Yet The Paraws Pursued Him So Closely, That He Must
Infallibly Have Been Taken, If It Had Not Been For The Squadron Of Sodre
Making Its Appearance, On Sight Of Which The Paraws Gave Over The Chase
And Retired To Calicut.
On his return to Cochin, die admiral immediately ordered the messenger of
the zamorin to be hanged[16].
The failure of this treacherous attempt
against De Gama gave much concern to the zamorin; who now resolved to try
if he could induce the rajah of Cochin to refuse a loading to the
Portuguese, and to send away their factory from his port. With this view
he transmitted a letter to that prince, in the following terms:
"I am informed that you favour the Christians, whom you have admitted
into your city and supplied with goods and provisions. It is possible you
may not see the danger of this procedure, and may not know how
displeasing it is to me. I request of you to remember the friendship
which has hitherto subsisted between us, and that you now incur my
displeasure for so small a matter in supporting these Christian robbers,
who are in use to plunder the countries belonging to other nations. My
desire is, therefore, that for the future you may neither receive them
into your city, nor give them spices; by which you will both do me a
great pleasure, and will bind me to requite your friendship in whatever
way you may desire. I do not more earnestly urge these things at the
present, being convinced you will comply without further entreaty, as I
would do for you in any matter of importance."
The rajah of Cochin answered in the following terms: That he knew not how
to expel the Christians from his city, whom he had received as friends,
and to whom he had passed his word for trade and amity. He denied that
his friendly reception of the Christians could be construed as any
offence to the zamorin, as it was the custom in the ports of Malabar to
favour all merchants who resorted thither for trade; and declared his
resolution to maintain his engagements inviolate to the Portuguese, who
had brought great sums of gold and silver, and large quantities of
merchandize into his dominions in the course of their trade. The zamorin
was much offended by this answer of the rajah of Cochin; to whom he wrote
a second time, advising him earnestly to abandon the Portuguese if he had
any respect for his own welfare. The rajah of Cochin was not to be moved,
either by the persuasions or threatening of the zamorin, and sent a reply
to his second letter, in which he declared he should never be induced to
commit a base or treacherous action by fear of the consequences, and was
resolved to persist in maintaining his treaty of trade and amity with the
Portuguese. Finding that he could not prevail on the rajah of Cochin to
concur with him, he commanded twenty-nine large ships to be fitted out in
order to assail the Portuguese fleet when on its return homewards,
expecting that he should be able to destroy them with more ease when
fully laden.
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