While At Anchor Thirty Of His Moorish
Prisoners Made Their Escape, Twelve Of Whom Were Retaken By Means Of His
Boat.
Pacheco remained for some time off the Cape in expectation of the
other ships of the Moors coming round from Coromandel, but none making
their appearance, he went to Coulan with the ship he had captured, which
he delivered to the factor at that city with all its rich merchandize.
He
then went to Cochin, where he put himself under the command of Suarez.
The zamorin had now resumed the government, having withdrawn from the
_torcul_ or religious seclusion. He had dispatched one of his generals
with a fleet of eighty paraws and fifty ships[4] to defend the passages
of the rivers, and to obstruct the trade of Cochin with the interior; and
had likewise set on foot a considerable land army under the prince Naubea
Daring. It was the intention of the zamorin to stand on the defensive
only while the Portuguese fleet remained in India, and to renew the war
against Cochin after their departure. But the admiral Suarez, by the
advice of all his captains, resolved to make an attack on Cranganor, a
town belonging to the zamorin, about four leagues from Cochin, whence the
enemy had often done much injury to the dominions of Trimumpara during
the late war. For this purpose, Suarez took fifteen armed boats with
raised defences on their gunwales, and twenty-five paraws belonging to
Cochin, all armed with cannon, and accompanied by a caravel, the whole
manned with about 1000 Portuguese soldiers, and an equal number of nayres
from Cochin. The armament arrived before day at _Palypuerto_, where it
had to wait for daylight, not daring to attempt the passage of certain
shoals, as the boats were heavily laden. On arriving at Cranganor, the
fleet of Calicut was found drawn up ready to repel the Portuguese attack.
The Calicut commander was posted in the front, in two new ships chained
together, which were full of ordnance and well manned; chiefly by archers.
In the rear of these ships, and on both flanks, the paraws of Calicut
were arranged, all full of armed men.
On the arrival of the Portuguese flotilla, the battle immediately
commenced by the discharge of ordnance on both sides. Five Portuguese
captains who led the van, pushed on to attack the Calicut admiral in his
two chained ships, which they carried by boarding after a brave
resistance, in which that officer and two of his sons with many others of
the Malabars were slain. After the capture of these ships, the paraws
made little resistance, and soon took to flight. Suarez immediately
disembarked his troops, which soon put Naubea Daring to flight, who
commanded the land army of Calicut. The Moors and Malabars in their
flight, plundered the houses of Cranganor, which was immediately
afterwards set on fire by the Portuguese. Certain Christian inhabitants
of the place came to Suarez and prayed him not to burn their city,
representing that it contained several churches dedicated to the Virgin
and the Apostles, besides many Christian houses which were interspersed
among these belonging to the Moors and Gentiles. For their sakes, Suarez
ordered the conflagration to be stopped; yet many of the houses were
destroyed before that could be effected, as they were all of wood. After
the fire was quenched, our men plundered the houses belonging to the
Moors, many of whom had formerly dwelt in Cochin. The two ships, and
several paraws which had been taken in the before mentioned engagement,
were set on fire, and other three ships that were found drawn on shore.
At this time Suarez was joined by the prince of Cochin, who informed him
that Naubea Daring remained with his army at no great distance, and
intended to return to Cranganor after his departure. A considerable force
was therefore sent against Naubea Daring; but immediately on seeing their
approach, the troops of Calicut fled. On the return of the Portuguese
flotilla towards Cochin, Suarez was disposed to have destroyed another
town which lay near their passage; but the prince of Cochin represented
that half of it belonged to him, and prevailed on the admiral to spare it,
as he could not destroy one part without the other. Suarez, therefore,
returned to Cochin, where he knighted some of his officers for their
bravery during the last engagement. A few days after his return, there
came an ambassador from the rajah of _Tanor_, whose dominions are next
adjoining to those of Cochin. This ambassador represented, that his
master had hitherto adhered to the zamorin, and had assisted him in all
his wars against Pacheco. But that the zamorin, since he had come out
from his religious seclusion, had redoubled his arrogant ideas of his
irresistible power, and in reward of the services of the rajah of Tanor,
now threatened him with war and conquest. He farther represented, that on
the late occasion, when the general of the Calicut forces was in full
march for the relief of Cranganor, the rajah of Tanor had placed 4000 of
his nayres in ambush in a defile in their line of march, who had defeated
the troops of Calicut, and hod slain 2000 of them. On this account the
rajah of Tanor was in great fear of the zamorin, and humbly requested
assistance from the admiral, promising in return to become subject to the
king of Portugal.
For this purpose, the admiral sent Pedro Raphael in a caravel to Tanor,
with 100 soldiers, most of whom were crossbow men. It chanced that on the
very day of his arrival at Tanor, the zamorin arrived before that city
with his army and gave battle to the rajah; but, chiefly owing to the
valour of Raphael and his company, the army of the zamorin was defeated
with great slaughter. In reward for this well-timed succour, the rajah of
Tanor became subject to the king of Portugal. In consequence of this
defeat, the zamorin was much humbled, and lost more credit with the Moors
than by all the victories which Pacheco had obtained; as these had been
obtained by strangers, while the present victory had been gained by a
native prince.
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