Thus Scarce Any Thing Was Left Of Liampo
But The Name; And Thus What The Portuguese Gained By Their Valour Was
Lost By Their Covetousness.
Liampo had above three thousand catholic
inhabitants, almost the half of whom were Portuguese.
Those who survived
this cruel execution, obtained leave in 1547, by great presents, to
settle in the province of Chincheo, in a village which began to
flourish in consequence of a rich trade, but it came to the same end
with the other.
SECTION III.
Transactions during the Government of Martin Alfonso de Sousa, from
1542 to 1543.
In the year 1542, but whether under the government of De Gama or De
Sousa is uncertain, Antonio de Mota, Francisco Zeymoto, and Antonio
Peixoto, while on a voyage to China, were driven by a storm among the
islands of Nipongi or Nijon, called Gipon by the Chinese, and
known in Europe by the name of Japan. They were well received in one
of these islands, of which they had the honour to be the first
discoverers, though accidentally. These islands of Japan are far to the
eastward of all India, being even beyond China, and lie between the
latitudes of 30 deg. and 40 deg. N[360]. These islands are numerous, the
principal and largest island being that peculiarly called Niphon,
Nifon, Nipongi, or Japan, which gives name to the group, and in
which is the city of Meaco the imperial residence. According to the
natives this principal island is 366 leagues in length, but by our
computation only 266[361]. The chief islands around the large one, are
Cikoko, Toksosi, Sando, Sisime Bacasa, Vuoki, Taquixima, or
Takishima, and Firando[362]. Fernan Mendez Pinto in his travels
assumes the merit of this discovery to himself; pretending that he came
to the island of Tanixima, by which I suppose he meant Taquixima,
not by stress of weather, but by design, in the service of a pirate who
had relieved him and his companions when cast away, naming Christopher
Borallo and Diego Zeymoto as those who accompanied him. In both
relations three names are mentioned as the discoverers of Japan, one
only, Zeymoto, being the same in both, and both agree in the date of
the discovery being in 1542. According to Pinto, the prince of the
island of Tanixima was named Nautaquim who stood amazed on seeing
the three Portuguese strangers, and uttered the following mysterious
words: "These are certainly the Chinchicogies, spoken of in our
records; who, flying over the waters, shall come to be lords of the
lands where God has placed the greatest riches of the world. It will be
fortunate for us if they come as friends!"
[Footnote 360: More rigidly from lat. 31 deg. 28' to 40 deg. 80' N. and between
the longitudes of 127 deg. 47' and 142 deg. 33' E. from Greenwich. - E.]
[Footnote 361: Meaning probably a different denomination of measure. The
island of Niphon measures 824 English miles in extreme length, from S.W.
to N.E. in a somewhat bent line.
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