After having governed five years, the Count of Vidugueyra was ordered by
the king to resign to Don Francisco de
Mascarennas in 1628; but as that
gentleman had left India for Europe, the viceroy resigned the charge of
government to Don Luis de Brito, bishop of Cochin, and went home to
Portugal. In this year the king of Acheen made an attempt to gain
possession of Malacca, against which he sent a fleet of 250 sail, with
20,000 soldiers and a great train of artillery. In this great fleet
there were 47 gallies of extraordinary strength, beauty, and size, all
near 100 feet long and of proportional breadth. The king embarked with
his wife, children, and treasure; but upon some ill omen the fleet and
army sailed without him, and came before Malacca in the beginning of
July 1629, the former under the command of _Marraja_, and the latter of
Lacsamana, an experienced general who had made many conquests for his
master. Having landed the troops, they were attacked by Antonio Pinto de
Fonseca with only 200 men, who slew above 300 of the enemy without
losing a man, and then retreated into the city. Juan Suarez Vivas with
350 Portuguese, who commanded at Iller, defended that post for some time
with great gallantry and did great execution among the enemy; but at
length, overpowered by numbers, was forced to retire. Having gained an
eminence called mount St Juan, the enemy erected a battery there from
which they played furiously against the fort, which answered them with
great spirit. The Capuchin convent dedicated to the Mother of God, being
considered as of great importance for the defence of the fort, was
gallantly defended for 50 days by Diego Lopez de Fonseca, who on one
occasion made a sally with 200 Portuguese and defeated 2000 of the
enemy. On Lopez falling sick, Francisco Carvallo de Maya took the
command of that post, and defended it till the convent was entirely
ruined, so that he was obliged to withdraw into the city, on which the
enemy converted it into a strong post in which _Lacsamana_ took up his
quarters with 3000 men. _Marraja_ occupied mount St Juan, on which he
erected a large fort; others were established at the convent of St
Lawrence, at _Iller_ and other places, having strong batteries and lines
of communication, so that the city was invested on all sides by land,
while a number of armed boats presented all access by sea for relief.
Fonseca, who commanded in the besieged city, sent out Vivas with 220
Portuguese troops to dislodge Lacsamana from his head-quarters on the
ruins of the Capuchin convent, on which occasion Vivas gained possession
of the post by a night attack, killing 100 of the enemy, and retired
with several cannon. The King of _Pam_, who was in alliance with the
Portuguese, sent a fleet of _paraos_ with 2000 men to the assistance of
the town; and Michael Pereyra Botello brought five sail from the city of
San Thome:
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