At This Place Died Duarte Galvam, A Learned And
Ingenious Man, Who Had Been Employed In Several Embassies In Europe, And
Though Above Seventy Years Of Age Was Now Going Ambassador To Prester
John.
At the time of his death, he told his attendants that his son
George and all his men had
Been cast away in their vessel, and that the
inhabitants of the island of Dalac had cut off the heads of Lorenzo de
Cosme and others that had been sent to that place. All this was
afterwards found true, yet it was utterly impossible that the
intelligence could have reached Duarte at Kamaran before his death.
After suffering much distress from famine, of which several men died,
and losing seventeen Portuguese who were made prisoners by the Arabs,
and carried to Jiddah, Soarez set sail from Kamaran and appeared before
Zeyla in the kingdom of Adel, on the north-east coast of Africa, a
little way out from the mouth of the Red Sea. This place was called
Emporium Avalite by Ptolemy, who describes it as a great mart in
ancient times. On the present occasion Zeyla was taken with little
opposition, being unprepared for defence, and was reduced to ashes. From
Zeyla, Soarez went to Aden on the coast of Arabia, but soon found he had
been to blame for not taking possession when formerly offered it; as
Miramirzan had repaired the wall, and now procrastinated the surrender
of his city by various affected delays. Soarez fearing to lose the
season of the trade winds for returning to India, set sail for Barbora
on the same coast with Zeyla, which he meant likewise to destroy; but
the fleet was dispersed in a storm, and on its being afterwards
collected, it was found that more than eight hundred men had perished,
from famine, disease, and shipwreck, in this disastrous and
ill-conducted expedition.
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