After Don Francisco de Mascarenhas had enjoyed the viceroyalty for three years, Don Duarte de Menezes came out in 1581 as his successor. His first measure was to restore peace at Cochin, where a revolt was threatened by the natives in consequence of the Portuguese having usurped the management of the custom-house to the prejudice of the Rajah; but an accommodation was now entered into, and the people appeased by restoring matters to their ancient footing. The naik of Sanguicer, a place dependent upon the king of Visiapour, having converted his place of residence into a nest of pirates, to the great injury of the Portuguese trade on the coast of Canara, an agreement was entered into with the king of Visiapour for his punishment; the governor of Ponda named Kosti Khan being to march against him by land with 40,000 men, while the Portuguese were to attack the naik by sea. This was accordingly executed, and the naik being driven to take refuge is the woods, implored mercy, and was restored to his ruined district.
Some years before the present period a prodigious inundation of Kafrs or Negro barbarians from the interior of Africa invaded the country of Monomotapa, in multitudes that were utterly innumerable. They came from that part of the interior in which the great lake of Maravi is situated, out of which springs the great rivers whose source was formerly unknown. Along with this innumerable multitude, a part of whom were of the tribes called Macabires and Ambei, bordering upon Abyssinia, came their wives, children, and old people, as if emigrating bodily in search of new habitations, from their own being unable to contain them. They were a rude and savage people, whose chosen food was human flesh, only using that of beasts in defect of the other; and such was the direful effect of their passage through any part of the country, that they marked their way by the utter ruin of the habitations, leaving nothing behind but the bones of the inhabitants. When these failed them, they supplied their craving hunger by feeding on their own people, beginning with the sick and aged. Even their women, though ugly and deformed, were as hardy and warlike as their husbands, carrying their children and household goods on their backs, and going armed with bows and arrows, which they used with as much courage and dexterity as the men. These barbarians used defensive armour, and even employed the precaution of fortifying their camp wherever they happened to halt. While passing the castle of Tete upon the Zambeze in the interior of Mocaranga, Jerome de Andrada who commanded the Portuguese garrison sent out against them a party of musketeers, and in two encounters killed above 5000 of them, while the multitude fled in the utmost dismay, having never, before experienced the effects of fire arms. Passing onwards from thence, the barbarous multitude came to the neighbourhood of Mozambique, destroying every thing in their course like an inundation of fire; and as the situation appeared inviting to one of their chiefs named Mambea, who commanded about 6000 warriors, he built a fort and some towns on the main, about two leagues from Mozambique. As the fort of Cuama, where Nuno Vello Pereyra commanded, was much incommoded by the neighbourhood of these barbarians, he sent out Antonio Pimentel against them with 400 men, four only of whom were Portuguese, who falling unexpectedly on the barbarians slew many of them and burnt the fort; but retiring in disorder, the enemy fell upon Pimentel and his men, all of whom they slew except three Portuguese and a small number of negroes. All the slain were devoured by the victorious Kafrs, except their heads, hands, and feet.
The country about Mozambique is full of orchards and fruit trees, especially citrons, lemons, and oranges, and has all kinds of wild and tame beasts like those in Europe, together with prodigious numbers of elephants. The principal food of the people is maize. The woods mostly consist of ebony, being a very lofty tree with leaves like those of our apple trees, and fruit resembling medlars, but not eatable, the whole stem and branches being thickly covered with thorns. The bark is as susceptible of fire as tinder, and when one of these trees is cut down it never springs up again. There is another sort of a yellowish colour, which is reckoned valuable. The best manna is produced in this country. Among the fish of this river is one equally voracious with the crocodile, from which no man escapes that gets within their reach, but they never injure women. One of these of a prodigious size was caught having gold rings in its ears, which was supposed to have been done as some species of witchcraft or incantation by the Kafrs to clear the river from these dangerous animals. In confirmation of this opinion, we read in an Arabian author named Matude, giving an account of prodigies, that about the year 863 a brazen crocodile was found under the ruins of an Egyptian temple, on which certain characters or symbolical letters were impressed, and when this image was broken in pieces the crocodiles of the Nile began again to devour men.
During the viceroyalty of Don Duarte de Menezes fresh troubles broke out in the kingdom of Visiapour, in consequence of which the Moguls invaded the country, and after laying it waste to a great extent possessed themselves of many of its towns cities and districts. The occasions of these troubles was this: The king being ill of a contagious distemper, his two favourite ministers, Acede Khan and Calabate Khan, kept him concealed in the palace, so that no person was allowed to see him. The prince and the people had recourse to arms, in order to force these tyrants to admit them into the kings presence; on which they persuaded the infirm king that the prince wished to depose him, so that the king went to war against the prince, and defeated him with great slaughter, upon which the Moguls were called in to their assistance, and used the opportunity to plunder the country and appropriate it to themselves.
Towards the close of the viceroyalty of Don Duarte de Menezes, Raju who had usurped the sovereignty of Ceylon, determined upon making a conquest of the Portuguese fortress of Columbo, with a view of expelling them from that island. For this purpose he collected an immense army, in which were 50,000 soldiers, 60,000 pioneers, and nearly as many artificers of various descriptions, with 2200 elephants, 40,000 oxen, 150 pieces of cannon, and 50,000 intrenching tools, axes, shovels, spades, and mattocks, with an innumerable quantity of spare arms and ammunition; among which were two wooden castles built upon enormous carriages, each of which had nine wheels. Added to all which he had nearly 500 craft of different kinds. Before proceeding upon this expedition, he deemed it proper to consult the idols respecting its success; and on this occasion he secretly placed men behind the idols, who answered to his supplications for a favourable termination to his great design, If you, would take Columbo you must shed innocent blood! The people were astonished at this familiar and direct intercourse between their idols and their prince; and he, pretending obedience to the divine commands which they had all heard, caused 500 children to be taken from the arms of their mothers, all of whom were sacrificed, and the idols sprinkled with their blood.
After all his preparations were completed, he marched with his prodigious army and invested Columbo, choosing the ground which he deemed most advantageous, as the garrison was not sufficiently strong to contend with him in the field. Joam de Britto, who then commanded in Columbo, had sent intimation of his danger to the other Portuguese possessions, and had arranged every thing for defence as well as he could. To defend the place against the vast army by which he was now assailed, he had only 300 Portuguese, a third of whom were useless, as being old men or children; besides whom he had 700 armed natives and slaves. This incompetent force he posted to the best advantage around the walls, which were far too extensive, reserving 50 picked men to attend upon himself to give relief wherever it was most needed. After the commencement of the siege, Raju spent a whole month in draining a lake which secured one side of Columbo from being assailed, and as the Portuguese had several boats on the lake, there were frequent skirmishes in which the enemy suffered considerable loss. The side of the fort which had been covered by the lake was much weakened by the drawing off its water, which had been its chief defence on that side. In consequence of the advices sent by Brito to the commanders of the neighbouring forts, reinforcements were prepared at different quarters. The first relief, consisting of 40 men, was sent by Juan de Melo the commander of Manaar, under the command of his nephew Ferdinand de Melo, who likewise brought a supply of ammunition; and Ferdinand was posted with his men to strengthen the defence upon the side towards the drained lake.