The Governor And Intendant Of The Custom-House Sent
For Me, And Demanded To Know Why I Did Not Land
My goods, and pay the
duties like the rest; on which I said that I was a stranger, only new
To
the country, and observing so much disorder among the Portuguese, I was
afraid to lose my goods, which I was determined not to bring on shore,
unless the governor would promise me in the king's name that no harm
should come to me or my goods, whatever might happen to the Portuguese,
with whom I had taken no part in the late tumult. As what I said seemed
reasonable, the governor sent for the _Bargits_, who are the councillors
of the city, who engaged, in the name of the king, that neither I nor my
goods should meet with any injury, and of which they made a notarial
entry or memorandum. I then sent for my goods, and paid the customs,
which is ten per centum of the value at that port; and for my greater
security I hired a house for myself and my goods, directly facing the
house of the governor.
In the sequel, the captain of the Portuguese and all the merchants of
that nation, were driven out of the city, in which I remained, along
with twenty-one poor men, who were officers in the ship I came in from
Malacca. The Gentiles had determined on being revenged of the Portuguese
for their insolence, but had delayed till all the goods were landed from
our ship; and the very next night there arrived four thousand soldiers
from Pegu, with some war elephants. Before these made any stir in the
city, the governor issued orders to all the Portuguese, in case of
hearing any noise or clamour in the city, not to stir from their houses
on pain of death. About four hours after sunset, I heard a prodigious
noise and tumult of men and elephants, who were bursting open the doors
of the Portuguese warehouses, and overturning their houses of wood and
straw, in which tumult some of the Portuguese were wounded, and one of
them slain. Many of those who had before boasted of their courage, now
fled on board some small vessels in the harbour, some of them fleeing
naked from their beds. That night the Peguers carried all the goods
belonging to the Portuguese from the suburbs into the city, and many of
the Portuguese were likewise arrested. After this, the Portuguese who
had fled to the ships resumed courage, and, landing in a body, set fire
to the houses in the suburbs, and as these were entirely composed of
boards covered with straw, and the wind blew fresh at the time, the
entire suburbs were speedily consumed, and half of the city had like to
have been destroyed. After this exploit, the Portuguese had no hopes of
recovering any part of their goods, which might amount to the value of
16,000 ducats, all of which they might assuredly have got back if they
had not set the town on fire.
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