ABSTRACT
In the kingdom of Pegu, and in the city and fortress of Siriam, which is the seat of Philippe de Brito, the General of that kingdom, there were residing two Fathers of our Company; but, by the will of God, one of them, namely the Father Natal Salerno, lost his life in a desperate naval engagement between the infidels and the Portuguese. And because this was one of the most memorable encounters which have taken place in India between the Portuguese and these Gentios, and because it was entered upon for the sake of the Faith, and brought so great glory to God, it seems fitting, for the consolation of the faithful, and to give them cause to praise our Lord, that some account of it should here be set down. For it is not out of place in an ecclesiastical history to refer, when it seems appropriate to the matters of which we are treating, to the wars which the Christians waged in the defence, or for the propagation of the Christian religion.
