He Erected A Custom-House, And Encouraged The Resort Of
Merchants To His Dominions, And Became So Formidable That The
Neighbouring Princes Courted His Alliance.
Insolent and ungrateful in
the progress of his power, he not only refused to give half the revenue
of
The island to the king of Bacala according to agreement, but made war
upon his benefactor, from whom he conquered the islands of
Xavaspur[427] and Patelabanga, and other lands from other
neighbouring princes; so that he became suddenly possessed of vast
riches and great power, and acted as an independent sovereign, having
many brave men at his command. But such monsters are like comets that
threaten extensive ruin, yet last only for a short time, or like the
lightning, which no sooner expends its flash but it is gone for ever.
[Footnote 427: Shabapour is an island to the west of Sundeep, at the
principal mouth of the Barrampooter. - E.]
Soon after the elevation of Gonzalez to the sovereignty of Sundiva, a
civil war broke out between the king of Aracan and his brother Anaporam,
because the latter refused to resign a remarkable elephant, to which all
the other elephants of the country were said to allow a kind of
superiority. Being unsuccessful in the contest, Anaporam fled to
Gonzalez for assistance and protection, who demanded his sister as an
hostage. Gonzalez and Anaporam endeavoured, in conjunction, to fight the
king of Aracan, who had an army of 80,000 men, and 700 war elephants;
but being unsuccessful, were obliged to retreat to Sundiva, into which
Anaporam brought his wife and family, with all his treasure, and became
a subject of Gonzalez, who soon afterwards had the sister of Anaporam
baptized, and took her to wife. Anaporam soon died, not without
suspicion of poison; and Gonzalez immediately seized all his treasures
and effects, though he had left a wife and son. To stop the mouths of
the people on this violent and unjust procedure, he wished to have
married the widow of Anaporam to his brother Antonio Tibao, who was
admiral of his fleet, but she refused to become a Christian. Sebastian
continued the war against the king of Aracan with considerable success;
insomuch that on one occasion his brother Antonio, with only five sail,
defeated and captured 100 sail belonging to Aracan. At length the king
of Aracan concluded peace, and procured the restoration of his brother's
widow, whom he married to the rajah of Chittigong.
At this time, the Moguls undertook the conquest of the kingdom of
Balua[428], and as Gonzalez considered this conquest might prove
dangerous to his ill-got power, Balua being adjoining to his own
territories, he entered into a league with the king of Aracan for the
defence of that country. Accordingly, the king of Aracan took the field
with an immense army, having 80,000 of his own native subjects, mostly
armed with firelocks, 10,000 Peguers who fought with sword and bucklers,
and 700 elephants with castles carrying armed men.
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