Hearing In 1546 That The King Of Cambaya Intended Again To Besiege Diu
With A Larger Army Than Ever, Don
Juan de Castro prepared with all
diligence to relieve it, borrowing money from the city of Goa for the
expences
Of the expedition; and on this occasion the women of Goa sent
him their jewels by the hands of their young daughters, complaining that
he had not used them before, and requesting him to do so now; but he
sent all back accompanied with presents. Having fitted out 160 sail of
various kinds of vessels with a large military force, Don Juan sailed
for Basseen and thence to Surat, where Don Alvaro had arrived before
the fleet, and had taken a work with several cannon from the Moors.
Sailing thence to Baroch, the army of the king of Cambaya was seen
covering the whole plain, to the amount of 150,000 men, with 80 large
cannon in front. Don John was anxious to land with his small army of
3000 men to give battle to the king, but was dissuaded from the rash
attempt by his most experienced officers. He went on therefore to Diu,
where he appointed Luis Falcam to command the castle, as Mascarenhas was
then about to return to Portugal. After this he went along the coast of
the Guzerat dominions, landing in many places, and destroying every
thing with fire and sword. The strong and beautiful cities of Pate and
Patane, being abandoned by the inhabitants, were utterly destroyed;
two hundred vessels were destroyed in their ports, and a prodigious
booty was obtained.
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