On His Arrival At Cochin, The Factor Who Had Been Left There By Cabral
Came On Board With The Rest
Of his company, and acquainted him that the
rajah was greatly offended with Cabral for leaving the port without
seeing
Him, and for carrying away the hostages; yet had always kindly
entertained and the other members, of the factory, lodging them every
night in the palace for security, and always sending a guard of nayres
along with any of them who had occasion to go out during the day, on
purpose to defend them from the Moors who sought their destruction, and
who had one night set fire to the house in which they lodged before their
removal to the palace. He also informed Nueva that the Moors had
persuaded the native merchants to depreciate the price of the Portuguese
merchandize, and not to take these in exchange for pepper, so that unless
he had brought money for his purchases he would have little chance of
procuring a loading. On this intelligence, and considering that he had
not brought money, Nueva immediately returned from Cochin to Cananor,
expecting to procure his loading at that port, in consequence of the
friendly dispositions of the rajah towards the king of Portugal[6]. On
his return to Cananor, he found that money was as necessary there for his
purchases as at Cochin: But, when the rajah, was informed of his
difficulties from want of money, he became his security to the native
merchants for 1000 quintals or hundred weights of pepper, 450 quintals of
cinnamon, and fifty quintals of ginger, besides some bales of linen
cloth[7]. By this generous conduct of the rajah, Nueva procured a loading
for his ships, and left his European merchandize for sale at Cananor under
the management of a factor and two clerks.
On the 15th December, while waiting for a fair wind to begin his homeward
voyage, the rajah sent notice to Nueva that eighty _paraws_ were seen to
the northward, which were past mount _Dely_, and that these vessels were
from Calicut, sent expressly to attack the Portuguese ships; and the
rajah advised him to land his men and ordnance for greater security: But
the general was not of this mind, and sent word to the rajah that he
hoped, with the assistance of God, to be able to defend himself. Next day,
being the 16th of December, before dawn, about an hundred ships and
paraws full of Moors came into the bay, sent on purpose by the zamorin,
who was in hopes to have taken all our ships and men. As soon as Nueva
perceived this numerous armament, he hoisted anchor and removed his
squadron to the middle of the bay, where he ordered all his ships to pour
in their shot against the enemy without intermission. Doubtless, but for
this, the enemy would have boarded his ships, and they were so numerous
it would have been impossible for him to have escaped; but as the Moors
had no ordnance, they could do our people no harm from a distance, and
many of their ships and paraws were sunk, with the loss of a vast number
of men, while they did not dare to approach for the purpose of boarding,
and not a single person was killed or hurt on our side.
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