ABSTRACT
At this time, when the great Afonso Dalboquerque was taking in his cargo, as abovesaid, the ships from Calicut arrived in sight of ours, and they were in all thirty-nine sail, 12twenty-eight from Calicut, and the rest from Cochim and Cananor. And as Afonso Dalboquerque was desirous of distressing the Çamorim as much as possible, to be avenged on him, he made up his mind to go and attack them, somewhat against the opinion of Antonio de Sá and the people in the fleet, and, not to lose any time, he slipped his cables, and set sail. When the Moors saw our ships putting off and coming to challenge them, they sent a paráo, to beg for peace. In the meanwhile, however, they chained their ships in groups of five each, and determined to fight us. And because the wind dropped, and Afonso de Alboquerque feared that the ships would avail themselves at night of the land breeze to stand out to sea, and get away without his wreaking his vengeance upon them, he sent Antão Garcia in his ship, which was small and a quick sailer, to take up a similar position. The Moors were made timid by this arrangement, and held another council, and all of them at night stood in to the port of Coulão, because our ships were a little on one side of it, at the mouth of a river. When Afonso Dalboquerque saw that the ships desired to make for the land, he sent word to the Nambeadarim and to the governors of the land, that those ships were from the Çamorim, chief enemy of the King of Portugal, his lord, and begged they would of their favour order them to be given up to him; for if this were not done, he determined to enter the port and burn them all, and go away without taking in any cargo there, or making any treaty of peace with them. The governors replied that they had written to the king, giving him an account of the affair, and the reply would not be delayed many days: and they begged him graciously, since the ships were sheltered in the port, whence they could not depart without permission, to await the king’s message. Afonso Dalboquerque told them he was willing to do as they desired, provided they gave orders that the ship’s sails should bo taken away, to prevent their escaping at night.
