ABSTRACT
The fleet having set sail, the chief captain proceeded along the coast towards the City of Braboa; and as soon as they had all anchored on their arrival, seeing a great disturbance on the beach, he sent Lionel Coutinho in his skiff to shore, to find out with certainty what the Moors were about, but before the skiff reached shore, those who stood on the edge of the beach made signs to him not to come into the land. When Lionel Coutinho saw that the Moors were unwilling to parley with him, he returned to the ships, and informed the chief captain of the disposition in which he had found them. And he, being annoyed, because the king had refused to receive his message, ordered all the captains to be summoned, and gave them an account of Lionel Coutinho’s proceeding with the Moors, and told them there were many men among them, and these very well armed; but for all this he was determined to attack the place, and risk all to destroy it, so they should make ready, and on the following day before daybreak come on board his ship that all might go together to attack the place. The Moors, who were stationed on the beach, seeing the commotion that was going on in the fleet, and the collection of boats around the flag-ship, (which appeared to them as it were of people determined to attack them), in order that they should not be taken by surprise, commenced to make themselves ready, and collected many men to prevent the disembarking of our men. They relied, too, on the sea, which broke upon the shore, (as it was a boisterous coast) and would overset them when landing and drown them all. The king being thus minded, there went to him by night two old Moors who had gone thither to live, having fled from Calicut disgusted with 38the war which the Çamorim kept waging with the Portuguese, and said to him: “Sire, thou art not well advised in desiring war with the Franks, over whom the Çamorim of Calicut, all powerful as he is, could never get the better in the war which he had with them, and thou oughtest to believe that there is no single king of all this coast so powerful as to be able to prevent them from landing in his territory whenever they desire, and leaving it full of blood, burning and destroying it as they did Angoja; and since this is so, we beg thou wilt deign to hear them, and make a reasonable truce with the chief captain of this fleet, and not hazard the loss of thy estate, and the destruction of all of us. But should their demands be so unreasonable that thy honour cannot grant them, then the business can be continually put off with fair words, for this is the season when the vara of Coromandel sets this way, as thou knowest, and “if it should come when they are anchored there, all their fleet will be destroyed, and not one ship be saved, and by these means we shall all be revenged upon them, without thy estate being hazarded.” The king was inclined to follow the Moors’ advice, and thanked them deeply for their remembrance of him, and sent at once to convene the principal natives, who had recommended him to fight, and informed them of what the two Moors had said. And when they had thoroughly discussed the matter between themselves, it was agreed that they ought to follow the advice the Moors had given them. Therefore, before it was yet morning, the king sent a Moor in a boat with a white flag, to request the chief captain to come under a safe-conduct and arrange matters peaceably, and he went immediately on receipt of this message, and returned forthwith with the safe-conduct. And as soon as he had arrived, the king ordered one of the principal governors of the land to speak with the chief captain, and this (governor) told him that the king was very angry at the scanty welcome the Moors had given to his captain, whom he had 39sent thither, but as the offenders were many in number, he could not single out the guilty ones to have them punished, but he desired to have peace and friendship with the King of Portugal, and desired he would send word of what he wished, for all should be done. Tristão da Cunha replied that he was chief captain of the King of Portugal, who had sent him with the orders to make stern war against and destroy all the kings and lords who, unwilling to be friends and tributaries, were established along that coast which was of his conquering. And because the king of Angoja had not cared to be obedient to this, he had destroyed him; and so also he was determined to do with the king of Braboa, unless he was willing to obey the King of Portugal and pay him tribute; but if he was willing to be his vassal, he would serve him with that fleet against his enemies, just as he had done for the King of Melinde by reason of the great friendship which he also showed towards the King of Portugal, and by reason of the favour and honour shown to his captains who went to his port. The Moor returned to land with this reply, and related to the king, before all the principal men of the place who were with him, all that had taken place with the chief captain. And after long discussion which took place respecting this reply at which they were not pleased, the king sent again the same Moor to the chief captain to say, that to send to him for tribute was not desiring friendship with him, but seeking reasons for quarrelling if he did not grant what was demanded of him, for he had never been a tributary of any king, but rather on the contrary all those of that coast endeavoured to have him as their friend; yet, as this demand was something new, and could not be answered without consulting the chief men of the land, he begged him of his favour to wait for three or four days while he assembled all the merchants and arranged with them what could be done. The chief captain replied that he had other affairs to attend 40to, which the King of Portugal had ordered to be done, and therefore he could not wait so many days; so, if he desired to come to terms with him, he must send back an answer at once, and, if not, he should do what he had orders to do. The Moor returned with an answer, begging him greatly of his mercy to grant that extension of time which the king of Braboa, his lord, had sent him to ask; for it would not be fair, since all that population would have to pay the tribute, when once it had been agreed upon, that it should be done without the knowledge and consent of all. The chief captain, to be final with him, gave him another day, saying that if no reply came before night he should consider it as refused. The Moor went on shore and conveyed this message to the king, and on the following day, when the sun was already set, returned with a reply, and said that the king was willing to pay tribute, but could not determine how much it should be without first consulting the principal Moors of the land, and all the merchants, so he had ordered them to be summoned, and would send back word at once when they had arrived. The chief captain, seeing that the Moor who was employed on these messages went and came from side to side without bringing anything to an end, and that there was nothing but delay and lying on the part of the king, ordered him, when he had come with the last message, to be tied to a stake, showing that he was willing to make a treaty, and was determined to know the real reason why the king was unwilling to make an end of the business, for to reply yes or no there was need of but little time; and he warned him that he had better tell the truth, for if he lied, he would throw him into the sea with a cannon ball round his neck. The Moor, out of fear that he would carry his threat into effect, said: “Sir, thou art in front of this city where at this season of the year a wind arises which is called the vara de Coromandel, which comes from those parts so suddenly and so fiercely that if it were to come now, not a single vessel of your fleet could escape from certain destruction. 1 And it is from this hope, which we all support, that it will come every day, that the king carries on these delays with you.” The chief captain, in fear of this event, ordered the Moor to be well treated, and made ready to attack the city on the morrow before daybreak.
