In this situation, a great number of the enemy boarded the
caravel, _and used our men very ill_. The caravel afterwards drifted on
certain rocks, where she remained till the end of the battle. The
situation of the caravel was now perceived by the admiral, who ordered
effectual succour to be sent to Raphael. The succours boarded the caravel,
which was quite full of Moors, whom they drove out with great slaughter;
but all of our men belonging to that caravel were sore hurt.
On the next day, being the first of January 1505, the admiral went with
the fleet to Cananor, to take in the rest of his lading. He was here
informed by the factor of the humbled situation of the Moors, from whom,
in his opinion, the Portuguese had no longer any thing to fear in India.
Being ready to depart for Europe, the admiral made an oration to Manual
Telez, and those who were to remain with him in India, giving them
instructions for their conduct after his departure; and as the enemy was
so greatly humbled, he considered that such a fleet as had formerly been
left by Albuquerque was quite sufficient, in which he left an hundred
soldiers. Indeed the zamorin, as has been already said, was sick of the
war, and remained quiet after the departure of the admiral.
Departing from Cananor, Suarez arrived off Melinda on the 1st of February;
where, without landing himself, he sent Antonio de Saldanna to bring away
the rich prizes he had formerly made at Cape Guardafui. From Melinda, the
fleet went to Quiloa, on purpose to enforce the payment of the tribute
from the king of that place. Departing from thence on the 10th of
February, he arrived safe at Lisbon on the 22d of June 1505[11], without
any incident worth relating[12]; carrying with him two ships more than
had accompanied him to India, all laden with rich commodities, and was
received by the King Don Manuel with great honour.
When the king learnt the great service which Pacheco had performed in
India, he expressed his high approbation of his conduct in a public
procession. The king went, in all the splendour usually shewn on _Corpus
Christi_ day, from the high church to that of St Domingo, accompanied by
Duarte Pacheco. After solemn service, a sermon was preached by Don Diego
Ortis, bishop of Viseo; who, by the kings command, gave a rehearsal of
all that had been performed by Pacheco in the war against the zamorin. On
the same day, a solemn festival was held in all the churches of Portugal
and Algarve. The king sent letters on the occasion to the pope and all
the princes of Christendom, announcing all these notable acts and
victories which had been performed in the Indies.[13]
[1] These are said to have been the largest ships hitherto built in
Portugal, and to have carried 1200 men; perhaps soldiers, besides
their ordinary crews. - Astl. I. 57.
[2] The Turkish empire, as succeeding that of the Romans or Greeks of
Constantinople, is still called _Rumi_ in the east. It will be
afterwards seen, that these _Rumes_, Romans, or Turks, made some
powerful efforts to drive the Portuguese from India, as greatly
injurious to the Indian trade with Europe through the Red Sea and
Egypt. - E.
[3] This expression is quite inexplicable, unless we may pick out very
darkly that it belonged to the Calicut confederacy against the
Portuguese. Yet Castaneda, or his imperfect translator Lichefild, does
not inform us whether this vessel was made a prize. Lichefild seems
almost always to have had a very imperfect knowledge of the language
of the author, often to have mistaken his meaning or expressed it with
great obscurity, and sometimes writes even a kind of jargon, by
endeavouring to translate verbally without being able to catch an idea
from the original. - E.
[4] According to Astley, from De Fariz only _five_ ships; and indeed in
the sequel, Castaneda only mentions _two_ ships as employed, on the
present occasion and three others that were drawn up on shore. - E.
[5] At the commencement of this section, Castaneda names this person Lope
Mendez de Vasconcelles; in Astley, I. 58, he is called Manuel Tellez
Barreto. - E.
[6] In Lichefilds translation of Castaneda, this date is made the 27th
September, which is an obvious mistake. - E.
[7] By some strange blunder, Lichefild says they came to _Cananor_; but
from all the circumstances in the contexts, it is obvious that the
fleet came to anchor on the outside of the bar at Pandarane. - E.
[8] Arabs probably, whites in the estimation of the Portuguese as
compared with the native blacks of Malabar. - E.
[9] This part of the story is very confusedly translated by Lichefild.
According to his relation, in one sense, the admiral alone returned in
his boat for the caravels; while, by another part of his expressions,
the whole boats returned for the admiral and the caravels. - E.
[10] According to Astley, a peace was concluded between the Portuguese
and the zamorin immediately after the victory obtained by the rajah of
Tanore; but this does not agree with the circumstances just related
respecting the destruction of the Moorish fleet in the harbour of
Pandarane, which would hardly have been done during a time of peace - E.
[11] By some strange typographical mistake, Lichefild makes this date
1525, both in the text and in a marginal note, thus adding no less
than twenty years to the true chronology.
