Some considerable time before this, the king of Portugal having been informed of the preparations which were making by the Soldan of Egypt, resolved to send a powerful reinforcement to India. This consisted of fifteen sail of ships commanded by Don Fernando Coutinno, who had an extraordinary power given him to regulate all matters that might happen to be amiss, as if the king had even surmised the probability of a disagreement between Almeyda and Albuquerque. Coutinno arrived safely at Cananor, whence he carried Alfonso de Albuquerque along with him to Cochin as viceroy. At first Coutinno treated Almeyda with much civility, but afterwards thwarted him, as he refused to let him have a ship which he had purposely prepared and fitted out for his return to Lisbon, and was obliged to put up with another which he had no mind to.
Don Francisco de Almeyda, now divested of the viceroyalty which indeed he had for some time unlawfully retained, sailed from Cochin on the 19th of November 1509, with two more ships in company. Before leaving Cochin some of the sorcerers or astrologers of that place predicted that he would not pass the Cape of Good Hope. He did pass the Cape however, but was slain and buried at the Bay of Saldanna only a few leagues beyond that place. Having passed the Cape of Good Hope with fine weather, he observed to some of his attendants, "Now God be praised! the witches of Cochin are liars." Near that place, he put into the Bay of Saldanna to procure a supply of water; and as some of the people went on shore to exchange goods with the natives for provisions, a servant belonging to the ex-viceroy treated two of the Hottentots so ill that they knocked out two of his teeth and sent him away bleeding. Some of the attendants upon Almeyda thought proper to consider this as an affront which ought to be avenged, and persuaded him to go on shore for that purpose, when they ought to have counselled him to punish the servant for abusing people among whom they sought relief. Almeyda yielded to their improper suggestions, though against his inclination, being heard to exclaim as he went into the boat, "Ah! whether and for what end do they now carry my old age?" Accompanied by about 150 men, the choice of the ships, they went to a miserable village, whence they carried off some cattle and children. When on their return to the boats, they were attacked by 170 natives, who had fled to the mountains, but now took courage in defence of their children; and though these naked savages were only armed with pointed stakes hardened in the fire, they soon killed fifty of the Portuguese and Almeyda among them, who was struck through the throat, and died kneeling on the sea-shores with his hands and eyes raised to heaven. Melo returned with the wounded men to the ships, and when the natives were withdrawn from the shore, he again landed with a party and buried Almeyda and the others who had been slain. This was a manifest judgment of God, that so few unarmed savages should so easily overcome those who had performed such heroic actions in India.
Don Francisco de Almeyda was the seventh son of Don Lope de Almeyda, Count of Abrantes, and was a knight of the order of St Jago. He was graceful in his person, ripe in council, continent in his actions, an enemy to avarice, liberal and grateful for services, and obliging in his carriage. In his ordinary dress, he wore a black coat, instead of the cloak now used, a doublet of crimson satin of which the sleeves were seen, and black breeches reaching from the waist to the feet. He is represented in his portrait as carrying a truncheon in his right hand, while the left rests on the guard of his sword, which hangs almost directly before him108.
Among the ships which were dispatched from Lisbon for India in 1508, were two squadrons under the command of Duarte de Lemos and Diego Lopez de Sequeira, which were sent upon separate services, and which could not be conveniently taken notice of in their proper place. After encountering a storm, Lemos arrived at a place called Medones de Oro, whence he went to Madagascar, and thence to Mozambique, where he was rejoined by the rest of the squadron, except one ship commanded by George de Aguilar, which was lost. He now assumed the government of the coasts of Ethiopia and Arabia, according to his commission from the king. From Mozambique he sailed for Melinda, whence he proceeded to visit the several islands and towns along the eastern coast of Africa to compel payment of the tribute they had been in use to pay to Quiloa, and which was now considered as belonging of right to the crown of Portugal by the conquest of that place. Monfia submitted. Zanzibar resisted, but the inhabitants were driven to the mountains and the town plundered. Pemba acted in a similar manner, the inhabitants taking refuge in Mombaza, and leaving their houses empty; but some plunder was taken in a small fort in which the sheikh had left such things as he had not been able to remove. Returning to Melinda, he gave the necessary orders for conducting the trade of Sofala.
Lemos departed from Melinda for the coast of Arabia with seven ships, one of which was separated from the rest in the night on the coast of Magadoxa, and carried by the current to the port of Zeyla near the mouth of the Red Sea, and there taken by the Moors. In his progress along the Arabian coast, Lemos managed the towns more by cunning than force. Using the same conduct at Ormuz, he was well treated by the king and Khojah Attar, and received from them the stipulated tribute of 15,000 xerephines. From this place he dispatched Vasco de Sylveyra to India, who was afterwards killed at Calicut. He then went to Socotora, of which he gave the command to Pedro Ferreira, sending Don Antonio Noronha to India, who fell in with and took a richly laden ship belonging to the Moors. Noronha manned the prize with some Portuguese; but she was cast away in a storm between Dabul and Goa and the men made prisoners. His own ship was stranded in the Bay of Cambaya, where he and some others who attempted to get on shore in the boat were all lost, while about thirty who remained in the ship were made prisoners by the Moors and sent to the king of Cambaya. On his return to Melinda, Lemos took a Moorish vessel with a rich loading. When the winter was passed, he returned to Socotora, where he found Francisco Pantaja, who had come from India with provisions, and had made prize of a rich ship belonging to Cambaya; the great wealth procured in which he generously shared with Lemos and his men, saying they had a right to it as being taken within the limits of his government. Finding himself now too weak for any farther enterprises, Lemos sailed for India, where he was received with much civility by Albuquerque, who was now in possession of the government.
Diego Lopez de Sequeira, the other captain who sailed from Lisbon at the same time with Lemos, was entrusted with the discovery of Madagascar and Malacca. Arriving at the port of St Sebastian in the island of Madagascar, he run along the coast of that island, using a Portuguese as his interpreter, who had been left there109 and had acquired the language. In the course of this part of his voyage he had some intercourse with a king or prince of the natives named Diaman, by whom he was civilly treated; but being unable to procure intelligence of any spices or silver, the great object of his voyage, and finding much trouble and no profit, he proceeded to India in the prosecution of the farther orders he had received from the king. He was well received by Almeyda, then viceroy, who gave him an additional ship commanded by Garcia de Sousa, to assist in the discovery of Malacca. In the prosecution of his voyage, he was well treated by the kings of Pedir and Pacem110, who sent him presents, and at both places he erected crosses indicating discovery and possession. He at length cast anchor in the port of Malacca, where he terrified the people by the thunder of his cannon, so that every one hastened on board their ships to endeavour to defend themselves from this new and unwelcome guest.
108
De Faria uniformly gives some description, as here, of the persons and dress of the successive viceroys and governors of Portuguese India; which however has been generally omitted in the sequel. –E.
109
Probably a malefactor left on purpose, as has been formerly mentioned from Castaneda in our