On The Land Side He Made A
Deep Ditch With A Double Wall Above Seven Feet Thick, Flanked At Regular
Distances With Towers Called Zarames, All Of Which Were Mounted With
Small Cannon.
Between the two creeks forming the peninsula, he built a
strong wall with two towers to secure the town,
And lined the sea-shore
with strong palisades; flanked by two bastions, one of which considerably
larger than the other, was mounted with heavy cannon to defend the
entrance of the harbour, which was farther secured by a boom of masts
strongly chained together. Having thus, as he thought, provided a secure
retreat, he continued his uncle's enterprises against the Portuguese
with much success, assisting all their enemies against them, even
robbing the Malabar traders on the coast, and filled his residence with
rich plunder. The viceroy Albuquerque had endeavoured to destroy this
nest of pirates, so prejudicial to the Portuguese trade, and had even
prevailed on the zamorin to concur in the destruction of Cuneale, so
that a treaty had been entered into, by which the zamorin engaged to
besiege Cuneale by land, while the Portuguese fleet attacked him by sea.
Both parties provided according to stipulation for this joint
expedition; but it was postponed for some time, in consequence of the
change in the government by the arrival of the Count of Vidigueyra as
viceroy, and even by the secret concurrence of the zamorin in the
piracies of Cuneale, who communicated to him a share of the plunder.
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