From Their Subjection To The Crown Of Spain,
The Dutch, Who Had Thrown Off The Iron Yoke Of The Austrian Princes Of
Spain, Revenged Their Own Injuries Upon The Portuguese In India:
And in
the present age, at the distance of 160 years, having themselves fallen
under the heavy yoke of the modern French Caesar, they have been
stripped by Britain of every foreign possession in Asia, Africa, and
America.
- E]
SECTION XV.
_Occurrences in Pegu, Martavan, Pram, Siam, and other places._[23]
We here propose to give some account of the exploits of the _black_ king
of Siam, in whose character there was a strange mixture of virtues and
vices. In the year 1544, the king of the _Birmans_ [24] besieged the
city of _Martavan_ by sea and land, being the metropolis of the great
and flourishing kingdom of that name, which had a revenue of three
millions of gold. _Chaubainaa_ was then king of Martavan, and fell from
the height of fortune to the depth of misery. The Birman fleet, on this
occasion, consisted of 700 sail, 100 of which were large gallies, in
which were 700 Portuguese, commanded by one Juan Cayero, who was reputed
a commander of courage and conduct. After a siege of some months, during
which the Birmans lost 12,000 men in five general assaults, _Chaubainaa_
found himself unable to withstand the power of his enemy, being reduced
to such extremity that the garrison had already eaten 3000 elephants. He
offered, therefore, to capitulate, but all terms were refused by the
enemy; on which he determined to make use of the Portuguese, to whom he
had always been just and friendly:
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