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.

The caravel commanded by Pedro Raphael, one of these brought within the bar to co-operate with the boats, was struck by a ball from the battery on shore, which killed three men and dangerously wounded other ten. In the confusion occasioned by this accident, another shot killed the master at the helm, and the caravel drove with the tide of flood right under the bows of a large Moorish ship full of men which had not yet been attacked by the boats. 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.

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