Neither Was This His Only Fault, For The Provisions Had Lasted
Longer If He Had Not Committed Them To The Care Of His Wife, Who
Dissipated Them Among Her Slaves.
Owing to this unforeseen event, Diego
de Menezes could only conduct the people who had surrendered at Chale to
Cochin.
He then divided his fleet with Matthew de Albuquerque, and
cleared the seas of pirates.
When Norhonha accepted the viceroyalty of India, now so much lessened by
the division into three governments, his great aim was to acquire
riches, as he was poor, and had several children. With this view he
endeavoured to prevail on Antonio Moniz Barreto, the newly appointed
governor of Malacca, to be satisfied with a smaller force than had been
ordered for him on going to assume that government, alleging that India
was not then in a condition to give what was promised; but Moniz refused
to go unless supplied with the force agreed on, as the posture of
Malacca was then too dangerous to admit of being governed by a person
who considered his reputation, unless supported by a considerable force.
Moniz therefore wrote home to Portugal, complaining against the viceroy,
and malicious whispers are for the most part gratefully received by
princes and ministers: and the Portuguese ministry, on the sole
information of Moniz, committed the weakest act that ever was heard of,
as will appear in the sequel: Unhappy is that kingdom whose sovereign
is a child.
About this time Akbar Shah,[381] emperor of the Moguls had acquired the
sovereignty of Cambaya or Guzerat. Sultan Mahmud the heir of the late
king had been left under the tuition of three great men, Ali Khan,
Itimiti Khan, and Madrem-al-Mulk, each of whom envious of the others
endeavoured to acquire the entire direction of the young king. He,
considering himself in danger, fled from Madrem-al-Mulk to the
protection of Itimiti Khan, the worst of all his guardians, who
immediately offered to deliver up the king and kingdom to the great
Mogul, on condition of being appointed viceroy or Soubah in reward of
his treachery. Akbar accordingly marched to Amedabad, where the
traitor delivered up to him the young king, and the Mogul was seated on
the musnud or throne of Guzerat without drawing a sword. Not satisfied
with this great acquisition, Akbar resolved to recover the town and
districts of Basseen and Daman, which had formerly belonged to Cambaya,
and were now possessed by the Portuguese; and as this intention became
known to Luis de Almeyda who commanded at Daman, he sent notice to the
viceroy, who immediately sent him succours and prepared to follow there
in person, going accordingly from Goa about the end of December 1571,
with nine gallies, five gallions, eight galliots, and ninety smaller
vessels. On his arrival with this large armament in the river of Daman,
the Mogul, who was encamped at the distance of two leagues from that
place, was so much dismayed by the power and military reputation of the
Portuguese, that he sent an ambassador to the viceroy to treat of peace.
The viceroy received the Mogul ambassador in his gallery with great
state, and after listening to his proposals sent Antonio Cabral along
with him to Akbar, on which a peace was concluded to the satisfaction of
both parties. The viceroy then returned to Goa, and the great Mogul
settled the government of his new kingdom of Guzerat, cutting off the
head of the traitor Itimiti Khan, a just reward of his villany.
[Footnote 381: Named by DeFaria, Gelalde Mamet Hecbar Taxa; probably a
corruption of Gelal 'oddin Mahomet Akbar Shah. - E.]
The king of Acheen was one of the Indian princes who had entered into
the grand confederacy against the Portuguese, and had agreed to lay
siege to Malacca, but did not execute his part of the league till about
the middle of October 1571, when he appeared before Malacca with a fleet
of near 100 sail, in which he had 7000 soldiers with a large train of
artillery and a vast quantity of ammunition. Landing on the night of
his arrival, he set fire to the town of Iller, which was saved from
total destruction by a sudden and violent shower of rain. He next
endeavoured to burn the Portuguese ships in the harbour; but failing in
this and some minor enterprizes he sat down before the city, intending
to take it by a regular siege, having been disappointed in his
expectations of carrying it by a coup de main. At this time Malacca
was in a miserable condition, excessively poor, having very few men and
these unhealthy and dispirited, having suffered much by shipwreck,
sickness, and scarcity of provisions, not without deserving, these
calamities; for Malacca was then the Portuguese Nineveh in India, I
know not if it be so now. In this deplorable situation, incessantly
battered by the enemy, cut off from all supplies of provisions, Malacca
had no adequate means and, hardly any hopes of defence. In this
extremity Tristan Vaz accidentally entered the port with a single ship,
in which he had been to Sunda for a cargo of pepper. Being earnestly
intreated by the besieged to assist them, he agreed to do every thing in
his power, though it seemed a rash attempt to engage a fleet of 100 sail
with only ten vessels, nine of which were almost rotten and destitute of
rigging. Among these he distributed 300 naked and hungry wretches; and
though confident in his own valour, he trusted only in the mercy of God,
and caused all his men to prepare for battle by confession, of which he
set them the example.
He sailed from Malacca with this armament about the end of November
1571, and soon discovered the formidable fleet of the enemy in the river
Fermoso. Giving the command of his own ship to Emanuel Ferreyra,
Tristam Vaz de Vega went sword in hand into a galliot, to encourage his
men to behave valiantly by exposing himself to the brunt of battle along
with them.
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