The Portugues Asia, or, The history of the discovery and conquest of India by the Portugues containing all their discoveries from the coast of Africk, to the farthest parts of China and Japan, all their battels by sea and land, sieges and other memorable actions, a description of those countries, and many particulars of the religion, government and customs of the natives, &c. : in three tomes / written in Spanish by Manuel de Faria y Sousa ... ; translated into English by Cap. John Stevens.

CHAP. VII.

The Government of D. Duarte de Mene∣ses, in the Year 1522, when began the Reign of King John III.

1. D. Duarte de Meneses,. now Governor of India, tho sent the year before by King Emanuel, entered not upon the Government till the twenty second of Ia∣nuary of this year, King Iohn III. being on the Throne, whose Father died the thir∣teenth of December foregoing. He brought with him twelve Ships. Having taken the Government, and sent the Commanders to their Posts, he began to feel the effects of his Predecessors, putting Portugues Officers into the Custom-House of Ormuz. He received advice the Moors had taken Arms, killed some Men, and besieged the Fort. D. Luis his Brother was immediately sent with relief, and Simon de Andre made Com∣mander of Chaul, who began his Charge with taking two Turkish Gallies, and a Vi∣ctory in Dabul, which reduced that City to pay Tribute. Melique Az. terrified with this Success, and the arrival of D. Luis, of whose Actions in Africk he was informed, withdrew his Vessels from before Chaul.

2. The Cause of D. Luis his going to Or∣muz was the Insurrection which was occa∣sioned by the avarice of the Portugues Of∣ficers there. Iames Lopez had placed them there against his Will in Obedience to the King's Commands, and at the persuasion of Men who loved Novelties, and said the reason the Tribute of Ormuz was not well paid, was, that the Officers cheated the King, to prevent which it was convenient to place Portugueses in their stead, To the avarice u∣sed by the Portugueses was added, the Vio∣lence they offered to the persons and honor of those people, forcing their Daughters, and Wives from them. D. Garcia Coutino then commanded that Fort, with whom that King conferred about sending a Present and Embassy to our King to obviate the In∣conveniences that Innovation produced. This Means was prevented, and so it broke out to the great loss of the Portugueses. For sudddenly by night they were attacked by Sea and Land with Fire and Sword at Or∣muz, Baharem, Mascate, Curiate and Soar, by private Order from the King, and a∣bove one hundred and twenty of them killed Ruy Boto was put to great Torments by the Moors in defence of the Faith. At morning some of our Men died, endea∣vouring to relieve others. All things being disposed the best the time would permit, and the Ships secured under the shelter of the Fort, D. Garcia sent advice to the Governor. Mean while he was besieged, had two Vessels burnt, and feared Hunger and

Thirst. Tristan Vaz de Vega, and Manuel de Sousa received advice hereof at Mascate, and prepared to carry Relief. Tristan Vaz arrived first, and made his way to the Fort through one hundred and sixty Sail that lay before it. Two days after appeared Manuel de Sousa's Ship at an anchor two Leagues off. It was dangerous for the Fort to relieve him, and dangerous for all if he was not relieved. Tristan Vaz with his Ship ventured to his Aid through the hundred and sixty Sail of Enemies; eighty of them pursued him, making way with full Sails, and Manuel de Sousa thinking him an Ene∣my did some harm, till undeceived. he was taken into the Ship. The King of Ormuz in a rage lays a heap of Gold on one side, and a heap of Womens Attire on the o∣ther, the one for such as should take Tri∣stan and Emanuel Prisoners, the other •…•…or such as behaved themselves not couragi∣ously. Some being covetous of the Re∣ward, and others fearful of the Disgrace, they manned one hundred and thirty Ves∣sels, and set upon that one, which through Showers of Bullets and Arrows made its way to the Fort, and brought new Life to the besieged with the Relief it had on Board.

3. The King of Ormuz began to despair of shaking off the Portugues Yoke, and fearing the punishment of his Revolt, exe∣cuted one more grievous upon himself than he could have received from those he had offended. He resolved to quit the City, and

go over to the Island Queixome, which lies fifteen Leagues in length, close to the Per∣•…•… Shoar, and three Leagues from Ormuz, is fruitful, but not healthy. Privately he commanded all the Inhabitants to follow him, and then barbarously set fire to that beautiful City, which was four Days and Nights burning. And yet some Gentlemen from our Fort held intelligence with the King, advising how he should behave him∣self with the next Governour to be restored, and this they did in hopes to be inriched by him. Our Men, tho astonished at this bru∣tal Action were delivered from the danger of the Siege, and going out to see if any thing were left in the City, only found Wa∣ter in Cisterns, and Fire in all the Houses. Soon after came in a Ship from India with Provisions, and another with Ammunition.

4. D. Luis de Meneses sent by the Gover∣vernor his Brother to Ormuz, did nothing of Note by the way, but arrived at the Town of Soar with ten Sail. This Town they destroyed with Fire and Sword, and then gave it to Xec•…•… Hozem to hold of the King of Portugal. Mean while his own Favou∣rites murdered the King of Ormuz at Queixome, and crowned Mamud Xa, a Youth of thirteen years of Age, Son to the late King.

5. D. Luis arrived at Queixome, and after several Designs that took no effect, came to a•…•… Treaty with the new King. It was agreed, that the King should return to Ormuz, that he should pay the former Tri∣bute

of twenty thousand Xeraphins, and the Arrears due, that the Portugues Com∣manders should not meddle with the Go∣vernment of his City, and to conclude all that King sent D. Luis a Present of Pearls, Gold, Jewels and Silks for our King, and another for himself, which he accepted not but to be sent with the other, as was pub∣lickly done. Then D. Luis dispatched three Ships for Goa, which were to take lading there for Portugal. One of them perished in a violent storm on the Coast of Mascate. D. Luis followed soon after, and came to Goa.

6. He found the Governor his Brother, and all the City, in Tears, for the Death of King Emanuel, the News whereof was brought by one of three Ships that came from Portugal this year, whereof two had wintered at Mozambique. The Gover•…•…or went over to Cochin, to dispatch the trading Ships for Portugal and other parts. At this time D. Pedro de Castro was not idle at Mo∣zambique; for being informed by Iohn de Mata, who commanded that Fort, that the Island Querimba, and the adjacent, denied the Tribute to those of Zanzibar and Pemba, whereby they were disabled from paying theirs to us, he went to Querimba with an hundred Men, and after a sha•…•…p Fight burnt the City, and obliged the Lord of it to pay the Tribute, the others terrified by this Example submitted. At his return he wasi n great danger by Storms and Hunger, and his Cousin D. Christopher killed by the Blacks

who defended the Fruit of certain Trees, which our Men were carried to taste by Hunger, not Curiosity. D. Diego de Melo went now with him to Goa. D. Pedro's Ship being at an Anchor in that Port, sud∣denly sunk down right, being very old, whereby it appears there is no Security in things that are aged.

7. D. Duarte set out for Ormuz with •…•…ix Sail, two of them Gallies, which on the Coast of Diu took a rich Ship coming from Pegu. Which lying between them in the night, the Moors perceived her sinking, and the Men in our Gallies asleep, so they furiously rushed into one of them, and our Men fled to the other, who seeing the Moors flie with their Vessel, and the other sink, took no notice, so that more Credit was lost by this Action than had been gain∣ed before. Melique Saca, Lord of Diu, af∣terwards had this Galley laid up, as if taken by his Vessels. About this time Iohn Rodri∣guez de Noronha, who commanded at Ormuz, pressed that King to come thither from Queixome to live, as he had agreed with D. Luis de Meneses, it was effected with the Death of one of his Favourites, killed by a bold Moor, whom D. Luis had hired before his Departure.

8. Don Duarte being arrived at Ormuz, examined who were the deepest in the late Rebellion; and it appeared they were found most guilty who had the least Power. For Raez Xarafo a mighty Man, and the very Soul of those Troubles was rewarded; and

Raez Xamexir who (according to agree∣ment with D. Luis) had killed Raez X•…•…∣dim, another Tyrant over those Kings, was banished instead of receiving the promised Reward. The young King not protected by the Innocence of his Years, had the Tri∣bute laid on him of thirty five thousand Xeraphins besides the former twenty five thousand, which he could not pay when the City flourished, and must now pay so much more when it was ruined Whilst this was acted at Ormuz, D. Luis sailed to∣wards the Red Sea, whither his Brother sent him with nine Ships, one whereof perished at Zocotora. On the Coast of Arabia he took and plundered the Town of Xaer, be∣cause they refused to restore the Goods of a Portugues who died there. At Verruma he burnt some Ships, then battered the City Aden, he entred the Red Sea, but did no∣thing considerable, and so returned to Or∣muz, where he found his Brother the Go∣vernor, with whose Proceedings there he was so much dissatisfied, that he left him, and sailed for Diu, but being forced back by the Weather to Ormuz, kept him company to India. There they found two Ships of nine that came out this year from Lisbon.

9. That part of the Continent about Goa, which belonged to Hidalcan, and was taken from him by Ruy de Melo, whilst he was busied with the War of Narsinga, was now lost by Francis Pereyra Pestana, Hidal∣can having no other Care but the Recovery thereof. Pestana was brave, and opposed

the Enemies Power. Ferdinando Rodriguez Barba obtained a signal Victory over them. Five thousand Foot and four hundred Horse of them were after defeated by Ferdinando and An•…•…z Sotomayor, with few Foot and only thirty Horse. Nevertheless by de∣grees the Country return'd to the Obedience of Hidalcan, and was confirmed to him by the late Treaty of Peace.

10. D. Duarte de Meneses began to in∣quire into such things as related to S Tho∣mas the Apostle, a particular Care of our Kings. This was what could now and some time after be discovered. In the year 1517, certain Portugueses sailed with an Ar∣menian, and landing at Paleacate of the Province of Coromandel in the Kingdom of Bisnagar, he invited them to go visit the place where were the Ruins of many Build∣dings, the Stones of several Colours, still retaining the Footsteps of Grandeur and Art. In the middle was a Chappel entire, of indifferent Structure, on the inside and outside whereof were carved many Crosses, like to the antient ones of the military Or∣der of Alcantara, which is Fleury Fitched. A Moor resided there, who coming thither blind, miraculously recovered his sight. He said, That his Forefathers lighted that holy Body: that there was a Tradition that Church (whereof only this part was stand∣ing) was built by the same Saint when he preached the Christian Faith there, and that there were buried with him two of his Disciples, and a King converted by his

Miracles. Upon this Information D. Du∣arte sent thither Emanuel de Faria or Frias, and a Priest and Mason to repair the Chap∣pel, opening the Foundation of one side that was like to fall about the depth of an Ell they found a Stone-Tomb with an In∣scription, containing, That when Thomas built that Church, the King of Miliapor gave him the Duties of all Merchandize imported, which was the Tenths. Going deeper they found a Hollow in which it was reported the Saint lay. Here they found between two Stones a Body and the two ends of a Lance, the But and Spear. These were believed to be the Bones of the Apostle, because those of the King and Disciple also found were not so white. They were put into a China Chest, and the others into another, and hid in the Altar. Inquiry being made, it appeared by the an∣cient Records of the Kingdom, that it was above fifteen hundred years since the Saint came to that City called Meliapor, then in a flourishing Condition, in and about which there was a Tradition there had been three thousand three hundred stately Churches, that it was then twelve Leagues from the Sea, the Ruins being now upon the very Shore. That the Saint had said, When the Sea should reach thither, a People would come from the West, and preach the same Faith he did. That he converted the King and all his Family, dragging out of the Sea a vast piece of Timber, which all the Force of Elephants, and Art of Men could not

move, the King coveting it for his Build∣ings, and the Apostle for the Church. That a Bramen chief Priest to the King, envious of his Miracles, had killed his own Son, and accused the Saint of the Murder, but he restoring the Child to life caused him to say who was the Murderer. An Armenian Bishop who had spent twenty years in vi∣siting the Christians of the inland of Cou∣lam, swore he found what follows in their Writings, That the twelve Apostles being dispersed through the World, Thomas, Bar∣tholomew, and Iudas Thaddeus came toge∣ther to Babilon, and there parted. That the last preached in Arabia, since possessed by the Moors, the other in Persia, and was buried in a Convent of Armenian, religious Men near the City Tabris; and the first em∣barquing at Baçora, on the Banks of Eu∣phrates, crossed the Persian Gulph, preached at Zocotora, came to Meliapor, passed to China, where he built Churches, and re∣turned to Meliapor, where having done what is said, he at last suffered Martyrdom through the malice of the Bramens, who, to execute their Design, counterfeited a quar∣rel whilst he was preaching, to find an op∣portunity of stoning him, and was at last by one of them run through with a Lance, and buryed by his Disciples in that Church of his own Building. Another Learned Man, a Native of Coulam affirmed, That there and at Cranganor were two Houses built by the Disciples of Thomas, who were buried in them, and that in that of Coulam

was the burying place of Sibila, Indica, by whose advice King Perimal of Ceylon went to the Coast of Mascate, to meet the other two Kings that were going to adore Christ, newly born at Bethlehem. That the same King at the Intreaty of the Sibil, brought her the Picture of the Blessed Virgin which was kept in the same Tomb. This was the Invention of the Relicts of that Hea∣venly Messenger in India. And gave occa∣sion to build the City, at this time called S. Thomas, a Portugues Colony in the Port of Paleacate, seven Leagues from the Ruins of the most ancient Meliapor.

Notes

• 1522.