The History
Conteineth The Discouerie And Conquest Of The East Indias, Made By
Sundry Worthy Captaines Of The Portengales, In
The time of King Don
Manuel, & of the King Don John, the second of that name, with the
description, not
Onely of the country, but also of every harbour
apperteining to every place whervnto they came, & of the great
resistance they found in the same, by reson wherof there was sundry
great battles many times fought, and likewise of the commodities &
riches that euery of these places doth yeeld. And for that I know your
worship, with great peril and daunger haue past these monstrous and
bottomlesse sees, am therfore the more encouraged to desire & pray
your worships patronage & defence therof, requesting you with all to
pardon those imperfections, which I acknowledge to be very many, & so
much the more, by reason of my long & many years continuance in
foreine countries. Howbeit, I hope to have truly observed the literal
sence & full effect of the history, as the author setteth it forth,
which if it may please you to peruse & accept in good part, I shall be
greatly emboldened to proceede & publish also the second & third booke,
which I am assured will neither be vnpleasant nor vnprofitable to the
readers. Thus alwaies wishing your good worship such prosperous
continuance and like fortunate successe as GOD hath hitherto sent you
in your dangerous trauaile & affayres, and as maye euery waye content
your owne heartes desire, doe euen so take my leaue. From London the
fifth of March. 1582.
Your worships alwayes to commaund,
_Nicholas Lichefild._
[1] Bibl. des Voyages, V. 2.
* * * * *
DEDICATION BY CASTANEDA.
_To
The most high and mighty Prince,
John III.
King of Portugal and Algarve,
&c._
It hath seemed to me, most high and mighty prince, our dread king and
sovereign, so important and weighty a matter to undertake a history of
the great and valiant actions which our Portuguese have performed in
the discovery and conquest of India, that I often thought to
relinquish the attempt. But as these noble deeds were principally
undertaken and performed for the glory of Almighty God, the conversion
of the barbarous nations to the Christian faith, and the great honour
of your highness; and as, by the power and mercy of the Omnipotent,
such fortunate success has been granted to these famous enterprises, I
have been encouraged to proceed. I therefore trust entirely to the aid
and comfort of the divine goodness in publishing this work, giving the
glory thereof to God alone, and its earthly praise to your excellent
highness, and the king Don Manuel your father, of famous and happy
memory.
Although these glorious deeds are well known and spread abroad over
the world, they yet cannot be sufficiently made manifest unless set
forth in writing, by means of which their memory may endure for ever,
and remain always as if present to the readers; as history hath
perpetuated the actions of the Greeks and Romans which are of such
high antiquity. Of other transactions, nothing inferior to theirs,
perhaps even far greater, which have been performed by other nations,
there is little or no memory, because these do not remain recorded by
history: Such are those of the Assyrians, Medes and Persians; of the
Africans against the Romans; of the Suevi against Julius Caesar; of
the Spaniards in recovering their country from the Moors; and
principally of these invincible and pious kings of Portugal, your
glorious ancestors, Don Alonso Henriques, Don Sancho his son, and Don
Alonso, who acquired the kingdoms of Portugal and Algarve by great and
wonderful deeds of arms. Of all which, there hardly remaineth any
memory, for want of having been duly recorded by writing. So likewise
of those actions which have been performed in India, only as it were
of yesterday, the exact memory of them is confined to four persons;
and if they were to die, all remembrance of these transactions must
have ended to their great dishonour. Considering these things, I
resolved to record these noble deeds which the subjects of your
highness have performed in the discovery and conquest of India, which
have never been surpassed in valour, or even equalled, in any age or
country. Leaving all mention of the conquests of Cyrus and other
barbarians, and even taking into the account the deeds of Alexander,
so famous over all the world, which are as nothing compared to what
has been performed since India became frequented by the Portuguese, no
more than a dead lion can be likened to one alive. The conquests of
Alexander were all by land, and achieved by himself in person, against
nations who were little trained or accustomed to feats of arms. But
the Portuguese conquest of India was performed by the captains of your
highness, after a voyage by sea of a year and eight months, going
almost around the globe, from the utmost limits of the west through
the vast and bottomless ocean, seeing only the heaven and the water; a
thing never before attempted by man, and hardly even imagined. After
surmounting hunger and thirst, and daily exposure to furious storms,
and a thousand dangers in the voyage; they had to encounter great and
cruel battles on their arrival in India; not against men armed only
with bows and spears, as in the time of Alexander, but with people of
stout and tried courage and experienced in war, having ordinance and
fire-workers more numerous even than the Portuguese, besides many
other excellent weapons. The power of these men, against whom the
subjects of your highness had to contend, was infinitely greater than
that of King Porus, against whom Alexander had to encounter; yet the
Portuguese, though few in number, uniformly had the victory, and never
retired from the war as was done by Alexander.
Leaving the actions of the Greeks, and considering what was performed
by the Romans with their innumerable armies and vast fleets, which
seemed to cover the face of the sea, and by means of which they
thought to have conquered the whole earth.
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