About This Time[175] Malacca Was Much Straitened By The King Of Bintang, Who Sent A Powerful Armament Against It, To Oppose Which.

George Albuquerque sent a naval force under Don Sancho Enriquez; but in a violent storm 70 out of 200 Portuguese were lost.

Till now the king of Pahang had sided with the Portuguese; but seeing the tide of fortune had turned against them, he too became their enemy. Ignorant of this change, Albuquerque sent three-ships to his port for provisions, where two of his captains and thirty men were killed: The third made his escape, but was slain with all his men at Java. Simon de Abreu and his crew were slain on another occasion; and two vessels sent to prevent provisions from getting into Bintang were lost.

[Footnote 175: De Faria is often defective in dates, and always confused. The events about this time are only vaguely stated as having happened during the government of Duarte Menezes, between the years 1522 and 1524, both inclusive. Among the confused mass of ill-digested and often indistinctly related events, many of which possess hardly any interest, we have now deemed it proper, in the farther prosecution of this History of the Portuguese transactions in India, to omit many trivial and uninteresting events, confining our attention to those of some importance, and which appear worth recording. The Portuguese Asia of DeFaria minutely relates every consecutive squadron sent to or from India, and every trifling commercial adventure; the insertion of which in our collection would be needlessly tedious. - E.]

In 1524, the memorable DON VASCO DE GAMA, now count of Vidugueyra, went out to India as viceroy with 14 ships and 8000 soldiers. During the voyage, two caravels were lost with all their men, and a third was lost but the men saved. Gaspar Mossem, one of the captains, was basely killed by his crew, merely because he was not a Portuguese. While at sea near Cambaya in a dead calm, the sea tossed so violently all of a sudden that all the people thought they were lost: But the viceroy perceiving it was caused by an earthquake, called out, "Courage my friends, the sea trembles for fear of you." One great ship of Mecca, worth 60,000 crowns, was taken, and the fleet arrived at Goa. Having visited some of the forts, and issued the necessary orders, Gama sent three gallies from Cochin to Calicut, as the subjects of the zamorin began to be troublesome. One of these fought for three hours with fifty large paraos and lost three men; but on the coming up of the others, the enemy were put to flight. The new viceroy had intended to execute several important enterprises; but he soon fell sick, and finding his end fast approaching, he appointed Lope Vaz de Sampayo to act as his successor till Don Enrique de Menezes, then at Goa, who was next in nomination by the king, might arrive. Vasco de Gama died on Christmas eve 1524, having been only three months viceroy. He was of middle stature, somewhat gross, and had a ruddy complexion. He had a natural boldness for any great undertaking, and was well fitted for every thing entrusted to him, as a sea captain, as discoverer, and as viceroy; being patient of fatigue, prompt in the execution of justice, and terrible when angry.

Immediately after the death of the viceroy, Lope Vaz de Sampayo dispatched Francisco de Sa to Goa, to carry information to Don Enrique de Menezes that he had succeeded to the government of Portuguese India. Leaving De Sa to command in Goa, Menezes went immediately to Cochin to assume his new situation; having first sent his nephew George Zelo with a galliot and five armed paraos against a fleet which infested the coast. Zelo met 38 vessels laden with spice commanded by Cutiale, four of which were taken and the rest driven on shore. These four were brought in barbarous triumph to Goa, having many of the enemies hung upon the shrouds. The Canarin rowers carried thirty heads, in token of the victory, and twelve prisoners alive, who were given up to the boys to be stoned to death. Zelo had similar success afterwards against a ship and nine paraos. He sailed after that to Cochin with his uncle, who, being accidentally joined by George de Menezes, defeated 36 paraos belonging to Diu, 17 of which were taken. When at Cananor be hanged a Moor of quality, on which many of his relations left the city and took to robbing on the river. But, with consent of the king of Cananor, Don Enrique sent Hector de Sylveira against them with two gallies and a brigantine, who destroyed four towns[176] and took all their cannon, not without considerable difficulty. About the same time Christopher de Brito went with fourteen row-boats and about an hundred men to scour the coast of Canara, where he destroyed some of the Moors; but those of Dabul sent two galliots and seven other vessels against him, with above three hundred men. In the commencement of the engagement Brito was slain; but his people exerted themselves so valiantly to revenge the death of their commander, that after four hours hard fighting most of the Moors were slain, and their commander and all the rest taken. The Moorish captain died afterwards of his wounds at Goa, being first converted to the Christian faith.

[Footnote 176: Perhaps instead of towns we ought to read tonys, a species of vessel then need by the inhabitants of the Malabar coast. - E.]

The fort at Calicut was at this time much straitened by the Nayres, yet the small garrison of fifty Portuguese maintained their post with much honour. Don Enrique, to punish the hostilities of the Moors of Calicut, fitted out fifty sail of vessels from Cochin, to which were added other fifty belonging to the inhabitants of that city, twenty-seven of which belonged to one individual named Arel de Porca[177]. With these vessels, carrying 2000 soldiers, the governor arrived at Paniani, one of the principal towns in the territory of Calicut, which was well fortified and stored with cannon under the command of a Portuguese renegado. Besides these fortifications on the land, the river was defended by a number of armed vessels drawn up in order of battle.

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