The Two Principal Articles Were, That The
King Of Ormuz Submitted To Pay A Tribute To The King Of Portugal Of
15,000 Xerephines Yearly[101], And That Ground Should Be Allowed For
The Portuguese On Which To Build A Fort.
The fort was accordingly
immediately commenced, and considerable progress was made in its
construction in a few days.
On purpose to avoid the payment of the
tribute, Khojah Attar dressed up a pretended embassy from the king of
Persia demanding payment of the usual tribute, and required that
Albuquerque should give them an answer, as the king of Ormuz was now
subject to the crown of Portugal. Albuquerque penetrated into this
design, and desired Attar to send some one to him to receive the answer.
The pretended Persian ambassador accordingly waited upon him, to whom he
gave some spears and bullets, saying such was the coin in which the
tribute should be paid in future. Finding this contrivance fail, Attar
endeavoured to corrupt some of the Portuguese, and actually prevailed on
five seamen to desert, one of whom had been bred a founder, who cast
some cannon like those belonging to the Portuguese. Being informed by
these deserters that Albuquerque had only about 450 soldiers, Attar
began to pick up fresh courage, and entered into contrivances for
breaking the peace, pretending at the same time to lay the blame on
Albuquerque, and refused to deliver up the deserters.
[Footnote 101: A Xerephine being worth about half a crown, this tribute
amounted to about L. 1875 sterling. - Astl. I. 66. a. - According to
Purchas a Xerephine is worth 3s. 9d; so that the yearly tribute in the
text is equal to L. 2812 20s. sterling. - E.]
The high spirit of Albuquerque could not brook this conduct, and
determined upon taking vengeance, but had little success in the attempt
being badly seconded by the officers serving under him. Taking advantage
of this spirit of insubordination, of which he had ample intelligence as
it was occasioned by his own intrigues, Attar one night set fire to a
bark which the Portuguese were building on the shore; and at the same
time one of the deserters called aloud from the wall on Albuquerque, to
defend his boat with his 400 men, and he should meet 7000 archers. At
this time some of the Portuguese captains gave intelligence to the
enemy, and had even assisted the five renegades to desert. Enraged at
this affront in burning his bark, Albuquerque endeavoured to set some
ships on fire which were building or repairing in the arsenal of Ormuz,
but failed in the attempt. He next undertook to besiege the city; and
having taken several persons who were carrying provisions thither, he
cut off their hands, ears, and noses, and sent them into the city in
that miserable condition, to the great terror of the inhabitants. About
this time there was a hot dispute between the Portuguese and the
garrison of Ormuz, about some wells which supplied the inhabitants with
water, which Albuquerque endeavoured to fill up, in which the Moorish
captain and the guard over the wells were all slain, and the wells
filled with the carcasses of their men and horses.
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