On One Occasion He Preached So Eloquently
Against The Tyranny And Oppression Which The Peguers Suffered Under The
Birmans, That
He was taken from the pulpit and proclaimed king of Pegu.
On this he slew 8000 Birmans that guarded the
Palace, and seizing the
royal treasure, he got possession of all the strong-holds in a short
time, and the whole kingdom submitted to his authority. The armies of
the rival kings met within two leagues of the city of Pegu; that of the
Birmans amounting to 350,000 men, while _Xemindoo_ had 600,000; yet
Xemindoo was defeated with the loss of 300,000 men, while the Birmans
lost 60,000. The victorious king of the Birmans immediately entered
Pegu, where he slew a vast multitude of the inhabitants, and recovered
his treasure. Meanwhile the city of _Martavan_ declared for _Xemindoo_,
and massacred the garrison of 2000 Birmans. _Zemin_ did the same in the
city of _Zatam_ where he commanded. The king marched towards him, but he
contrived to have him murdered by the way; on which _Zemin_ was
proclaimed king by his followers, and soon raised an army of 30,000 men.
_Chaumigrem_, brother to the dead king, plundered the palace and city,
and then fled to _Tangu_ where he was born. In four months _Zemin_
became so odious to his new subjects by his tyranny, that many of them
fled to _Xemindoo_, who was soon at the head of 60,000 men.
Some short time before this, as Diego Suarez was passing the house of a
rich merchant on the day of his daughter's intended marriage, being
struck by the great beauty of the bride, he attempted to carry her off
by force, killing the bridegroom and others who came to her rescue, and
the bride strangled herself to avoid the dishonour. As the father
expected no justice while that king reigned, he shut himself up till
_Zemin_ got possession of the throne, on which he so published his
wrongs about the city, that 50,000 of the people joined with him in
demanding justice. Fearing evil consequences, _Zemin_ caused Suarez to
be apprehended and delivered up to the people, by whom he was stoned to
death. His house was plundered, and as much less treasure was found than
he was supposed to be worth, he was believed to have buried the rest.
_Zemin_ soon followed Suarez, for his subjects being unable to endure
his cruelty and avarice, fled in great numbers to Xemindoo, who was now
master of some considerable towns. Xemindoo having gathered an army of
200,000 men and 5000 elephants, marched to the city of Pegu, near which
he was encountered by Zemin at the head of 800,000 men. The battle was
long doubtful, but at last Gonzalo Neto, who served under _Xemindoo_
with 80 Portuguese, killed _Zemin_ with a musket ball, on which his army
fled, and _Xemindoo_ got possession of the capital. This happened on the
3d of February 1550. Gonzalo was rewarded with a gift of 10,000 crowns,
and 5000 were divided among his companions.
_Chaumigrem_, who had fled the year before to _Tangu_, hearing that
_Xemindoo_ had disbanded most of his forces, marched against him and
obtained a complete victory, by which the kingdom of Pegu was again
reduced under the authority of the Birmans. Xemindoo was taken some time
afterwards and put to death. _Chaumigrem_ being now king of the Birmans
and of Pegu, went to war against Siam, with an army of 1,700,000 men,
and 17,000 elephants, having a considerable body of Portuguese in his
service. All this army came to ruin, and the kingdom of Pegu was soon
afterwards reduced to subjection by the king of Aracan, as formerly
related.
The kingdom of Siam, though much harassed by these invasions, still
held out, and, in 1627, was possessed by the _black_ king, so called
because he really was of a black colour, though all the inhabitants of
that country are fair complexioned[27]. In 1621, this _black_ king of
Siam sent ambassadors to Goa, desiring that some Franciscans might be
sent to preach the gospel in his dominions. Accordingly, father Andrew,
of the convent of the Holy Ghost, went to _Odiaa_[28], where he was
received honourably, and got leave to erect a church, which was done at
the king's expence. He likewise offered great riches to the venerable
father, who constantly refused his offers, to the great admiration and
astonishment of the king. This _black_ king of Siam was of small
stature, of an evil presence, and an extraordinarily compound character,
of great wickedness, mixed with great generosity. Although cruel men are
for the most part cowards, he was at the same time exceedingly cruel,
and very valiant; and though tyrants are generally covetous, he was
extremely liberal; being barbarous in some parts of his conduct, and
generous and benevolent in others. Not satisfied with putting thieves
and robbers to ordinary deaths, he was in use to have them torn in
pieces in his presence by tigers and crocodiles for his amusement.
Understanding that one of his vassal kings intended to rebel, he had him
shut up in a cage, and fed him with morsels of his own flesh torn from
his body, after which he had him fried in a pan. On one occasion he slew
seven ladies belonging to the court, only because they walked too quick;
and on another occasion he cut off the legs of three others, because
they staid too long when sent by him for some money to give to certain
Portuguese. He even extended his severity to animals; having cut off the
paw of a favourite monkey for putting it into a box containing some
curiosities. A valuable horse was ordered to be beheaded, in presence of
his other horses, because he did not stop when he checked him. A tiger
that did not immediately seize a criminal thrown to him, was ordered to
be beheaded as a coward.
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