VDUARTE PACHECO PEREIRA

VDUARTE PACHECO PEREIRA

(1465?-1533?)

O gram Pacheco, Achilles lusitano.Luis de Camões,Os Lusiadas.Diversas et incredibiles victorias obtinens.Damião de Goes,Hispania.

One of the captains who sailed from Lisbon with the cousins Albuquerque in 1503 was Duarte Pacheco Pereira. Like the great Affonso de Albuquerque with whom he sailed, he was still unknown to fame. He may have been between thirty-five and forty years of age, but his subsequent glory has thrown no light for us on his earlier years; and beyond the fact that he was born at Lisbon, that he was a knight of the King’s household, and that under João II he was employed in the discoveryof the west coast of Africa, we have to be content with silence.

Five years had passed since the Portuguese had first reached India, and instead of peaceful trade there was war between the King of Calicut and the Portuguese, and hostilities between Cochin and Calicut by reason of the King of Cochin’s friendship with the new-comers. The King of Cochin, indeed, had been uniformly loyal to the Portuguese and had shown conspicuous firmness of purpose, and to Cochin the Albuquerques directed their course.

It was in an expedition against one of the King of Cochin’s enemies, the Lord of Repelim (Eddapalli), that Pacheco first signalised himself for dashing bravery and learnt what daring and energy could do against a numerous but ill-equipped and undisciplined enemy. As he returned in four boats at ten o’clock one night from a long day’s victorious expedition against six or seven thousand natives he found his progress blocked by thirty-four ships chained to one another. After encouraginghis men by a stirring speech he locked his own boats together and forced his way through, and then immediately went about so as to be able to stop the enemy’s pursuit with his artillery. A fierce combat ensued, but Pacheco had completed his victory before the Albuquerques could come to his assistance.

The King of Cochin was so greatly impressed by this exploit that he henceforth held Pacheco in the highest esteem. He little knew at the time how intimately their fortunes were to be linked. Before Affonso and Francisco de Albuquerque left for home it was known that the King (the Samuri) of Calicut was about to attack Cochin with his entire forces by land and sea. None of the Portuguese captains evinced any alacrity to be left behind in its defence, and when Pacheco accepted with a good will, but “rather to serve God and the King than for any hope of profit,” those who knew how great was the might of Calicut said: “God have mercy on Duarte Pacheco and those who remainwith him,” scarcely expecting to set eyes on him again. As it proved it was Francisco de Albuquerque who perished, on his way home, while Pacheco died many years later, in peace and on dry land.

Whatever Pacheco’s thoughts may have been at the prospect before him, he knew that to instil confidence into his men was half the battle; he said little, but showed by his demeanour that he was perfectly satisfied, and asked for not a single man beyond those whom the Albuquerques had found possible to leave him. Thus he remained alone in India, still an unknown country to the Portuguese, with his own ship and three even smaller vessels, and, in all, ninety men.

It was little wonder that even the faithful and resolute King of Cochin began to despair when it was known that the host, or horde, from Calicut consisted of 60,000 men. He himself could provide about half that number, but of these three-quarters were actively or passively hostile. The Moors, moreover, who supplied Cochinwith provisions were minded to abandon the city, and would have done so had not Pacheco intervened.

He at first determined to hang the ring-leader in this treachery, but the King declared that, should he do so, the rest would rise in mutiny, and he accordingly assembled the “honest merchants,” and addressed them in a speech of such vigour that for the moment he had no further trouble from the Moors. Purple with rage and speaking so loud that he seemed to be actually fighting, he offered them his friendship, but should they thwart him he promised to be a crueller enemy to them than any King of Calicut. Their respect for Pacheco was further increased by his astonishing energy, for, after working all day at preparations against the coming invasion, he spent the nights in forays into the Repelim country.

Pacheco’s task was to defend the city of Cochin, and the Portuguese fort recently built by the Albuquerques. The territory of Cochin was separated from that ofRepelim by salt-water channels, and the preparations of the Portuguese were directed to the defence of the principal ford, which was only passable at low tide, with deeper water at each end. With this object stakes were made ready to be driven in all along the ford in a serried stockade. By the time the King of Calicut reached Repelim, Pacheco had put a salutary fear into the hearts of the citizens of Cochin, so that when the news of his arrival came their first impulse to abandon the city was immediately checked.

The better to inspire them with his own fearlessness, he made his usual night expedition into Repelim and set fire to one of the villages. He experienced some difficulty in returning, and five of his men were wounded, but when the King of Cochin expostulated against this foolhardiness he merely laughed and said that all he wished for was that the King of Calicut should advance to attack him.

The first attack at the ford occurred on the last day of March 1504 (Palm Sunday),and the period that followed may well claim to be one of the most brilliant Hundred Days in history. The enemy on this Palm Sunday, relying on their overwhelming numbers, crowded down to the ford at low tide, but the sharp stockade confronted them and the artillery from the boats stationed in the deep water on both sides of the stockade cut them down. Their own “cannon” were not very formidable, for we are told that they did not propel their projectiles with greater violence than that with which one might throw a stone, and at the end of the day the Portuguese had but a few injured and none killed. Their danger was nevertheless great, for although the enemy had suffered considerably in this first assault they were so numerous that they could continually renew the attack, and sleepless vigilance, with intervals of terrific exertion, was necessary to defeat them.

But Pacheco had succeeded in imparting something of his own spirit to his men. Undeterred by the flight of the Nairs whoshould have supported him, he took advantage with his usual energy of the breathing-space secured by this first victory, ordered his men to make a show of revelry at intervals during the following night in order to impress the enemy, and next day with forty men set out and burnt a village. The enemy’s attacks were repeated on Good Friday and Easter Sunday and Easter Tuesday, and in the intervals of victory Pacheco kept on burning villages, to the delight of those in Cochin.

The endurance of the defenders was tested to the utmost when the King of Calicut attacked on the same day in two places, at the ford and in a deep water channel. He seems to have made a mistake in not waiting to attack with his fleet until low tide enabled the infantry simultaneously to assault the ford, or, at least, the plan did not work out well, and Pacheco was able to deal first with the numerous fleet of boats, said to have been two hundred and fifty in number.

The four little Portuguese ships seemedalmost lost in the multitude of the enemy. The darts and arrows, says one of the early Portuguese historians, were in such quantity that they cast a shadow over the ships, and so loud were the shouts and cries that it seemed to be the end of the world. Again and again the enemy’s boats, chained together, came on to the attack, but they never succeeded in boarding the Portuguesecaravelas, although many of the Portuguese were wounded.

Meanwhile twelve thousand infantry had advanced against the ford. Message after message came to Pacheco for help, but the tide was still running out and he contented himself with answering that he was still engaged with the fleet but that this was “not the day of the King of Calicut.” At the turn of the tide, after having dealt faithfully with the fleet of the enemy’s boats, he went; but the water was still too shallow when he approached the ford and the ships grounded. He was able, however, to work great havoc with his artillery among the many thousands ofassailants, although he could not come up to fight with them at close quarters.

For a long hour the low water at the ford gave every advantage to the enemy. Crowds of them surrounded the stranded ships, thousands rushed forward to attack the ford. The water was tinged with red. And still the ships refused to move. At last they floated, and as the tide rose the danger of the attack grew less and less, till at dusk it ceased entirely.

Another most formidable battle was fought at the beginning of May when the King of Calicut in person attacked the ford. The Nairs from Cochin who were to have defended the stockade deserted their post, many of the enemy actually succeeded in crossing, and it was only by unparalleled exertions that Pacheco, after being retained with his ship by the low water, was able to hurl them back with great loss. A cannon-shot aimed at the King of Calicut, which succeeded in killing several persons near him, profoundly discouraged him in what began to seem ahopeless enterprise, instead of child’s play as at first.

But the strain on Pacheco was not relaxed, and he spent night and day watching and fighting. One Sunday as he sat at his midday meal in his caravel after keeping watch all night, the look-out man sighted eighteen hostile craft approaching. He determined to attack, but when he arrived in mid-stream another fleet of sixteen, and then eighteen more, darted out suddenly from behind a promontory, and it proved no simple affair to beat them off.

The King of Cochin came up in time to witness Pacheco’s victory, and after congratulating him reproached him for having exposed himself alone to such a risk. Pacheco did not think it advisable to tell the King that he had attacked in the belief that the enemy were only a third of their real number, and his prestige with the natives was still further enhanced.

The King of Calicut was in despair, and his forces were already reduced from 60,000 to 40,000 men by battle and cholera, whena Moor of Repelim invented a scheme which put new heart into the King and seemed to give certain promise of capturing the Portuguese ships and all the Portuguese in them. The device resembled that of moving towers built to the height of the walls of a besieged town. Two boats were lashed together to support a square wooden tower capable of holding some forty men.

Pacheco had spies in the enemy’s camp who warned him of the new danger, but the information was also divulged in Cochin, to the dismay of the King and his subjects. The King paid Pacheco a visit, and, although he was received on board with dance and song, besought him with tears in his eyes to save himself by flight since further resistance was useless, and when he left bade him farewell as for the last time.

To embolden the natives, Pacheco declared that he intended to defeat the enemy now as on previous occasions, and asked them if he had ever failed to keep his word.The further to encourage them, he erected a great pointed stake on which to “spit the King of Calicut.” He did not neglect more practical measures, for he raised the prows of his vessels by means of wooden structures high enough to dominate the enemy’s castles, and he put together a boom and fixed it by means of six anchors a stone’s throw in front of his ships.

About two hours after midnight on Ascension Day a few shots announced that the enemy were in motion. Pacheco landed, and after harrying the advancing infantry returned to his ships at dawn in readiness to receive the approaching fleet. At first the Portuguese artillery seemed to make no impression on the strongly built tower that confronted them, and for a short time it seemed that the enemy must be victorious. “Lord, visit not my sins upon me now!” was Pacheco’s despairing cry. But at last one of the towers came crashing down and Pacheco knelt on deck and gave thanks to God, for the destruction of the rest was now only a matter of time.The fighting lasted till dusk fell. So complete was the discomfiture of the enemy and so miraculous seemed the escape of the handful of Portuguese that the natives of Cochin lost all fear of Calicut, and the Portuguese in India acquired far and wide a reputation for invincible prowess.

The King of Calicut now had serious thoughts of giving over the war, but two Italians, Milanese, persuaded him to attempt a night attack. The plan was for the Prince of Repelim to advance with a large force, and when he had engaged the enemy certain Nairs, posted in palm-trees, were to raise fire-signals for the King of Calicut to follow with the second army.

Unfortunately for them, Pacheco had wind of the arrangement and, aware of his great danger, resolved to save the Nairs their trouble. He accordingly set friendly Nairs in palm-trees, and as soon as the first army started they gave the fire signal. The King of Calicut hurried forward, but in the darkness either army mistook the other for an ambush of natives from Cochin,and a long, fierce battle followed between them, while Pacheco listened to the uproar but awaited the enemy in vain. At dawn the two hostile armies found out their mistake and retired in horror and dismay, while Pacheco, like some great gloating demon, appeared in the increasing light to add to their confusion with his artillery.

This was the last serious attack, and one by one the lords and princes opposed to him came to terms with Pacheco. By boundless energy, complete fearlessness, bluff, and the power of inspiring men at will with fear or with confidence and devotion, Pacheco had achieved this amazing triumph, which certainly had far-reaching effects on Portuguese rule in India.

The King of Cochin lacked Pacheco’s imposing personality, but he was affectionate and reliable throughout, bidding his subjects obey Pacheco as they would his own person, and this despite the fact that Pacheco’s behaviour was often very disconcerting. More than once he all but hanged some treacherous Moors, althoughthe King had warned him that this would entail the cutting off of provisions from Cochin.

On another occasion a body of hostile Nairs made a surprise attack on the island of Cochin, but were beaten off by the workers in the rice swamps with their rustic weapons. Their victory was the easier because a Nair considered himself polluted if one of these low-caste peasants approached him.

Pacheco, delighted at the victory of these humble workmen, and mindful moreover of more than one desertion of Nairs at difficult moments, suggested that the King should make Nairs of these men, in the belief apparently that the caste system could be brushed aside or altered at will.[10]It was only after heated and repeated argument that the King was able to persuadehim that the thing he asked was impossible. The heroic labourers were, however, permitted to bear arms and to approach Nairs in future.

For himself Pacheco refused the King’s spices and other gifts, aware that he could ill afford them, and accepted only the strange coat-of-arms that the King bestowed on him—five crowns of gold on a crimson ground—emblem of the much blood he had shed in his victory over five kings—surrounded by eight green castles on blue and white.

At the beginning of the year 1505 he set out for home, to the sorrow of the King of Cochin, and in the summer arrived at Lisbon. He was received with great honour; on the Thursday after his arrival he walked with the King in solemn procession from the Cathedral to the Convent of São Domingos. The Bishop of Vizeu preached, exalting Pacheco’s heroic deeds, and similar services were held throughout Portugal. News of his exploits were sent to the Pope and to the Kings of Christendom.

Pacheco received a yearly pension of 50,000 réis, a considerable sum in those days,[11]and other gifts and favours, and he married D. Antonia de Albuquerque, daughter of one of King Manoel’s secretaries. Better still, he received further employment from the King, being entrusted with the survey of the coast of South-East Africa.

Already in 1505 he was at work on hisEsmeraldo de Situ Orbis, which had to wait nearly four centuries for a publisher. He was more accustomed to hold the sword than the pen, but his book contains much of interest and affords occasional insight into the character of its author. Thus he says—and the philosophic tone of the words is of interest in view of the neglect and poverty into which he is said to have fallen in his last years: “No one is content with his possessions, and in the end eight feet of earth suffice us and there ends and is consumed the vanity of our highthoughts,” and “Virtuous men who love God and are of clean heart and uncovetous are never forsaken of the grace of the Holy Spirit.”

He dwells more than once on the iniquity of oblivion wrought by time: “Difference of ages and length of time hide the knowledge of things and render them forgotten.” His descriptions are clearly those of an eyewitness, as that of “a little river which flows from the top of the mountains to the sea through reeds and mint and rushes and wild-olives.” He praises Prince Henry the Navigator and King João II, whose deeds are worthy to be told “by the ancient fathers of eloquence and learning,” and it was in gratitude to them, a gratitude which posterity shares, that he wrote: “Experience causes us to live free of the false abuses and fables that some of the ancient cosmographers recorded.”

Although the great events of India under the rule of Albuquerque may have obscured the deeds of Pacheco, he was evidently not forgotten, for in January1509 he was sent with several ships against the French pirate Mondragon and defeated and captured him off Cape Finisterre, and probably about the year 1520 he was appointed Governor of the fort of São Jorge de Mina, a coveted post on the west coast of Africa.

Tradition has it that he came home in irons, and he may have been the victim of one of those accusations by subordinates which were becoming so common in the Portuguese overseas possessions. Pacheco had shown of old that he was one of those whom he callsinimigos da cobiça, with thoughts set on higher things than gold. But a new king was on the throne, who was but two years old when Pacheco was winning immortal renown for the Portuguese in India, and it seems to have been the general feeling that he was unfairly treated. Camões speaks of his “harsh and unjust reward.”

It appears that he continued to receive his pension, yet he is said to have died, about the year 1530, in extreme penury.We may be sure at least that his heart did not quail before poverty any more than it had before the countless host of Calicut. The recollection of his wiles and devices during those hundred days at Cochin must have been a powerful antidote to neglect and old age. “The thought of what he had done would prove music to him at midnight.”

A few, no doubt, of the heroic ninety on whose behalf Pacheco wrote to the King, recalling their services, survived, and they might discuss the apparent miracle of their famous victory, and, in Pacheco’s words, “the multitude of things in the very wealthy kingdoms of India,” glad at heart the while to be at home under the more temperate sun of Portugal and to rind their “eight feet of earth” in their own soil.

FOOTNOTES:[10]“The nobles,” says Correa, “are called Nairs, and are men devoted to war.” The peasants “are so accursed that if they go along a road they must go shouting, lest Nairs should meet and kill them, for they may not carry arms, whereas the Nairs are always armed. And if as they go shouting a Nair answers they scuttle away into the wilds far from the road.”[11]The poet Luis de Camões, after his return from the East, supported life on less than a third of that amount.

[10]“The nobles,” says Correa, “are called Nairs, and are men devoted to war.” The peasants “are so accursed that if they go along a road they must go shouting, lest Nairs should meet and kill them, for they may not carry arms, whereas the Nairs are always armed. And if as they go shouting a Nair answers they scuttle away into the wilds far from the road.”

[10]“The nobles,” says Correa, “are called Nairs, and are men devoted to war.” The peasants “are so accursed that if they go along a road they must go shouting, lest Nairs should meet and kill them, for they may not carry arms, whereas the Nairs are always armed. And if as they go shouting a Nair answers they scuttle away into the wilds far from the road.”

[11]The poet Luis de Camões, after his return from the East, supported life on less than a third of that amount.

[11]The poet Luis de Camões, after his return from the East, supported life on less than a third of that amount.

Back to IndexNext