
of 221361
