Should Sultan Cuserou Prevail In
Procuring His Rightful Inheritance, This Empire Will Become A Sanctuary
For Christians, Whom He Loves
And honours, being a patron of learning,
and an encourager of true valour and just government, abhorring all
covetousness, and
Despising the base custom of accepting bribes and
presents, in use among his ancestors and the nobility of this empire.
Should Sultan Churrum ascend the throne, it will be a great loss to us,
as he is a rigid adherent to the superstition of Mahomet, a hater of all
Christians, proud, subtle, false, and barbarously tyrannical.[206]
[Footnote 206: From this paragraph it appears that the journal of Sir
Thomas Roe was addressed to the Governor and Committees, or Directors of
the East India Company. - E.]
The king returned from hunting on the night of the 13th October, and
sent me a wild pig. An ambassador is daily expected here from Shah
Abbas, king of Persia. This day I received advice of the arrival of four
of our ships in safety at Swally roads, and at the same time received
letters from England. The fleet, originally consisting of six ships,
left England on the 9th March, 1616, losing company of the Rose about
the North Cape, in foul weather. The other five arrived safely in
Saldanha bay on the 12th June, where the Lion was waiting for a wind,
homewards bound, her officers and people all in good health. After
staying some time at the Cape without news of the missing ship, they
dispatched the Swan for Bantam, and sailed on the 29th June with the
other four ships for Surat. On this passage, on the 6th August, when in
lat. 12 deg. 50' S. near the Comora islands, they got sight of a carrack of
1500 tons burden, and 600 men, being the admiral of a fleet for Goa. The
Globe fetched her to windward, and after the usual salutations of the
sea, the carrack commanded her to leeward, and seconded this order with
five shots through her hull, to which the Globe replied with eighteen,
and then luffed off. The admiral of the English got now up with all his
ships, and demanded satisfaction for the injury, which was replied to
with scorn. On this an engagement ensued, in which the commander,
Benjamin Joseph, was soon slain, but his successor continued the battle.
Towards evening the carrack ran herself ashore on the rocks of
Angazesia. Our fleet came to anchor in the offing to wait the event,
and sent a boat to offer fair terms of battle. But about midnight the
carrack was set on fire, and continued to burn all next morning. The
English sent their boats to give assistance, but could not approach, and
they had reason to believe that not one man was saved.[207] The new
viceroy of Goa was in this ship, by whose obstinacy the death of all the
rest was occasioned. Our fleet came to anchor off Swally on the 24th
September, 1616.
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