[11] The Western Coast Of India Below The Gauts, Is Divided Into Three Portions, The Concan In The North, After This The Coast Of Canara, And In The South, The Country Of Malabar, Reaching From Mount Deli To Cape Comorin.

At the present period, Malabar was divided into seven kingdoms or provinces:

Cananor, Calicut, Cranganor, Cochin, Porka, Coulan, and Travancore; which last was subject to the kingdom of Narsinga or Bisnagar. Cananor, Calicut, and Coulan only were considered as independent rajahs, the others being less or more subjected to the authority of these three. - E.

[12] According to Astley, his whole force consisted of 110 men. Vol. I. p. 65.

[13] This story of Reynel and the pepper promised by the zamorin, is so confusedly told in Lichefild's translation of Castaneda, as to be altogether unintelligible. - E.

[14] In Astley the weight of the large pearls is reduced to 40 pounds. Even with that correction, the immense quantity of pearls in the text is quite incredible. There must be some error in the denomination, but which we are unable to correct. - E.

[15] The remainder of this section is taken from Astley, I. 56, being there appended to the abridgement of the voyage of the Albuquerques. It is an isolated incident, having no apparent connection with the history in the text, yet seemed proper to be preserved in this place. - E.

[16] Mombasa belonged to the Portuguese for near 200 years. In 1698 it was very easily taken by the Muskat Arabs, who put twenty Portuguese to the sword. - Astl. I. 56. a.

[17] No islands of that name are to be found on our maps. The islands of Socotora, Abdul Kuria, and los dos Hermanas, are to the eastwards of Cape Guardafu: Chartan Martan, or the islands of Kuria Muria, are a considerable distance N.N.E. on the outer or oceanic coast of Yemen. - E.

SECTION VIII.

_Transactions of the Portuguese in India under Duarte Pacheco, from the departure of Alonso and Francisco de Albuquerque in January 1504, till the arrival of Lope Suarez de Menesis with succours in September of that year._

After the departure of the Albuquerques from Cananor, Duarte Pacheco, who was left with the command in India, remained there for some time to take in provisions, having along with him the caravel commanded by Pedro Raphael, while the other ship of his small squadron, under the command of Diego Perez, was repairing at Cochin. Pacheco anchored with his own ship off the harbour of Cananor, and dispatched Raphael along the coast to oblige all ships which passed that way to come to Cananor in acknowledgment of Pacheco as captain-general in the Indies. Several were brought in by Raphael, and were constrained to give a full account from whence they came, whither bound, and what they were laden with. In case of their containing any pepper, more especially if bound for Calicut, he used to take that commodity from them; and carried his command with so high a hand, that he became the terror of these seas. One night while thus at anchor, a fleet of twenty-five ships came suddenly to the anchoring-ground where he lay, which he suspected to have been sent from Calicut on purpose to attack him. Considering himself in imminent danger, he immediately slipped his cables, not having time to weigh anchor, and made sail to gain the windward of this fleet, upon which he directly commenced firing. They were mostly small ships laden with rice, and made off with all the haste in their power, though some of them ran aground. One of the vessels of this fleet was a large ship belonging to the Moors of Cananor, having nearly 400 men on board, who resisted for some time, shooting off their arrows, and even endeavoured to take our ship. When day was near at hand, and after having nine men slain in the action, the Moorish captain at length submitted, and told Pacheco that he belonged to Cananor.

After some time spent in this manner, Pacheco made sail for Cochin, and in the passage fell in with several ships belonging to the Moors, taking some, and burning or sinking others. On landing at the fort of Cochin, he learnt from the factor that the reports of the zamorin making preparations for the renewal of the war, were perfectly true, and even that the Moorish inhabitants of Cochin were adverse to the rajah for having taken part with the Portuguese against the zamorin. Being informed likewise that the Cochin rajah was in great fear of this new war, he went next day to visit him, carrying all his boats well manned, and fenced with raised sides of boards to defend his men from the missile weapons of the enemy. They were likewise furnished with ordnance, and all decorated with flags and streamers in a gallant manner, hoping thereby to inspire confidence in Trimumpara, who was much dejected at the small force which had been left for his defence. In a conference between them, the rajah said to Pacheco, that the Moors asserted he was left in the Indies for the sole purpose of removing the merchandize belonging to the Portuguese in the factory at Cochin to Cananor and Coulan, and not to defend him against the power of the zamorin; which he was even disposed to think were true, in consideration of the smallness of the fleet under his command. Pacheco felt indignant at the suspicion which the rajah entertained, and endeavoured to convince him that he had been imposed upon by the Moors out of enmity to the Portuguese, assuring him that he would faithfully exert himself in his defence. He pointed out to him the strength of the natural defences of Cochin, which were all narrow, and defensible therefore by a few valiant men against any number of assailants. The rajah was greatly relieved by these assurances, and Pacheco went to visit the different places by which the island of Cochin might be assailed, all of which he diligently fortified, more especially the ford, which he strengthened with a row of stakes, both to prevent the enemy from wading across, and to hinder any of their vessels from passing.

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