After A Severe Encounter Of Three Hours The Enemy Was
Repulsed With Great Loss:
He continued however before the town for three
weeks and then retired, having lost 330 men, while 18 of the Portuguese
were slain.
On the arrival of reinforcements, having been much injured
by frequent inroads from the fort of Maur not far from Malacca, the
Portuguese took that place by assault, killing most of the garrison
which consisted of 800 Moors, and after securing the spoil burnt Maur to
the ground. There were 300 cannon at this place, some of which were
brass. Nothing more of any note happened this year, except that Diego
Pacheco with most of his men were lost in two ships, which went in
search of the Island of Gold[146].
[Footnote 146: Possibly Japan is here meant. - E.]
In the year 1519, Antonio Correa concluded a treaty of amity and
commerce with the king of Pegu, which was mutually sworn to between him
and the kings ministers, assisted by the priests of both nations,
Catholic and Pagan. The heathen priest was called the grand Raulim,
who, after the treaty or capitulation was read, made according to their
custom in the golden mine[147], began to read from a book, and then
taking some yellow paper, a colour dedicated to holy purposes, and some
sweet-smelling leaves impressed with certain characters, set both on
fire; after which, holding the hands of the minister over the ashes, he
pronounced some words which rendered the oath inviolable. By way of a
parallel to this solemnity, Correa ordered his priest to attend in his
surplice with his breviary; but that was so tattered and torn that it
was unfit to be seen by these heathens, on which he ordered a book of
church music to be brought, which had a more creditable appearance,
being larger and better bound; and opening at the first place which
appeared, the priest began the lesson Vanity of Vanities, which
answered among these ignorant people as well as if it had been the
gospel[148]. The metropolis of the kingdom is called Bagou, corruptly
called Pegu, which name is likewise given to the kingdom. It has the Bay
of Bengal on the west, Siam on the east, Malacca on the south, and
Aracan on the north. This kingdom is almost 100 leagues in length, and
in some places of the same breadth, not including the conquered
provinces. The land is plain, well watered, and very fertile, producing
abundance of provisions of all kinds, particularly cattle and grain. It
has many temples with a prodigious multitude of images, and a vast
number of ceremonies. The people believe themselves to have descended
from a Chinese dog and a woman, who alone escaped from shipwreck on
that coast and left a progeny; owing to which circumstance in their
opinion, the men are all ugly and the women handsome. The Peguers being
much addicted to sodomy, a queen of that country named Canane, ordered
the women to wear bells and open garments, by way of inviting the men to
abandon that abominable vice.
[Footnote 147: This singular expression may have been some court phrase
of the court of Pegu, meaning the royal presence. - E.]
[Footnote 148: On this trifling incident, the editor of Astley's
Collection gives the following marginal reference, A merry passage.
Ludere cum sacris is rather a stale jest, and perhaps the grand Raulim
was as ingenious as Correa and his priest, to trick the ignorant
unbelievers in their sacred doctrines of Bhudda. - E.]
On the arrival of Antonio Correa with relief at Malacca, Garcia de Sa
resolved to take revenge on the king of Bintang. He therefore gave
Correa the command of 30 ships, with 500 soldiers, 150 of whom were
Portuguese, with which armament Correa proceeded to the place where the
king had fortified himself, which was defended by a fort with a great
number of cannon and a numerous garrison. The access to this place was
extremely difficult and guarded by a great number of armed vessels; yet
Correa attacked without hesitation and carried the fort, which had 20
pieces of cannon, the garrison being forced to retire to the town, where
the king still had a force of 2000 men and several armed elephants. The
Portuguese, following up their first success, pushed up the river
clearing away all that obstructed them; after which they landed and took
the town, killing many of the enemy, and put the rest to flight, the
king among the rest fled on an elephant, and never stopped till they
came to Bintang. The town above mentioned was plundered and burnt by the
Portuguese; and the discomfited king remained long at Bintang unable for
any new enterprise against the Portuguese. The successes of the king of
Bintang in the beginning of this war had encouraged the kings of Pisang
and Acheen to commit some outrages against the Portuguese; for which
reason being now victorious, Garcia de Sa determined to be revenged upon
them. Having some success, he fitted out a ship commanded by Manuel
Pacheco to take some revenge for the injuries, he had sustained; and
Pacheco had occasion to send a boat for water rowed by Malays, having
only five Portuguese on board, which fell in with three ships belonging
to Pisang each having 150 men. Finding it impossible to escape, they
boarded the commander with such resolute fury that they soon strewed the
deck with the dead bodies of the enemy, and the remainder of the crew
leapt overboard, followed by their captain, who was seen hewing them
with his cymeter in the water in revenge for their cowardice. The five
Portuguese thus obtained possession of the ship, and the other two fled,
on which Pacheco returned to Malacca with his prize in triumph, and the
captured ship was long preserved as a memorial of this signal exploit.
The king of Pisang was so much terrified by this action that he sued
for peace, and offered ample reparation of all the injuries he had done
to die Portuguese.
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