In Consequence Of These Reverses, Seeing No Likelihood Of
Ever Being Able To Recover Their Trade, All The Moors Who Dwelt In
Calicut And Cranganor Determined Upon Removing To Their Own Country With
Their Remaining Wealth.
For this purpose, they fitted up seventeen large
ships at _Pandarane_, which they armed on purpose to defend themselves
against any attack from our men, and loaded them with all expedition for
Mecca.
Besides these, they loaded a great number of paraws and tonys with
such goods as the ships were unable to contain.
The season now approached for the return of the fleet to Portugal, and
Suarez appointed Manuel Telez de Vasconcelles[5] as captain-general of
the Indies, with whom he left a ship and two caravels, of which last
Pedro Raphael and Diego Perez were captains. The admiral presented these
officers to the rajah of Cochin, who would much rather have procured
Duarte Pacheco to remain, having great confidence in his valour and
attachment to his service, but dared not to request this of the admiral,
as he was of a haughty disposition. In a conference between Pacheco
and the rajah, the latter entreated him to remain in India if possible,
as he did not think himself quite secure from the enmity of the zamorin;
and even urged him to remember that he had promised not to leave him till
he had made him king of Calicut. Pacheco answered, that he left him in a
good situation, his country being restored to quiet, and the zamorin so
much humbled that he was no longer to be dreaded; as a proof of which the
Moors were about to depart from Calicut, seeing their trade entirely
ruined. And that he hoped to return from Portugal, and to serve him
longer and to greater purpose than he had done hitherto. The rajah was
somewhat satisfied with this answer, and craved pardon of Pacheco that he
had not rewarded his services as they deserved, because he was extremely
poor; yet requested he would take as much pepper as he pleased. Pacheco
refused to accept of any thing; saying, he hoped to find the rajah rich
and prosperous on his return to Cochin, and then he would accept a reward.
The rajah gave Pacheco a letter for the king of Portugal, in which he set
forth all his gallant actions during the war, strongly recommending him
to his majesties favour.
The admiral Suarez departed from Cochin on the 27th December[6], taking
with him the whole of his fleet, even those captains who were to remain
in India. His intention was to have come to anchor in the harbour of
Paniani, on purpose to visit the rajah of Tanor; but from foul weather,
and bad pilots, the fleet could not make that port, and was driven to
Calicut and Pandarane. Being off these ports and with a scanty wind, the
admiral detached Raphael and Perez with their caravels, to examine if
there were any ships of the Moors at anchor. While on this service, ten
paraws came off to attack them, and an engagement ensued. On the rest of
the fleet hearing the sound of the ordnance, they bore up as close to the
wind as possible, and came to anchor[7]. In a council of war, it was
resolved to attack the seventeen ships of the Moors, which lay all
aground; and as the ships were unable to get near them, because they lay
within the bar, the attack was determined to be made by the boats of the
fleet, with orders to set the Moorish ships on fire. This being resolved
upon, the admiral and all the captains of the fleet embarked in the boats,
taking with them all the soldiers belonging to the expedition.
The Moorish ships were all drawn on the beach in a close line, having
their sterns to the shore, and were well armed with ordnance, and had
many soldiers on board armed with bows and arrows, a considerable number
of them being men of a fair complexion[8]. Besides all these, the Moors
had two pieces of ordnance on a small bulwark or redoubt which flanked
the passage of the bar. Our boats, seeing all these formidable
preparations, returned towards the fleet[9], whence they towed several
caravels within the bar to assist the boats in the attack. After a severe
conflict, in which the Portuguese had twenty-five men killed, and 127
wounded, the whole seventeen ships of the Moors were boarded and taken,
with the loss of 2000 men. But as the Moorish ships were all aground, the
victors were under the necessity to burn them, with all the rich
merchandize they contained. Owing to this severe loss, the Moors deserted
the city of Calicut, which by the cessation of trade became much
distressed for provisions, insomuch that most of its inhabitants withdrew
to other places. The zamorin was so much humbled by this succession of
disastrous events, that he remained quiet for a long time afterwards[10].
The particular incidents of this engagement are so confusedly related in
Lichefilds translation of Castaneda as to baffle every attempt to reduce
them into intelligible order. Among these, the two following are more
distinctly told. Tristan de la Silva endeavoured to board a ship which
appeared to be the admiral, of which the captain and a numerous crew were
Turks. A little before De Silva got up to this ship, the crew had fired
off a piece of ordnance which lay on the upper deck, and which by its
recoil broke a large hole in the side of the ship. The Turks were so
intent on defending themselves against the Portuguese boats, that they
neglected to barricade this hole, of which the people in De Silvas boat
took advantage to get on board; Alonzo Lopez the master, and Alvaro Lopez
one of the kings servants, now town-clerk of Santarem, being the first
who entered by the hole. A desperate conflict ensued on deck, in which
many of the Turks were slain, others hid themselves below the hatches,
and others leapt into the water, most of whom were drowned, as they were
covered with shirts of mail.
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