their condign punishment. Next day a Moor came off in great state with a
message from the king, and was received with much courtesy and
ceremonious pomp by Albuquerque[127], to whom he said that if he came
for trade, the king was ready to supply whatever merchandise he wanted.
Albuquerque made answer that the merchandise he sought for was the
restitution of the Portuguese who had been left there by Sequeira, and
when they were restored, he should then say what farther demands he had
to make from the king. On his return to the city, the Moor spread
universal consternation by this answer, and it was agreed to endeavour
to avert the threatened danger, by restoring the Portuguese, and by
paying a large sum of money. But Prince Al'oddin, the son of the king of
Malacca, and his brother-in-law the king of Pahang opposed this, and
made ready for defence. Upon this Albuquerque began some military
execution, and the king restored the captives. After this some farther
negotiations ensued, as the king was desirous of peace, which
Albuquerque offered to agree to, on condition of having permission to
build a fortress at Malacca, and that the king should repay the entire
charges incurred by Sequeira and the present armament, all the damage
having been occasioned by his own treachery and falsehood; but he
demanded to have an immediate answer; whether the king chose peace or
war. The king was willing to have submitted to the terms demanded by the
Portuguese viceroy, but his son and the king of Pahang opposed him, and
it was at length determined to stand on their defence.
[Footnote 127: On this occasion, Faria mentions that Albuquerque wore
his beard so long that it was fastened to his girdle; having made a vow
when he was forced to retreat from Ormuz, that it should never be
trimmed till he sat on the back of Khojah Attar for that purpose. - E.]
On the 24th of July, being the eve of St James the apostle, every thing
being disposed in order for attack, the signal was given for landing, by
the discharge of artillery, and immediately the Portuguese leapt on
shore and charged the enemy with loud shouts. The hottest of the battle
was about gaining and defending the bridge, which enterprise Albuquerque
undertook in person, and where the enemy after a vigorous defence, in
which great numbers of them were slain, were forced to leap into the
river, where many of them were drowned. The prince and the king of
Pahang bravely opposed another party of the Portuguese who endeavoured
to force their way to the bridge to join the viceroy, and at the same
time King Mahomet came out on a large elephant, attended by two others
having castles on their backs, whence numbers of darts were launched
against the Portuguese. But the elephants being soon severely wounded,
turned and fled through among their own men, trampling many of them to
death and making way for the Portuguese to join those who had possession
of the bridge. At this place Albuquerque fortified himself, and as
considerable harm was done to his men by poisoned arrows discharged from
the tops of the adjoining houses, he caused them to be set on fire.
After bestowing great praises on his captains for their courageous
behaviour, and perceiving that his people began to grow faint by long
exertions, excessive heat, and want of food, he withdrew to the ships
towards night. Ten of the Portuguese died in consequence of their wounds
from the poisoned arrows. The loss of the enemy was not known. The king
of Pahang withdrew to his own country, under pretence of bringing a
reinforcement, but never returned.
While Albuquerque rested and refreshed his men on board, Mahomet was
busily employed in making every possible preparation for defending the
city. For this purpose he undermined the streets in several places, in
hopes to blow up the assailants, and strewed poisoned thorns in the way,
covering them over to prevent their being observed. He likewise
fortified the bridge, and planted cannon in many places. As a prelude
to the second assault, Albuquerque sent Antonio de Abren in a vessel
well manned to gain possession of the bridge. On his way thither he had
to pass through showers of bullets from both sides of the river and from
the battlements of the bridge, and though desperately wounded, refused
to be brought off, when Deniz Fernandez Melo, who came up to his rescue
proposed sending him to the ships to have his wounds dressed, saying,
"Though he neither had strength to fight nor voice to command, he would
not quit his post while life remained." Floats of wildfire were sent
down the river to burn the vessel; but at length Albuquerque in person
gained possession of the bridge, and the vessel being freed from the
fire rafts, had liberty to act against the enemy. Having rested his men
a short time on the bridge, Albuquerque penetrated the city, through
showers of bullets, darts, and arrows; and having been apprised of the
mines in the principal street, he took, another way and gained the
mosque. At length, after a prodigious slaughter of the enemy, he gained
entire possession of the city, having only with him in this action 800
Portuguese and 200 Malabars.
At the end of nine days every one of the Moors who inhabited this great
city were either slain or driven out, and it was repeopled with
strangers and some Malays, who were permitted to take possession of the
vacant houses. Among these last was Utimuti rajah, whose son had
formerly endeavoured to assassinate Sequeira. Utimuti was a rich and
powerful native of Java, of whom more hereafter. The soldiers were
allowed to plunder the city during three days. There were found 3000
pieces of _great cannon_, out of 8000[128] which King Mahomet had relied
upon for the defence of his city, the rest having been carried off to
_Bintang_, where the king and prince Al'oddin had fortified themselves.
As it might have been of dangerous consequence to permit these princes
to establish themselves so near the city of Malacca, Albuquerque sent a
force to dislodge them, consisting of 400 Portuguese, 400 Malays
belonging to Utimuti, and 300 men belonging to the merchants of Pegu who
resided in Malacca. On the approach of these troops, the king and prince
took flight, leaving seven elephants with all their costly trappings,
and the Portuguese returned to Malacca. Now reduced to wander in the
woods and mountains of the interior, Mahomet so severely reflected upon
the obstinacy of his son and the king of Pahang, that he and his son
quarrelled and separated, each shifting for himself.
[Footnote 128: This prodigious train of artillery is quite incredible,
though, twice repeated in the same terms, but it is impossible to form
any rational conjecture for correcting the gross error or exaggeration
in the text. - E.]
To secure this important conquest, Albuquerque built a fort or citadel
at Malacca, which from its beauty was called _Hermosa_. He likewise
built a church, which was dedicated to the _Visitation of our Lady_; and
coined money of different values and denominations, which was ordered to
pass current by proclamation, and some of which he caused to be
scattered among the populace. By these and other prudent measures he
gained the hearts of the people, attracted strangers to settle in
Malacca, and secured this important emporium of trade. Although
Albuquerque was perfectly conscious of the deceitful character of
Utimuti rajah, yet considering it to be sometimes prudent to trust an
enemy under proper precautions, he gave him authority over all the Moors
that remained in Malacca. It was soon discovered however, that Utimuti
carried on a private correspondence with Prince Al'oddin, under pretence
of restoring him to the sovereignty of Malacca, but in reality for the
purpose of using his remaining influence among the people to set himself
up. On receiving authentic information of these underhand practices,
Albuquerque caused Utimuti with his son and son-in-law to be
apprehended, and on conviction of their treason, he ordered them to be
publicly executed on the same scaffold which they had formerly destined
for Sequeira. This was the first public exertion of sovereign justice
which was attempted by the Portuguese in India, but was soon followed by
others. _Pate Quitir_, another native of Java, whom Albuquerque
appointed to succeed Utimuti in the government of the Moors in Malacca,
was gained by the widow of Utimuti, by promise of her daughter in
marriage with a portion of 100,000 ducats, to revenge the death of her
husband on the Portuguese, and to assassinate Albuquerque. Quitir
accepted her offer, meaning to seize the city for himself. About the
same time also, the king of Campar formed a similar design, for the
attainment of which purpose he sent a congratulatory embassy to
Albuquerque, from whom he demanded the office which had been conferred
on Quitir. These plots having no consequences at this time, shall be
farther explained in the sequel.
During his residence at Malacca, Albuquerque received embassies from
several princes, particularly from the king of Siam; and he sent
likewise embassies in return, to the kings of Siam and Pegu. He sent
also two ships to discover the Molucca islands and Banda[129], and gave
orders to let it be known in all quarters that Malacca was now under the
dominion of Portugal, and that merchants from every part of India would
be received there on more favourable terms than formerly. Having now
established every thing in Malacca to his mind, Albuquerque determined
upon returning to Cochin, leaving Ruy de Brito Patalim to command the
fort with a garrison of 300 men. He left at the same time Fernando Perez
de Andrada with ten ships and 300 soldiers to protect the trade, and
carried four ships with himself on his return to Cochin.
[Footnote 129: According to some authors these were commanded by Lopez
de Azevedo and Antonio de Abreu, who set out in 1511 and returned in
1513; but according to others Antonio de Abreu, Francisco Serrano, and
Ferdinand Magalhaens were the officers employed on this occasion, during
which Magalhaens projected his circumnavigation of the globe. - Astley,
I. 74. 2.]
During these transactions at Malacca a rebellion broke out among the
natives at Goa, taking advantage of which, _Pulate Khan_, an officer in
the service of Kufo Adel Khan king of Bisnagar passed over into the
island of Goa with considerable army, and laid siege to the city. One of
the principal exploits during this siege was a sally made by Rodrigo
Robello de Castello Franco the governor, in which the besiegers suffered
considerable loss. But Rodrigo was soon afterwards slain, and Diego
Mendez de Vasconcellos was chosen to take the command by the universal
suffrages of the besieged. At this time Adel Khan became jealous that
his general Pulate Khan intended to usurp the sovereignty over the
territory of Goa, on which account he sent his brother-in-law, Rotzomo
Khan to supersede him, who entered into a treaty with Diego Mendez, by
whose assistance he got the mastery over Pulate Khan. Finding himself at
the head of 7000 men, while there were not above 1200 troops in the city
of Goa, 400 only of whom were Portuguese, Rotzomo resolved to endeavour
to drive them out, and resumed the siege. Being short of provisions, the
besieged began to suffer severely from famine, and several of the men
deserted to the enemy, some of whom repented and returned to the city.
In this critical situation, Emanuel de la Cerda who had wintered at
Cochin fortunately arrived with succours, and was followed soon after by
Diego Fernandez de Beja, who had been sent to demolish the fort at
Socotora, and to receive the tribute at Onnuz. By these the besieged
were abundantly relieved and succoured with recruits and provisions when
almost reduced to extremity. Soon afterwards arrived Juan Serram who had
gone from Portugal the year before with Peyo de Sa, in order to settle a
trade in the island of Madagascar, but ineffectually; and Christopher de
Brito, who happened to be at Cananor with a large ship and four smaller
vessels, where he heard of the distressed situation of Goa, went
immediately thither with a strong reinforcement and an ample supply of
provisions.
On his voyage from Malacca to Cochin, the ship in which Albuquerque was
embarked struck during the night on a rock off Cape Timia in the kingdom
of _Aru_ on the coast of Sumatra. Being completely separated a midships,
the people who had taken refuge on the poop and forecastle were unable
to communicate with each other, and the night was so exceedingly dark
that no assistance could be sent from the other vessels. When day-light
appeared next morning, Albuquerque was seen holding a girl in his arms,
whom chance had conducted to him during the confusion. Pedro de Alpoem
came up to his relief, though with much difficulty and danger. On this
occasion some of the men were lost, and much valuable commodities, but
what Albuquerque most regretted was the wonderful bone which prevented
the wounded Moor from bleeding, and some iron lions of curious
workmanship, which he had intended for supporters to his tomb.
Albuquerque continued his voyage after this disaster in the ship
commanded by Alpoem; and on his way back took two Moorish ships, which,
though rich did not make amends for the loss he had sustained in the
wreck of his own. Immediately on his arrival at Cochin, being informed
of the distress of Goa, he dispatched eight vessels to that place with
men and provisions, promising soon to repair thither in person. There
were then in the town 1000 men, who were besieged by an army of 20,000
natives.
It being now the year 1512, six ships arrived in India from Portugal,
having spent a whole year on the voyage without touching at any port;
and though the men were tired and sick, they relieved several places. At
this time likewise a fleet of thirteen ships arrived from Portugal, one
of which was lost on the island of _Angoxa_. This fleet, which carried
1800 soldiers, anchored off the bar of Goa on the 15th of August 1512.
They immediately drove the enemy from a fort which they had constructed
at Benistarim; after which Don Garcia and George de Melo passed on with
their squadrons, accompanied by Juan Machado and others, who had been
recently delivered from slavery in Cambaya. Albuquerque was much
rejoiced at the great reinforcements brought out by his nephew Don
Garcia and Melo, and by the relief of the captives, as they enabled him
to proceed in the enterprises which he had in contemplation. His
satisfaction was much increased by the arrival of Antonio de Saldanna
with the garrison of Quiloa, which had been abandoned as a place of
small importance. About the same time there arrived ambassadors from
Persia and Ormuz, the latter of whom had orders from his master to
proceed to Portugal.
Having arranged everything at Cochin, and appointed Melo to the command
of Cananor, Albuquerque proceeded to Goa, where he was received with
every demonstration of joy and respect. After visiting the
fortifications, he endeavoured to concert measures for driving Rotzomo
Khan from the works which he had constructed for besieging Goa. On the
sixth day after his arrival, being on an eminence with several officers
taking a view of the works of the enemy, 4000 Moors, 200 of whom were
horse, were seen sporting on the plain, it being Friday, which is the
sabbath of the Mahometans. On this occasion, a detachment of the
Portuguese made a sudden attack on the Moors, and after a hot skirmish
drove them for shelter to their works, having slain above an hundred of
the enemy, with the loss of one officer and one private, and several
wounded. Having resolved to take possession of a strong fort which the
enemy had erected near Goa for the protection of their camp, Albuquerque
caused it to be attacked both by sea and land at the same time; and
thinking that the sea attack was not conducted with sufficient vigour,
he went himself in a boat to give orders, and came so near that a
cannon-shot struck the head of a Canara who steered his boat, dashing
the blood and brains on his beard. Enraged at this incident, he offered
a high reward to any one who should destroy that cannon; on which one of
his gunners aimed a shot so exactly that it struck the muzzle of the
cannon which flew in pieces, and killed the Moorish cannoneer. By this
fortunate circumstance, the Portuguese were able to get farther up the
river and to get close to the fort. At this time _Zufolari_, one of the
generals of the Moors, appeared with 7000 men on the continental shore
to relieve the fort; but being unable to effectuate his purpose, was
forced to retire after sustaining some loss by a distant cannonade.
Albuquerque now closely invested the fort with 4000 men, 3000 of whom
were Portuguese. He divided these into two bodies, one under his own
immediate command, and the other under the charge of his nephew Don
Garcia. At first the Portuguese received some damage; but in the end
Rotzomo Khan agreed to surrender the fort with all its cannon and
ammunition, to deliver up all the Portuguese prisoners and deserters,
and to evacuate the island of Goa and its dependencies. The Portuguese
deserters were severely punished by order of Albuquerque, having their
ears, noses, right hands, and the thumbs of their left cut off, in which
mutilated condition they were sent home to Portugal. One of these, named
Ferdinando Lopez, as a penance for his crimes, voluntarily remained with
a negro at the island of St Helena, where he began some cultivation, and
was afterwards serviceable to several ships that called in there, by
furnishing them with refreshments.
Having thus completely relieved Goa, Albuquerque endeavoured to gain
over Rotzomo Khan to the Portuguese service, but unsuccessfully; but his
good fortune made a great impression on many of the native princes,
several of whom sent pacific embassies to the viceroy. The king of
Calicut, terrified at the growing power of the Portuguese, concluded a
treaty of peace with Don Garcia, whom his uncle had sent to take the
command at Cochin[130]. The kings of Narsinga, Visiapour, Bisnagar, and
other districts of India, sent ambassadors to the viceroy; who
endeavoured in his answers to impress them powerfully with the value of
amity with the Portuguese, and dread of encountering their arms, and
sent back envoys of his own to these princes, to acquire intelligence
respecting their power and resources. There arrived likewise at Goa an
ambassador from the Christian sovereign of Abyssinia, whom the
Europeans denominate Prester John[131], who was destined to go over to
Portugal, carrying a piece of the _true cross_, and letters for the king
of Portugal from the queen-mother _Helena_, who governed Abyssinia
during the minority of her son David. The purport of this embassy was to
arrange a treaty of amity with the king of Portugal, and to procure
military aid against the Moors who were in constant hostility with that
kingdom. This ambassador reported that there were then three Portuguese
at the Abyssinian court, one of whom, named Juan, called himself
ambassador from the king of Portugal; and two others, named Juan Gomez
and Juan Sanchez, who had been lately set on shore at Cape Guardafu, by
order of Albuquerque, in order to explore the country.
[Footnote 130: The editor of Astleys Collection adds, _with liberty to
build a fort_; but this condition is not to be found in the text of
Faria, which is followed in that work literally on most occasions,
though often much abridged. - E.]
[Footnote 131: In our early volumes it will be seen that this imaginary
_Prete Jani_, Prester John, or the Christian Priest-king, had been
sought for in vain among the wandering tribes of eastern Tartary. The
Portuguese now absurdly gave that appellation to the Negus of Habesh, or
Emperor of the Abyssinians; where a degraded species of Christianity
prevails among a barbarous race, continually engaged in sanguinary war
and interminable revolution. - E.]
Every thing at Goa being placed in order, the viceroy now determined
upon carrying the enterprise against Aden into execution, which had been
formerly ordered by the king of Portugal. Without communicating his
intentions to any one, he caused twenty ships to be fitted out, in which
he embarked with 1700 Portuguese troops, and 800 native Canaras and
Malabars. When just ready to sail, he acquainted the captains with the
object of his expedition, that they might know where to rendezvous in
case of separation. Setting sail from Goa on the 18th of February 1513,
the armament arrived safe at Aden. This city, called Modocan by Ptolemy,
is situated on the coast of Yemen or Arabia Felix, in lat. 12° 45' N.
near the mouth of the Red Sea, and looks beautiful and strong from the
sea, being rich and populous owing to the resort of many nations for
trade. But Immediately behind are the barren and rocky mountains of
Arzira, which present numerous cliffs and precipices. The soil is arid,
having very little water, which is procured from a few wells and
cisterns, as this part of the country is scarcely watered from the
heavens above once in two or three years. Hence it is devoid of all
trees, and has neither gardens nor orchards.
Immediately on the arrival of the Portuguese fleet, Miramirzan the
governor sent a complimentary message to the viceroy with a present of
provisions; but as there was no prospect of voluntary submission or
surrender, Albuquerque resolved upon carrying the place by assault, but
found the enterprise more difficult than he expected. Having landed his
men early in the morning, the troops advanced to the walls with scaling
ladders: but after a considerable number had got up to the top of the
wall, the ladders broke under the weight of the multitudes who pressed
to get up; so that Albuquerque was obliged to order down those who had
already ascended, by means of a single ladder constructed out of the
broken fragments of the rest. Thus, after four hours engagement, the
Portuguese were forced to desist from the attack with some loss,
occasioned more by the insufficiency of the ladders than by the prowess
of the enemy. George Sylveyra and five men were killed on the spot, but
several others died afterwards of their wounds, and some from bruises
occasioned by falling from the walls and ladders. Submitting to his bad
fortune, and by the persuasion of his officers, Albuquerque resolved to
abandon this enterprise, that he might have sufficient time remaining to
sail for the month of the Red Sea. But before leaving Aden, he took a
redoubt or bulwark which defended the entrance into the harbour, where a
great many Moors, or Arabs rather, were slain, and 37 pieces of cannon
taken. Having plundered the ships in the harbour, they were all burnt;
and on the fourth day after arriving at Aden, the fleet set sail for the
mouth of the Red Sea, on their arrival at which great rejoicings were
made by Albuquerque and the Portuguese, as being the first Europeans who
had ever navigated that celebrated sea.
The form of the Red Sea is not unlike that of a crocodile, having its
mouth at the narrow Straits of Mecca or Babelmandeb, the head being that
sea which lies between Cape Guardafu and Fartaque, and the extremity of
the tail at the town of Suez. Its general direction is from N.N.W. to
S.S.E. being 530 leagues long, and 40 over where broadest[132]. The
channel for navigation is about the middle, where it has sufficient
depth of water for the largest ships, but both sides are very shallow,
and much encumbered by sand banks and numerous small islands. No river
of any note falls into it during its whole extent. It is called by the
Moors or Arabs, _Bahar Corzu_ or the Closed Sea, and by others the Sea
of Mecca; but by Europeans the Arabian Gulf or the Red Sea, owing to the
red colour it derives from its bottom, as was proved by a subsequent
viceroy, Don Juan de Castro, who caused some of the bottom to be dragged
up in several places, when it was found to consist of a red coralline
substance; while in other places the bottom was green, and white in
some, but mostly red. The water itself, when taken up, is as clear as in
any other part of the sea. The Red Sea does not abound in fish, but it
produces small pearls in many places. The mouth of the Red Sea, called
the Straits of Mecca or of Bab-al-mandeb, is in lat. 12° 40' N. and is
as it were locked up by seven small islands, the largest of which, now
_Mehun_, was called by Ptolemy _Perantonomasiam_. On going from the
straits towards Suez along the eastern or Arabian shore, there are only