'This man,' it is said in theCommentariesof Albuquerque, 'was a Hindu by birth, very obedient to the interests of the King of Portugal; and being a man of low origin had, as a corsair, raised himself to a position of great honour.'6
6Albuquerque'sCommentaries,vol. ii. p. 81.
He informed Albuquerque that the Lord of Goa was dead, and that great dissensions had arisen among his nobles, which left a very favourable opportunity for an attack on the city. The Governor called a council of his captains, and after considering Timoja's arguments it was unanimously resolved to put off the expedition to the Red Sea and to attack Goa.
The capture of Goa is perhaps the most important event of Albuquerque's administration, and the reasons which led to it deserve special consideration. The island of Goa was situated upon the Malabar coast about half way between Bombay and Cape Comorin. It was formed by the mouths of two rivers and was thus easily fitted for defence. At the time of its capture there was a bar at the mouth of the harbour, allowing in full flood ships drawing three fathoms of water to enter, and the anchorage inside was absolutely safe. It had always been the centre of an important trade, and was visited by merchants of many nationalities. By some authorities its trade is represented as larger than that of Calicut, and at any rate it was but slightly inferior. From its situation, and the ease with which it could be fortified, it was well fitted to become the capital of the Portuguese in India.
Albuquerque's ideas, as has already been said, differedfrom those of Almeida in one important particular. Albuquerque wished to establish a real Portuguese empire, which should rest upon the possession of Portuguese colonies owning the direct sway of the King of Portugal. Almeida thought it sufficient to command the sea, and that the only land stations should be a few factories in commercial cities, defended by fortifications against all assaults. Almeida therefore was quite satisfied that the fortresses he had built at Cannanore, Cochin, and Quilon were all that was needed; but Albuquerque considered it derogatory for the Portuguese to have their headquarters on sufferance in the capitals of native rulers. He felt it would be impolitic to attack the Rájás who had been friendly with the Portuguese, and he therefore resolved to establish a Portuguese capital in another part of the Malabar coast quite independent of the existing factories. Geographically also he considered Cochin as too far south for the effective maintenance of the Portuguese power in India, and he therefore looked out for a more central situation. Goa seemed to offer just what he wanted, a good harbour and a central situation, while its capture would not offend any of the native allies of the Portuguese.
There was another political consideration which also weighed with Albuquerque. Hitherto the chief enemies of the Portuguese had been Muhammadan merchants, who had, in the instance of Calicut, induced the Hindu ruler to take the offensive. But Goa was the actual possession of a Muhammadan ruler,and its conquest would strike a direct blow at the growing Muhammadan power in India.
Goa belonged to various Hindu dynasties until the early part of the fourteenth century, when it was conquered by the Muhammadan Nawáb of Honáwar. In 1367, however, the Hindu minister of Harihara, Rájá of Vijayanagar, reconquered the city, and it remained a part of the great Hindu kingdom of Southern India for more than seventy years. In 1440 the inhabitants of the old city of Goa attained their independence, and soon after founded the new city of Goa in another part of the island. Its trade, especially in horses, imported from Ormuz, grew rapidly, and in 1470 it was conquered by the Muhammadan King of the Deccan, Muhammad Sháh II. So great was the monarch's joy at the conquest, that it is stated in Ferishta that he ordered 'the march of triumph to be beaten for seven days.'
In 1472 the Hindu Rájá of Belgáum, and in 1481 the Rájá of Vijayanagar made unsuccessful attacks upon Goa. Amid the later troubles of the great Báhmani kingdom of the Deccan, which occurred on the death of Muhammad Sháh II, Goa fell to the lot of the Muhammadan kingdom of Bijápur. The founder of this kingdom was Yusaf Adil Sháh, a son of Amurad II, Sultan of the Ottoman Turks. That prince had a most romantic history. He was rescued by his mother from being put to death with his brothers on the accession to the throne of Muhammad II. He was secretly delivered over to a merchant of Sava inPersia who educated him. He took the name of Savái from the place of his education, and is always called by the Portuguese historians the Sabaio or Çabaio, or the Hidalcão, a version of Adil Khán. He came to India as a slave, but he rose rapidly from a simple soldier to the command of the royal body-guard of the Báhmani kings, and was eventually made Governor of Bijápur. In 1489 he was crowned King of Bijápur, and under his rule Goa, which formed part of his dominions, greatly increased in wealth.
Yusaf Adil Sháh erected many fine buildings, including a magnificent palace at Goa. He even thought, it is said, of making it his capital, and there can be no doubt that he vastly augmented its prosperity. But his government was oppressive to the Hindu population; he doubled the taxes, and by favouring his own creed made himself hated by all his Hindu subjects. When Timoja pressed Albuquerque to attack Goa, the Muhammadan Governor, whose name, Málik Yusaf Gurgi, is rendered by the Portuguese Melique Çufegurgij, had made himself especially obnoxious from the cruelties wreaked by his Turkish garrison on the citizens. Yusaf Adil Sháh was not dead, as Timoja told Albuquerque, but was absent in the interior, and the time was really favourable for a sudden assault. A Jogi or Hindu ascetic had prophesied that a foreign people coming from a distant land would conquer Goa, and the inhabitants were therefore ready to surrender the city without much opposition to the Portuguese.
Influenced by these considerations, and the arguments of Timoja, Albuquerque altered the direction of his armament and cast anchor off Goa harbour. On March 1, 1510, Dom Antonio de Noronha, Albuquerque's gallant nephew, crossed the bar with the ships' boats of the Portuguese fleet, two galleys commanded by Diogo Fernandes de Beja and Simão de Andrade, and thefustasor native boats of Timoja, and stormed the fortress of Panjim, which is situated at the entrance to the harbour. The ships then entered, and on the 3rd of March the city of Goa surrendered without making any defence.7The Governor for the Muhammadan King and his soldiers had fled with such haste that many fugitives were drowned in crossing the rivers. Albuquerque entered the city in triumph, and proceeded to the palace of Yusaf Adil Sháh, where his first measure was to appoint Dom Antonio de Noronha to be Captain of the city. He was hailed with shouts of welcome by the people, who showered on him flowers made of gold and silver. The Governor at once prepared to strengthen the defences of the city; the ships' crews were brought ashore, and both Portuguese and natives were set to work to build a strong wall round the city, and a citadel.
7The dates of the first capture of Goa are given differently. TheCommentariesof Albuquerque gives March 3, vol. ii. pp. 88-92; Correa,Lendas da India,vol. ii p. 59, says March 1. Barros, Decade II, Book V, chapter 3, ed. of 1777, pp. 464, 465; Castanheda, vol. iii. ed. of 1833, p. 30; and Faria e Sousa,Asia Portugueza,ed. of 1666, vol. i. p. 137, all fix February 17.
Albuquerque was well aware of the effect hisconquest would have upon the minds of other native sovereigns. He received ambassadors from the Rájá of Vijayanagar, who plainly hinted that their master expected Goa would be made over to him. He also received ambassadors from the King of Ormuz and from Sháh Ismáil of Persia. These Muhammadan potentates had despatched their ambassadors to the King of Bijápur to incite him to join in a general war against the Portuguese. But when they found Albuquerque in possession of the city of Goa, they adroitly changed the purpose of their missions, and made overtures to him instead. Albuquerque received them with fair words. He had not abandoned his schemes against Ormuz, but he desired to stand well with Ismáil Sháh. He thoroughly understood the exact position of Ismáil, the greatest of the Sufi Sháhs of Persia, whom the Portuguese always called the Sophy, and that Ismáil belonged to the Shiah sect of Muhammadans, and as such was the enemy of the Turks, who were orthodox Muhammadans.
Albuquerque nominated Ruy Gomes as ambassador to Ismáil Sháh, and the instructions which he took with him are very significant of Albuquerque's wide range of policy. Ruy Gomes never reached the Persian Court, being poisoned upon the way at Ormuz, but part of his instructions deserve quotation:
'You shall tell Sháh Ismáil how my Lord the King will be pleased to come to an understanding and alliance with him, and will assist him in his war against the Sultan; and that I, in his name and on his behalf, offer him the fleet andarmy and artillery which I have with me, and the fortresses, towns, and lordships, which the King of Portugal holds in India, and I will give him all this same help against the Turk.'8
8Instructions to Ruy Gomes; Albuquerque'sCommentaries,vol. ii. pp. 114-118.
In his letter to the Sháh, Albuquerque lays weight also upon the advantages which might be derived from an alliance with the Portuguese:
'I believe that with small trouble,' he says, 'you must gain the Lordship of the city of Cairo, and all his kingdom and dependencies.... If God grant that this intercourse and alliance be ratified, come you with all your power against the city of Cairo and the lands of the Grand Sultan which are on the borders of your own, and the King my Lord shall pass over to Jerusalem and gain from him all the land on that side.'9
9Letter to Sháh Ismáil; Albuquerque'sCommentaries,vol. ii. pp. 111-114.
These ideas deserve notice both as illustrating the grandiose conceptions of Albuquerque, and his skill in taking advantage of dissensions among the foes of the Christian religion. To him doubtless it mattered not whether the Muhammadans he attacked were Shiahs or Sunís—all alike were infidels; but he was perfectly ready to make use of the one sect against the other. He calmly put on one side the demand of the Persian ambassador that the Shiah form of Muhammadanism should be proclaimed in Goa, and that Ismáil Sháh's money should pass current, but he nevertheless dismissed the ambassador with fair words.
Albuquerque was soon distracted from questions of general policy by the advance of the King of Bijápur upon the island of Goa with 60,000 men. As hadhappened at Ormuz, his captains did not share his views. They declared it to be impossible to defend Goa, and strongly resented being engaged in the hard work of building walls instead of in the more lucrative business of collecting cargoes for Portugal. The news of the advance of Yusaf Adil Sháh increased the reluctance of the captains to remain, but Albuquerque nevertheless refused to evacuate Goa. The Muhammadan king made overtures to him and promised to cede to the Portuguese any other port in his dominions except Goa, and it was even hinted that Goa itself would be given up, if Albuquerque would surrender Timoja, who was looked on as a traitor to his country. This proposition it need hardly be said was rejected with scorn. Eventually, whether from the unwillingness of the Portuguese captains or from sheer impossibility of defence, Yusaf Adil Sháh's army made its way into the island of Goa on May 17, 1510. The Portuguese at first hoped to hold the citadel of Goa; but finding the position untenable, Albuquerque withdrew his men to their ships, after setting fire to the arsenal and beheading 150 of the principal Muhammadan prisoners whom he had in his possession.
He then dropped down the river with his fleet, but was unable to cross the bar owing to the state of the weather. For nearly three months the Portuguese fleet remained at anchor at the mouth of the harbour of Goa. It was one of the most critical periods in Albuquerque's life, and during it he exhibited thehighest qualities of a commander. At their anchorage, the Portuguese found themselves exposed to the fire of the King of Bijápur's artillery, mounted in the castle of Panjim, which had been abandoned after the capture of Goa. Albuquerque therefore decided to make a night attack upon this position. The fight was a fierce one. Several of the Portuguese were killed, and it was with difficulty that the garrison was expelled on June 14, 1510.
This successful expedition was followed by another, marred only by the death of the young hero of the fleet, Dom Antonio de Noronha. News had reached Albuquerque that Yusaf Adil Sháh had prepared a number of fire-ships, which he intended to send down the river to set fire to the Portuguese fleet. He therefore sent his boats to reconnoitre. They reached the dockyard, but in endeavouring to cut out one of the enemy's ships, which was still on the stocks, Dom Antonio de Noronha was mortally wounded. He died on July 8, and, in the words of theCommentaries,
'There was not a single person in the whole of the fleet who was not deeply affected, but especially his uncle, in that he had been deprived of him at a season when he most needed his personal assistance, his advice, and his knightly example.... He was a very brave cavalier, and never found himself placed in any position which caused him any fear. He was very virtuous, very godfearing, and very truthful. He was found side by side with Affonso de Albuquerque in every one of the troubles which up to the hour of his death had come upon him. He died at the age of twenty-fouryears, four having elapsed since he set out from Portugal with his uncle in the fleet of Tristão da Cunha.'10
10Albuquerque'sCommentaries,vol. ii. pp. 180, 181.
At no time indeed was Albuquerque more in need of help and advice; his fleet was blockaded in the harbour and stricken with famine; his men deserted in numbers and became renegades; and his captains were in almost open mutiny. It was at this time that he ordered the execution of one of his soldiers, a young Portuguese fidalgo named Ruy Dias, which is treated by the poet Camoens as the chief blot upon the great commander's fame. It was reported to Albuquerque that Ruy Dias had been in the habit of visiting the Muhammadan women whom he had brought with him as hostages from Goa. There is no doubt that through these women information was conveyed to the enemy of the state of affairs in the Portuguese fleet, and Albuquerque therefore directed Pedro de Alpoem, theOuvidor—that is, the Auditor of Portuguese India, who performed the duties of Chief Magistrate—to try Ruy Dias, and he was condemned to be hanged. While the execution was being carried out, certain of the captains rowed up and down among the ships crying 'Murder,' and one of them, Francisco de Sá, went so far as to cut through the rope with which Ruy Dias was being hanged, with his sword. Albuquerque at once determined to maintain discipline. The execution of Ruy Dias was completed, and Francisco de Sá, with three captains, Jorge Fogaça, Fernão Peres de Andrade and Simão de Andrade, were put in irons.
The extent of the suffering from sickness and starvation in the fleet was made known to Yusaf Adil Sháh by deserters, and that monarch, with true chivalry, offered to send provisions to the Portuguese, stating that he wished to conquer them not by starvation but by the sword. Albuquerque resolved to receive no such assistance from his enemies. He collected on board his own ship all the wine and food that was left, which was being kept for the use of the sick, and displayed it to the messengers of the King of Bijápur. Throughout this difficult period the two generals vied with each other in generosity. One fact is particularly worthy of notice. Yusaf Adil Sháh at the request of Albuquerque refused to allow the Portuguese deserters, who had joined him, to continue going down to the banks of the harbour to incite other soldiers and sailors to desert. At last in August, 1510, the weather changed; it became once more possible to cross the bar, and the Portuguese fleet sailed away from Goa. But Albuquerque was not a man to be depressed by one failure. He had resolved that Goa should be the capital of Portuguese India, and he never rested until he had attained his end.
It was on August 15 that Albuquerque sailed out of Goa harbour, and to his great joy the first sight he saw was a Portuguese squadron of four ships which had just arrived from Portugal under the command of Diogo Mendes de Vasconcellos. The Governor stopped for a time at the anchorage of Anchediva Island, and then proceeded to Honáwar (Onor), where he had aninterview with Timoja, who had been able to leave Goa harbour with his light native galleys before the larger Portuguese ships. Timoja gave him information that Yusaf Adil Sháh had left Goa for Bijápur three days after the departure of the Portuguese fleet, and also that directly the main Muhammadan army had gone the people in the neighbourhood of Goa had risen in insurrection. Timoja therefore pressed Albuquerque to make a second attack on Goa as soon as possible, which was exactly what the Portuguese commander had determined to do. Albuquerque then sailed south to Cannanore, where he was met by Duarte de Lemos, who had succeeded him as Captain of the Arabian Seas.
Duarte de Lemos told Albuquerque that his nephew, Dom Affonso de Noronha, had left Socotra in the previous April, and had never been heard of again, and the news of this loss increased his sorrow for the loss of his other nephew, Dom Antonio. Duarte de Lemos took advantage of his position as a Chief Captain to entreat Albuquerque to release the captains and other gentlemen whom he had imprisoned for insubordination in the harbour of Goa. Albuquerque accordingly released all except Jorge Fogaça, whom he regarded as the ringleader, and some of those to whom he showed clemency, notably the brothers Andrade, afterwards did him good service, and showed themselves worthy of his forgiveness.
While he was at Cannanore, Albuquerque received an ambassador from Mahmúd Sháh Begára, theMuhammadan King of Ahmadábád, informing him that Dom Affonso de Noronha's ship had been wrecked off the coast of Gujarát, and that, though Dom Affonso was drowned, most of his men were saved and were detained in custody. The mere fact that such an embassy was sent showed how far the fame of the great Portuguese captain had already extended.
During this period of waiting, two other squadrons joined Albuquerque under the command of Gonçalo de Sequeira and João Serrão, making the amount of reinforcements which had reached him during the year fourteen ships and 1500 Portuguese warriors. But his difficulties were not yet over. Two of these squadrons, those of Diogo Mendes and João Serrão, had been sent for the express purpose, the former of going to Malacca, the latter of exploring the Red Sea. These captains wished to depart at once on their several missions, and desired not to co-operate in a second attack on Goa. Gonçalo de Sequeira, on his part, declared that his ships were ships of burden and that it was his duty to load them with cargo for Portugal.
Albuquerque knew how eagerly King Emmanuel expected his merchant-ships, and, like Warren Hastings in later times, he was forced to subordinate his political aims to the commercial objects of his employer. He therefore sailed to Cochin, where he invested a new Rájá in the place of his deceased uncle and got ready the cargo for Portugal. But, though he yielded to Sequeira's representations, he insisted upon being accompanied to Goa by the squadrons ofDiogo Mendes and João Serrão. Duarte de Lemos was greatly disgusted with this decision, and demanded leave to return to Portugal instead of to his station at the mouth of the Red Sea. Albuquerque acceded to his request, and placed him in command of the squadron of cargo-ships which was about to return to Portugal.
The combined Portuguese war-fleet then sailed to Honáwar, where Albuquerque was present at the marriage of his ally Timoja to a daughter of the Rájá of Gersoppa. Timoja pressed the Portuguese Governor to attack Goa as soon as possible. He informed him that Yusaf Adil Sháh had now gone so far into the interior that he would be unable to relieve the city, and also that the garrison of Goa consisted not of more than 4000 Turks and Persians under the command of a general named Rasúl Khán, whom the Portuguese called Roçalcão. Under these circumstances the Portuguese Governor resolved to attack, and in the beginning of November he sailed once more into the harbour of Goa with twenty-eight ships carrying 1700 soldiers, accompanied by a large number of native troops belonging to Timoja and the Rájá of Gersoppa.
On November 25, 1510, the Portuguese assaulted the city of Goa in three columns. Each was entirely successful; the Turks fought desperately, and at least half of them, or 2000 men, were killed. The Portuguese lost forty killed and 150 wounded. Many feats of valour on the part of the Portuguese warriors are related by different chroniclers, two of which deservemention here, as they illustrate the chivalrous conduct of the Portuguese in those days. Perhaps the most striking is the story of Dom Jeronymo de Lima, a young nobleman, who had accompanied Almeida to India, and remained to serve under Albuquerque. He was mortally wounded at the storming of the gate of the fortress.
'And while he lay on the ground so severely struck that he could not survive, his brother, Dom João de Lima, who was wheeling round with others, came upon him; and when he beheld him in such a condition, with his head leaning against the wall, he exclaimed, with many tears, "What is this, brother? How art thou?" Dom Jeronymo replied, "I am on the point of finishing this journey, and I am glad, as it has pleased Our Lord to require this service of me, that it has been completed here in His service, and in that of the King of Portugal." Dom João de Lima desired to remain in company with him; but he said, "Brother, there is no time for you to remain with me; go and perform what is required of you. I will remain here and finish my days, for I have no longer any strength left." So Dom João de Lima left him and went on, following after the Moors; and when the fortress had been captured and the Moors driven out, he returned to seek after his brother, and found him already dead. I should be very glad to have been either one of the two brothers [the chronicler quaintly adds], but I know not how to decide which one of the two I most envy,—whether Dom João de Lima, because he went to fight where such another one as himself could be met with, or Dom Jeronymo de Lima, who did not desire to remedy his wounds, although they were mortal (it being a very natural thing for men to desire to live), but rather sought to advance his brother's honour, and would not consent to his remainingbehind with him at a time when the other fidalgos and cavaliers were carrying on the fight with the Turks within the fortress. The decision of this I leave to those who read the lessons of this history; let them judge which of these two brothers best performed his obligations.'11
11Albuquerque'sCommentaries,vol. iii. pp. 13, 14.
Another anecdote illustrates Albuquerque's personal admiration of warlike prowess. Manoel de Lacerda was wounded in the face by an arrow; but nevertheless he killed a mounted Turk, seized his horse, and continued to fight with the broken arrow fixed in his face and his armour covered with blood. At this moment the Turks rallied and attacked Lacerda's force with 500 men. Albuquerque, on receiving information of this resistance, came up with his reserve to the point of danger.
'As soon as Manoel de Lacerda beheld Affonso de Albuquerque, he dismounted his charger and presented it to him. When Affonso de Albuquerque saw him with his armour all smirched with blood, he embraced him and said, "Sir Manoel de Lacerda, I declare to you that I am greatly envious of you, and so would Alexander the Great have been, had he been here, for you look more gallant for an evening's rendezvous than the Emperor Aurelian."'12
12Albuquerque'sCommentaries,vol. iii. p. 12.
The moment the victory was won, Affonso de Albuquerque gave thanks to God, and promised to erect a church in honour of St. Catherine, whose feast day is the 25th November, on the site of the gate which had been so hardly won. He also conferred the honour ofknighthood upon some of the most distinguished of the younger soldiers, among whom were Frederico Fernandes, who had been the first man to enter the city, and Manoel da Cunha, a younger son of his former commander, Tristão da Cunha.
As soon as the Portuguese were in entire possession of Goa, Albuquerque directed that the Muhammadan population, men, women and children, should be put to the sword. This cruel butchery is far more to Albuquerque's discredit than the hanging of Ruy Dias, for which the poet Camoens so strongly condemns him. It is only partially justified by Albuquerque's belief that the Muhammadans of Goa had behaved treacherously towards him in the spring and had admitted Yusaf Adil Sháh into the island. It is more likely that it was mainly due to Albuquerque's crusading hatred against the religion of the Prophet. He also gave up the city to plunder, and for three days his soldiers were occupied in the work of sacking it. He then set to work to repair the walls and ramparts, and especially to rebuild the citadel. His loss of the place in the spring made him particularly anxious to complete this work, and to set an example he himself did not hesitate to set his hands to it. When the citadel was completed he ordered a stone to be set up containing the names of all the captains who had served at the assault. But there was so much dissension as to the order in which the names should be engraved, every one desiring to be first, that eventually he placed on it only these words'Lapidem quem reprobaverunt ædificantes'—the stone which the builders rejected.13
13According to Barros, Decade II, Book V, ch. 11, ed. of 1778, p. 558, and Correa,Lendas da India,vol. ii. p. 157; but in theCommentaries,vol. iii. p. 137, this anecdote is told of the building of the fortress at Malacca.
It is curious to compare with the real history of Albuquerque's two occupations of Goa the account given by the Muhammadan historian in theTohfut-ul-mujahideen, but it need hardly be said that the bribery to which he refers had no foundation in fact.
'Moreover,' writes the Sheikh Zín-ud-dín, 'the Franks having commenced hostilities against the inhabitants of Goa and captured that place, proceeded to take possession of it. Now this port was one of those that belonged to Adil Sháh (peace to his remains!); notwithstanding this, however, the Franks having seized upon it, made choice of it for their seat of government in India, proceeding to exercise rule over it. But Adil Sháh attacking these intruders, repulsed them; he in turn making it a rallying-place for Islámism. Subsequently the Franks (the curse of God rest on them!) made preparations for a second attack upon Goa, and proceeding against it with a vast armament and assaulting it, they at last captured it. It is said, however, that they bribed over to their interests some of its principal inhabitants, in which case its capture was not a feat of much difficulty; and the Franks on thus re-obtaining possession of Goa, hastened to construct around it extensive fortifications of vast height. After their acquisition of this place, their power became greatly increased, every day bringing some accession to it: for the Lord as he wills, so indeed does he bring to pass.'14
14Tohfut-ul-mujahideen,Rowlandson's translation, pp. 100-102.
Albuquerque took Goa for the second time at a most favourable moment, for Yusaf Adil Sháh, his gallant enemy of the previous spring, died on December 5, 1510. His son, Ismáil Adil Sháh, who succeeded him, was a mere lad, and the governors of the different provinces of his kingdom soon began to show signs of rebellion. Under these circumstances Kamal Khán, the principal general and minister of the State of Bijápur, made, according to the Muhammadan historian Ferishta, an arrangement with the Portuguese, and consented to their retaining possession of Goa, on condition that they would be satisfied with the island and would not molest the adjoining districts. Albuquerque'sCommentariessay nothing of this arrangement with Kamal Khán, but they contain a letter written by the Portuguese Governor to the youthful King of Bijápur directly after the second capture of Goa. The letter is both curious and characteristic.
'You must well know,' he wrote, 'how the Sabaio, your father, used to take the ships of Malabar out of the ports and harbours of the King, my Lord; wherefore it was that I was constrained to go against Goa, and take the city, and there it is that I am now occupied in building a very strong fortress. I wish most sincerely that your father had been living, that he might know me to be a man of my word: out of regard for him I shall be ever your friend, and I will assist you against the King of the Deccan and against your enemies; and I will cause all the horses that arrive here to be carried to your stations and your marts, in order that you may have possession of them. Fain would I that the merchants of your land would come with white stuffs andall manner of merchandize to this port, and take to yours in exchange merchandize of the sea, and of the land, and horses, and I will give them a safe conduct. If you wish for my friendship, let your messengers come to me with your communications, and I will send you others on my part, who shall convey to you my communications: if you will perform this which I write unto you, by my aid shall you be able to gain possession of much land, and become a great Lord among the Moors. Be desirous of performing this, for thus it shall be well with you, and you shall have great power; and for all that the Sabaio, your father, be dead, I will be your father and bring you up like a son.'15
15Albuquerque'sCommentaries,vol. iii. pp. 20, 21.
The conquest of Goa had an immense effect upon all the sovereigns on the western side of India. Not only did the Muhammadan King of Ahmadábád send ambassadors to Albuquerque asking to make an alliance with him, but the Hindu Zamorin of Calicut, hitherto the principal foe of the Portuguese, also sued for peace. Albuquerque took a high hand with the latter; too much Portuguese blood had been shed in Calicut for him to desire a treaty of alliance. The only terms he would accept were that he should have permission to build a fortress in the very heart of Calicut commanding the harbour. As the Zamorin would not accept these terms, which would leave his capital and his commerce at the mercy of the Portuguese, the negotiations were broken off. With Mahmúd Sháh Begára, King of Ahmadábád, communications were carried on in a more friendly tone. The King promised to release the men who had beenwrecked with Dom Affonso de Noronha, and ordered the Emir Husain to leave his dominions at once. He even offered the island of Diu as a site for a Portuguese fortress, but Albuquerque had not sufficient strength in India at that moment to accept the offer.
The conquest of Goa, both in its immediate and in its ultimate results, was one of the greatest achievements of Albuquerque's governorship. It gave the Portuguese a commercial and political capital; it showed the neighbouring rulers, both Hindu and Muhammadan, that the Portuguese intended to remain on the Malabar coast as a governing power, and not simply, like the Arab Moplas, as a commercial community; and the gallantry shown in the final assault, as well as during the sojourn of the fleet in the harbour of Goa, proved to the people of India that a new warrior race had come amongst them. Its ultimate results are quite as important. Goa, by the policy of the successors of Albuquerque, concentrated the whole trade of the Malabar coast. To increase the prosperity of Goa the earlier centres of trade, such as Calicut and Cochin and Quilon, were purposely deprived of their freedom to buy and sell; Goa became the seat of the Viceroys and Governors of Portuguese India; its wealth passed into a proverb; and though the glory of Golden Goa lasted but a century,16it was during that century one of the most splendid cities on the face of the earth.
16On the later history of Goa, see Hunter'sImperial Gazetteer of India,ed. 1885, vol. v. pp. 101-105.
THERULE OFALBUQUERQUE(continued)The Conquest of Malacca and Relief of Goa
THERULE OFALBUQUERQUE(continued)The Conquest of Malacca and Relief of Goa
Albuquerque's first thought after the completion of the fortifications of Goa was to provide for its future government. He determined to leave the place with the bulk of his forces as soon as possible, for the sacked and partially burnt city was unable to supply sufficient provisions for all his men. He accordingly appointed Rodrigo Rebello to be Captain of the fortress of Goa, Francisco Pantoja to be Alcaide-Mor or Chief Constable, with the right of succeeding Rebello in case of accident, and Francisco Corvinel to be Factor. It was more difficult to find a governor for the island as distinguished from the city. This post he had conferred, after the first capture, on his ally Timoja, but he now selected a celebrated Hindu captain, who was much respected by the Hindu population, called by the Portuguese Merlão or Milrrhão, probably versions of Malhár Ráo. This man was the brother of the Rájá of Honáwar and had won distinction by defending Goa against the Muhammadans in former days. He agreed to pay a sum equivalent to about£30,000 a year for the privilege of governing the island of Goa. Under the command of Rodrigo Rebello, Albuquerque left 400 Portuguese soldiers, together with plenty of artillery and ammunition, for the defence of the fortress.
The Governor then resolved to set out at once for the Red Sea. King Emmanuel, whose main idea it was to close this route to commerce, had directed him to dismantle the fortress on the island of Socotra, owing to the difficulty of getting provisions, and to occupy Aden instead. When this decision became known, Diogo Mendes, who had been specially ordered to Malacca, murmured loudly, and declared his intention of leaving the Governor and at once departing with his squadron westwards. Albuquerque expostulated with him; he pointed out that four ships could not conquer the Malays, and argued that their treatment of the first Portuguese squadron showed that they would not permit the Portuguese to open up trade without first being defeated. He even showed Diogo Mendes a letter which had arrived from the Portuguese Factor left at Malacca, stating that he and his comrades were kept as prisoners. He promised that, as soon as the King's commands with regard to the Red Sea had been carried out, he would himself proceed with a powerful fleet to the Malay Peninsula, and firmly establish Portuguese influence in that quarter.
Diogo Mendes felt the force of these arguments, but the master of his flagship, Dinis Cerniche, would notagree, and setting sail crossed the bar of Goa harbour on his way out. The Governor at once sent a ship, under Jaymé Teixeira, with orders to make Mendes return by any means in his power. Since the master would not shorten sail, the ship was fired on and forced to return by the destruction of its main yard. Albuquerque forgave Mendes, but ordered Cerniche to be executed, which sentence was not carried out, but the master was instead sent back to Portugal in custody. Nevertheless the persistency of Mendes and his men seems to have greatly influenced Albuquerque, for finding in Feb. 1511, when he sailed out of Goa harbour, that it was impossible to sail westward owing to the monsoon, he resolved to make his way to Malacca. He first sailed to Cochin, where he appointed Manoel de Lacerda to be Captain of the Indian Sea with supreme authority, and he directed that Lacerda's orders should be obeyed as if they were his own.
Albuquerque's conquest of Malacca ranks second in importance among his great feats of arms to the capture of Goa. It gave the Portuguese the complete command of the spice trade, and eventually of the Chinese and Japanese trade. It struck the final blow at the Muhammadan commercial routes to Europe. Hitherto the Portuguese had only secured the monopoly of the Indian trade, and Muhammadan vessels, largely manned by Arabs, still collected the produce of Bengal and Burma, of Sumatra and the Spice Islands, of Siam and China, at the great commercialport of the Malay Peninsula. Albuquerque resolved to check this trade by holding the mouth of the Red Sea, but it seemed to him of even more efficacy to seize upon the headquarters of the trade itself.
The city of Malacca, with its splendid harbour, was the capital of a wealthy Muhammadan Sultan. This man's ancestors were said to have come from the neighbouring island of Java, and to have been converted to Islám some 200 years before. Constant war had been waged between the Kings of Siam, who formerly ruled the whole peninsula, and the Javanese immigrants; but the latter had held their own, and by a wise encouragement of commerce had become very wealthy and powerful. The trade of Malacca with India is said by the Portuguese chroniclers to have been largely in the hands of merchants from Gujarát, and when the Portuguese conquered the city it was inhabited by men of nearly every Eastern race, Hindus from both sides of India, Arabs, Chinese and Javanese. It is mentioned that on their arrival they found, among other officers, four men holding the title of Xabandar (Sháh-i-Bandar) or Captain of the Port. These four men are expressly stated to have been governors of different districts, and they are said to have belonged to four different nationalities and to rule over the Chinese, the Javanese, the Gujarátís and the Bengalís respectively. This division probably fairly indicates the chief nationalities of the merchants of Malacca.
Malacca was first visited by a European squadronon September 11, 1509. Diogo Lopes de Sequeira had been despatched by King Emmanuel with instructions to explore the island of Madagascar, and afterwards to proceed to the Malay Peninsula, which was well known to the Portuguese king by its classical name of the Golden Chersonese. The arrival of Sequeira in India during the viceroyalty of Almeida has been already noticed, and mention has been made of the Viceroy's wish that he should take over the government in the place of Albuquerque. Sequeira declined this offer and sailed for the Malay Peninsula with his squadron of five ships, but he so far complied with the Viceroy's wishes as to carry with him the chief friends of Albuquerque, and notably his most constant supporter, Ruy de Araujo.
Sequeira visited Sumatra, and safely reached Malacca. He was favourably received at first by the Sultan, and sent ashore Ruy de Araujo to fill the perilous post of Factor. As a lucrative trade seemed likely to spring up, the Portuguese captain proceeded to land a large quantity of goods together with several Portuguese clerks. But as usual the Muhammadan merchants soon showed their jealousy of the Portuguese, as they had always done on the Malabar coast. The Bendara, or native Prime Minister of Malacca, listened to the suggestions of the Moslem merchants, and formed a plan to destroy the whole Portuguese squadron. It was resolved to invite all the officers to a grand banquet at which they should be suddenly murdered, and in their absence it was believedthat the ships might be easily taken. A Javanese woman, who had fallen in love with one of the Portuguese, swam out to their ships and gave warning of the plot. The Portuguese officers in consequence declined to land, and as soon as their determination was made known, the Malays set upon the factory, and made Ruy de Araujo and about twenty men whom he had with him prisoners.
They defended themselves gallantly, but Sequeira made no effort to assist them, and sailed away out of the harbour. He was obliged before leaving the peninsula to burn two of his ships for want of men to navigate them, and with the other three he made his way to India. When he reached the Malabar coast and touched at Caecoulão (Káyenkolam), he heard that the Marshal had placed Albuquerque in power, and that Almeida had departed. Sequeira, fearing the vengeance of Albuquerque, at once set sail for Portugal, sending his other two vessels under the command of Nuno Vaz de Castello-Branco to join the Governor at Cochin. It was to wreak vengeance on the Sultan of Malacca and to open up trade there that the squadron of Diogo Mendes de Vasconcellos had been sent from Portugal in 1510; but, as has been related, in spite of the captain's wishes, he and his men had been detained by Albuquerque to take part in the second capture of Goa.
Ruy de Araujo wrote a pathetic letter to Albuquerque, describing the manner in which he and his companions were treated. He told his friend thatthere were nineteen Portuguese alive at Malacca, who had been greatly tortured to make them turn Muhammadans. He also said that they had been very kindly treated by a Hindu merchant, named Ninachatu, who had secured the means for the despatch of the letter. He begged Albuquerque, for the love of God, to keep them in remembrance, and rescue them out of their captivity; and he also requested that the kindness of the Hindu merchant should not be made known for fear that the Moslems of the Malabar coast should give information to their co-religionists at Malacca.
It may well be imagined that Albuquerque was not sorry to go to the rescue of the Portuguese prisoners. He would have postponed this duty in order to obey the king's express commands; but now that the winds forbade him to sail East, he determined to sail West. He started with eighteen ships, carrying 1400 men; and though he lost one galley at sea, he arrived safely at the port of Pedir in the island of Sumatra in May 1511 with the rest of his fleet. At that place he found nine of the Portuguese prisoners, who had escaped from Malacca, and he then made his way slowly to the great city, which was said to contain a population of over 100,000 inhabitants.
For weeks negotiations went on with the Sultan of Malacca. The main point at issue was the surrender of Ruy de Araujo and his fellow-prisoners. Albuquerque declared he would make no treaty with the Sultan until the prisoners were delivered, and theSultan on his part was resolved not to give them up until a treaty of peace had been signed. Under these circumstances Albuquerque wrote to the Factor, telling him that he and his companions must bear their hardships with patience. Ruy de Araujo replied in terms which show the gallant spirit of the Portuguese at that period.
'God grant,' he said, 'that neither the fleet of the King of Portugal, nor his Portuguese should receive any affront or discomfiture in order to make his life secure, for he was also on his part bound to die for the service of God and his King, and for the liberty of his countrymen, and he held it to be a good fortune for him that Our Lord had placed him in a state where he could die for his Holy Faith; and as for himself and his companions, he should not fail to do what was best for the service of the King of Portugal, for they were now quite resigned to anything that could happen to them; and he would have Affonso de Albuquerque to know that the King of Malacca was making ready as fast as was possible, and that it was the Gujarátís who were at work day and night upon the fortification of the stockades, for these were the principal people who could not bear that the Portuguese should get a footing in the land; and if the Portuguese attack upon the city should be decided upon, it ought to be put into execution as quickly as could be, without wasting any more time in discussing terms of agreement or making demands for the surrender of the Christians; for he must know for certain that the King would not restore them except under compulsion; and he was now become so puffed up with pride when he surveyed the great number of foreign soldiers that he had, that he thought of nothing less than actually capturing the Portuguese fleet.'1
1Albuquerque'sCommentaries,vol. iii. pp. 92, 93.