But
What Exceeded All The Rest, Was A Golden Idol Of Thirty Pounds Weight,
With A Monstrous Face.
The eyes of this image were two very fine emeralds.
The vestments were of beaten gold, richly wrought and set with precious
stones; and on the breast was a large carbuncle or ruby, as large as the
coin called a crusado, which shone like fire.
The goods being taken out, the two ships were set on fire, and the
admiral made sail for Cananor, where the rajah gave him a house for a
factory, in which Gonzalo Gill Barbosa was settled as factor, having
Sebastian Alvarez and Diego Godino as clerks, Duarte Barbosa as
interpreter, and sundry others as assistants, in all to the number of
twenty. The rajah undertook to protect these men and all that might be
left in the factory, and bound himself to supply lading in spices to all
the ships of the king of Portugal at certain fixed prices[18]. In return
for these favourable conditions, the admiral engaged on behalf of the
king of Portugal to defend the rajah in all wars that might arise from
this agreement; conditioning for peace and friendship between the rajahs
of Cochin and Cananor, and that the latter should give no aid to any one
who might make war upon the former, under the pain of forfeiting the
friendship of the Portuguese. After this, the admiral gave orders to
Vincente Sodre to protect the coast with his squadron till the month of
February; and if any war should break out or seem probable between the
zamorin and Trimumpara, he was to winter in Cochin for the protection of
that city; otherwise he was to sail for the straits of the Red Sea, to
make prize of all the ships belonging to Mecca that traded to the Indies.
All these matters being properly arranged, De Gama departed from Cananor
for Portugal on the 20th December 1502[19]; with thirteen ships richly
laden, three of which had taken in their cargoes at Cananor, and the
other ten at Cochin. The whole fleet arrived in safety at Mozambique,
where the ship commanded by Stephen de Gama having sprung a great leak,
was unladen and laid on shore to be repaired. Seven days after their
departure from Mozambique, the ship commanded by Lewis Cotinho sprung a
great leak, and they were forced to endeavour to return to Mozambique to
repair her; but, the wind being contrary, they had to do this in a creek
on the coast. Continuing their voyage, they were assailed by a sudden
tempest off Cape Corientes, in which the ship commanded by Stephen de
Gama had her sails all split by the storm, owing to which she was
separated from the fleet, and no more seen till six days after the
arrival of the admiral at Lisbon, when she came in with her mast broken.
The storm having abated, during which the fleet took shelter under the
lee of Cape Corientes, the admiral prosecuted his voyage to Lisbon, and
arrived safe at Cascais on the 1st September 1503.
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