Изменить стиль страницы

Perceiving that he only lost his labour at this place, the viceroy went to Diu, whence he dispatched relief to Ormuz; and on his return from Diu towards Goa, the four English ships were seen at a great distance from Surat in full sail to the south. The viceroy pursued, and towards evening came up with the sternmost, having left his own fleet far behind. The head gunner offered to sink the English ship by means of two 40 pounders; but the officers who accompanied the viceroy opposed this, alleging that the other three English ships would come upon him while alone and the galleon might be lost. The viceroy accordingly submitted to their opinion, but neglected to make them give it under their hands; and when he was afterwards accused for having neglected to do what the gunner proposed, they denied having ever given him any such advice. The English were so thankful for this forbearance, that they fired their cannons without ball as if saluting.

In the year 1615, Sebastian Gonzalez Tibao, formerly mentioned, who had raised himself from a poor dealer in salt to be an absolute sovereign by treachery and ingratitude, and who had neglected to submit himself to the Portuguese viceroy in the height of his prosperity, finding himself now in danger of losing his ill got power, sent to request succour; but even now proposed terms like an independent prince, and offered in return for assistance and protection to deliver a large ship load of rice yearly at Goa as an acknowledgement of vassalage. He urged that all he had done was to revenge the murder of the Portuguese in Banguel of Dianga by the king of Aracan, and hinted that the vast treasures of the king might easily be taken by a very moderate effort. This blinded the viceroy, who immediately fitted out 14 of the largest galliots with a fliboat and a pink, and sent them to Aracan under the command of Francisco de Menezes Roxo, who had formerly commanded in Ceylon. Roxo sailed from Goa about the middle of September 1615. On the 2d of October he arrived at Aracan, the chief port and residence of the king, having detached a galleon to Sundiva to give notice to Gonzalez of his arrival and intentions. Having opened his instructions in presence of all the captains, they directed him to proceed against Aracan without waiting for Gonzalez; which was highly improper, as that man knew the country and was acquainted with their manner of fighting, besides that the force he was able to bring was of importance. But God confounded their councils, having decreed the ruin of that vile wretch, and of the unjust succours that were now sent to his aid.

On the 15th of October, the Aracan fleet was observed coming down the river to attack, so numerous that they could not be counted. The foremost vessel was a Dutch pink, and many of the other vessels were commanded by Hollanders. All that could be seen appeared full of men well armed and equipped, and seemed a prodigious overmatch for the small number the Portuguese had to oppose them, as besides the galliot sent to Sundiva another had been dispatched in search of the pink, so that only 12 galliots remained and the fliboat. The Dutch pink fired the first gun, and then the fight began with great fury, the Portuguese galliots bravely advancing against the vast hostile fleet. Four of the galliots got before the rest, and in the very beginning of the action their captains and many of their men were slain, but the other eight came up to their rescue, and great execution was done among the enemy, many of whom were drowned by oversetting their vessels in their haste to escape from the destructive fire of the Portuguese. The battle raged the whole day, but the enemy drew off in the evening, thinking that a reinforcement was coming to the Portuguese, as they saw the galliot approaching which had been sent in search of the pink. In this engagement the Portuguese lost 25 men of note besides others.

Next morning the pink joined the fleet, on board of which all the wounded men were put, and those that were fit for service in that vessel were distributed among the others. Roxo now resolved to remain at anchor at the mouth of the river till Gonzalez came to join him, and then to attack the enemy. At length Gonzalez made his appearance, with 50 vessels well manned and equipped, and on being told the orders of the viceroy and what had been already done, he expressed much displeasure at the viceroy for giving such orders, and at Roxo for imprudently fighting before his arrival. About the middle of November: the combined fleets sailed up the river and discovered the vast fleet of Aracan at anchor in a well chosen situation, where it was resolved immediately to attack them. Roxo took half of the ships belonging to Gonzalez under his immediate command, giving Gonzalez half of these he had brought from Goa, so as to make two equal squadrons. Thus arranged they advanced against the enemy, firing against those vessels they could reach, but none of the enemy ventured to advance. The king of Aracan viewed the engagement from the shore to encourage his people, and caused the heads of such as fled to be cut off and exposed on spears as a terror to the rest. About noon when the heat of the sun was so great as to scorch the Portuguese; the Aracan ships came on in three numerous squadrons. Sebastian Gonzalez put to flight those of the enemy that were opposed to him, and the Portuguese pink compelled that belonging to the Hollanders to draw off. On that side where Roxo commanded there was much slaughter on both sides without any evident superiority; but about sunset, when the advantage was obviously leaning to the Portuguese, Roxo was slain. Being informed by signal of this mischance, Gonzalez was obliged to discontinue following up his good fortune; and on the tide ebbing the fleet separated, one of the Portuguese galliots being left aground among the enemy, who tore her to pieces and slew all her crew; The Portuguese fleet retired to the mouth of the river, where care was taken of the wounded men, and above 200 dead bodies were thrown into the sea. Don Luis de Azevedo succeeded in the command of the Portuguese squadron, and they all retired to Sundiva, whence Don Luis sailed back to Goa, in spite of everything that Gonzalez could say to detain him. Soon after the departure of the Portuguese ships, the king of Aracan invaded and conquered the island of Sundiva, by which Sebastian Gonzalez was reduced to his original poverty, his sovereignty passing away like a dream, his pride humbled in the dust, and his villainous conduct deservedly punished.

In 1616, Don Nunno Alvarez Pereyra succeeded Emanuel Mascarennas Homem as general of the Portuguese in Ceylon, and made several successful inroads into the kingdom of Candy, whence he brought off many prisoners and great numbers of cattle. From the commencement of the Portuguese dominion in that island, they had been engaged in almost perpetual wars with the different petty sovereigns who ruled over its various small maritime divisions, and with the central kingdom of Canea, most of which have been omitted in this work as not possessing sufficient interest. At this time a dangerous commotion took place in the island, occasioned by a circumstance which, though not new in the world, is still admired though often repeated. Some years before, Nicapeti the converted king of Ceylon died without issue, and left the king of Portugal heir to his dominions. A poor fellow of the same name got admittance to one of the queens of Valgameme from whom he learnt several particulars respecting the deceased king, taking advantage of which he determined to assume the character of the late sovereign, and to endeavour to persuade the people that he was their prince who had come again-to-life. For this purpose he feigned himself a jogue, similar to a hermit among the christians; and making his appearance in the neighbourhood of Maregnepora, he gave out that he came to free his country from the tyranny of the Portuguese. Finding credit among the people, many of whom flocked to him, he entered the seven corlas during the absence of the Dissava Philip de Oliveyra, and being assisted by 2000 men sent to him by the king of Candy, he was acknowledged as king by most of the country. Hearing of this commotion, Pereyra sent a force under Emanuel Cesar to suppress the insurrection. Cesar encountered the false Nicapeti at Gandola, a village on the river Laoa, where the insurgents had collected a force of 6000 men. In the heat of the battle, 1000 Chingalese troops who served under Luis Gomez Pinto deserted to the enemy; but Don Constantine, a native Christian of the blood royal who served the Portuguese, called them back by declaring himself their lawful king, on which they immediately returned and proclaimed him their sovereign. After a long engagement the enemy was defeated and fled across the river.