Of Castille and Dom Juan I. of Portugal.]
The historian De Couto, whilst giving the same number of reigns from the
conversion to the capture, places the former event about 1384. And the
Commentaries of Alboquerque allow no more than some ninety years from the
foundation of Malacca to his capture of the city.
There is another approximate check to the chronology afforded by a Chinese
record in the XIVth volume of Amyot's collection. This informs us that
Malacca first acknowledged itself as tributary to the Empire in 1405, the
king being Sili-ju-eul-sula (?). In 1411 the King of Malacca himself,
now called Peilimisula (Paramisura), came in person to the court of
China to render homage. And in 1414 the Queen-Mother of Malacca came to
court, bringing her son's tribute.
Now this notable fact of the visit of a King of Malacca to the court of
China, and his acknowledgment of the Emperor's supremacy, is also recorded
in the Commentaries of Alboquerque. This work, it is true, attributes the
visit, not to Paramisura, the founder of Malacca, but to his son and
successor Iskandar Shah. This may be a question of a title only, perhaps
borne by both; but we seem entitled to conclude with confidence that
Malacca was founded by a prince whose son was reigning, and visited the
court of China in 1411.
