Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: April 30, 2025
He then delivered his letter of credit from the king of Portugal, written in Arabic, and then said, that the king his master, willing to cultivate trade and friendship with the zamorin and his subjects, had given him orders to require permission to establish a factory or house of trade in Calicut, which should always be supplied with every kind of merchandize that was in demand; and requested the zamorin to supply a sufficient loading of spices for the ships under his command, which he was ready to pay for, either by means of the commodities he had on board, or in ready money.
On the enemy retiring, Pacheco gave chase in the two boats and some paraws; and the caravels kept up a constant fire upon point Arraul, whence they forced the zamorin and the land army to retire, after having 330 of his men slain. After this great victory, the inhabitants of Cochin became quite reassured, and were no longer in dread of the power of the zamorin.
Soon afterwards a Moor from Calicut waited upon the admiral, having along with him a Portuguese boy, who brought a letter from some of our men who were captives at Calicut ever since the time of Cabral being there. This boy informed the admiral, that the zamorin was so humbled by the defeats he had sustained from Pacheco, that he had gone into religious seclusion.
The zamorin was so crest-fallen by the great and repeated losses he had sustained in this war from a mere handful of men, that he resolved to retire into religions seclusion, that he might conciliate the favour of his gods, and dismissed his allies and chiefs to act as they thought best.
So great was the consternation, that the zamorin fled from his palace, and one of his chief nayres was killed by a ball close beside him. Part even of the palace was destroyed by the cannonade.
The serame or gallery, was all hung round with rich carpets, called alcatifas; and at the farther end the zamorin sat in an alcove or recess resembling a small chapel, with a canopy of unshorn crimson velvet over his head, and having twenty silk cushions under him and about him. The zamorin was almost naked, having only a piece of white cotton round his waist, wrought with gold.
And, that the zamorin might not think these were only words of course, he called for an hour-glass, which he set down in presence of the Moorish messenger, saying that as soon as the sand had run out a certain number of times, he would infallibly put in execution all that he had threatened.
He now requested the Zamorin to conclude one of the same character between their two nations; and, this being done, he would ask permission to land and carry on a trade with his people. They were accepted out of courtesy, but the Captain-Major sent word that he could neither buy nor sell anything until the treaty was concluded.
On receiving notice of the landing of Barbosa, the rajah sent the register of the city to meet him, accompanied by many of the nayres, or principal men of the court, who brought him to visit the rajah, who was much inferior in dress and appearance of state to the zamorin, even the hall of audience having only bare walls, seated around like a theatre, in which the rajah sat with very few attendants.
When this affair was concluded, Cabral, continuing the exploration of the Malabar coast, arrived at Cochin, where the Rajah, a vassal of the Zamorin, hastened to conclude an alliance with the Portuguese, eagerly seizing this opportunity to declare himself independent.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking