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Updated: July 29, 2025
Upon this the King became very thoughtful, and talked of this frequently with his people, who very much contradicted what the diviners said, and they told him not to believe them, for in this they never hit upon the truth, because at the time that our ships arrived more than four hundred years had elapsed since in one year more than eight hundred sail of large and small ships had come to India from the ports of Malacca and China and the Lequeos, with people of many nations, and all laden with merchandise of great value, which they brought for sale; and they had come to Calicut, and had run along the coast and had gone to Cambay; and they were so numerous that they had filled the country, and had settled as dwellers in all the towns of the sea-coast, where they were received and welcomed like merchants, which they were.
To this port of Melcha the course is by the famous emporium of Calicut, from which Melcha is farther to the east and south .
Five years later a Portuguese sea-adventurer, Vasco da Gama, turned the prow of his caravel south from the mouth of the Tagus, skirted the coast of Africa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, crossed the Indian Ocean, and dropped his anchor in the harbor of Calicut the first European to reach the beckoning East by sea.
The general commanded this ship to be delivered to the zamorin, together with the seven elephants that were on board, which were worth in Calicut 30,000 crowns. He also sent a message to the zamorin, saying that he need not be astonished at this action as he would perform much greater actions to serve his highness.
The stay of the fleet in this port was the occasion of fêtes and rejoicings without number, and soon, revictualled, repaired, and furnished with excellent pilots, the Portuguese vessels sailed for Calicut, where they arrived on the 13th of December, 1500.
The reason assigned for having brought so small a quantity of spice is, that they agreed among themselves, after sailing from hence, that two of the ships should steer for the gold mine, and the other two for Calicut. On this account, each took only such goods as it was thought would be valued in the ports to which they were bound.
He therefore commanded that a fleet of ten ships and two caravels should be got ready against next year, to be well laden with all the commodities which De gama had reported to have current sale in Calicut.
This accords well with the writings of the other Portuguese, who relate that at least on two occasions, when missions were sent from Calicut and Goa, viz., those of Fr. Luis and Chanoca, the envoys saw the king in person at Vijayanagar.
In July 1497, Gama sailed, reached Calicut May 2, 1498, and returned to Portugal, covered with well-earned renown, after a voyage of upwards of two years. A letter from the Bombay government, 29th April 1841, gave him this distinguished credential:
This country does not abound in provisions, but produces large store of pepper, even Calicut being mostly supplied from hence: But as Calicut is greatly more resorted to by merchants, it is therefore much richer than Cochin.
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