LETTER WHICH THE GREAT AFONSO DALBOQUERQUE WROTE TO THE KING OF ORMUZ.

"Most honourable King Ceifadin, Abenadar, King of Ormuz, in the name of the most high and most mighty D. Manuel, King of Portugal and of the Algarves, on this side and on that side of the sea; in Africa Lord of Guinea, and of the Conquest, Navigation, [and] Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and of India, and of the kingdom and dominion of Ormuz, and of the kingdom and dominion of Goa; I, Afonso Dalboquerque, Captain-General and Governor of India for the King D. Manuel my Lord, send you my greetings. Here in Goa I met with your messenger, and treated him with honour and befitting entertainment, out of my love for you. My departure from Cochim with the King's fleet was that I might make my way to your city of Ormuz to establish there a factory, and place therein certain persons whom the King has commissioned. You are to know that the Rumes prepared a fleet in Goa, but I came up against the city and captured it, and cast them out of it, and took all their fleet and artillery. If I can come and pass the winter with you in Ormuz, I will come; I have ordered a large quantity of provisions to be made ready against the arrival of the men composing my fleet, who are very numerous; I have forgiven and forgotten all that is past; I am your great friend; Cogeamir is going to you, he carries these two ships of the King my Lord, laden with his merchandise; I shall be glad if he is recognised and well greeted by you, as well as these messengers whom I send to you with a message from the King to the Xeque Ismael. I send my recommendations to you, and to your father and to your mother. Be well assured that in all your dealings I will assist you always like a true friend. Done at Goa, on the twentieth of March, 1510."

As soon as Ruy Gomez and Cogeamir arrived at Ormuz

they delivered the letters and messages which they carried from Afonso Dalboquerque to Cogeatar, who showed great attention and consideration towards Ruy Gomez. And after enquiring particularly of him after the present state of Afonso Dalboquerque, how he was, and after the state of affairs at Goa, he told him to retire to his lodging to get over the discomforts of the sea voyage, for he would set him on his return journey without delay. But, inasmuch as this same Cogeatar was still actuated with hatred towards Afonso Dalboquerque,-not only because of the favour which the Viceroy had shewn to him, but also because Duarte de Lemos, who occupied the position of chief captain of that coast, had apprised him that the King, D. Manuel, had not been pleased at the destruction which had been wrought upon that coast, and also because he was annoyed at the fresh alliance which Afonso Dalboquerque desired to enter into with the Xeque Ismael,-instead of remitting the dues in the case of the ambassador, he laid to his charge whatever he chose, and carried off from him as much as he carried: and he planned matters so that they killed Ruy Gomez by poison. When the servants saw that Ruy Gomez was dead, they made their way back to India, and Cogeamir continued to unload his ships and gathered together his merchandise and then returned to India, but did not go near Goa, as will be related hereafter. And thus it was that this embassy bore no fruit; and afterwards Afonso Dalboquerque sent Miguel Ferreira as ambassador to Xeque Ismael with this same set of instructions which he had given to Ruy Gomez, and in its proper place an account of his journey will be given.

CHAPTER XXIV.

How the great Afonso Dalboquerque ordered Francisco Pantoja to provide the fortress of Cacotorá with supplies, and what passed herein with Duarte de Lemos respecting a ship which he captured on the way.

On the departure of the ambassadors, the great Afonso Dalboquerque despatched Francisco Pantoja to the fortress of Cocotorá (for he had not received any news for a long time from D. Afonso, his nephew, the captain of the fortress,) with a ship laden with supplies: and through him he wrote and forwarded a letter to Duarte de Lemos, wherein he informed him that he had set out for Cochim with his fleet, with the intention of uniting himself to his (Duarte's) forces, in accordance with what he had before written and sent through Diogo Correa; but that when he had progressed on his voyage as far as Onor, Timoja had come up with him, and in consequence of the intelligence that the latter had given him with respect to the condition that Goa was in; and because the city could be captured without much trouble or peril to his men, he had altered his plans and gone up against the city and gained possession of it, more by the divine favour of Our Lord than by human force; and that he was now employed in strengthening its fortifications with an intention of maintaining them, because he was strongly of opinion that such a policy of maintenance would redound greatly to the service of the King of Portugal. But, he added, as soon as all this was arranged, he would come with a powerful fleet to fulfil the promises he had made.

And he also commanded Francisco Pantoja that, if it so fell out that Duarte de Lemos were in Ormuz, he should proceed thither to see him, and if he had any money in hand from the receipt of the tribute, that he should send it on to him, Afonso Dalboquerque, because he was very

much in want of it on account of the expenses connected with the building of the fortress-(for the King, D. Manuel, had ordered Duarte de Lemos to assist Afonso Dalboquerque by every manner of means, and that the government of Ormuz was to be under obedience to his commands, as he would see by the letter which he sent him). And Afonso Dalboquerque further ordered Francisco Pantoja to say to D. Afonso [de Noronha], his nephew, if indeed he had not already set out on his voyage, that he was to come at once, because the King had sent word that he was to be appointed captain of Cananor, and Pero Ferreira, who was at Quiloa, to remain behind as captain in the fortress of Çacotora, as he would have seen in the provisional instructions which had been forwarded through Diogo Correa.

2

Francisco Pantoja, after he had set out on his journey, was crossing over the great Indian Gulf towards Çacotora, when he came upon a ship belonging to the King of Cambaya, which was called Meri,1 and proceeding on its voyage laden with merchandise for Meca-a vessel of about six hundred tons, whose captain was a noble Moor of Cambaya, named Alicão. And, although the Moor trusted in his numerous and stout men that he had on board, and put himself in an attitude of defending his ship with the object of saving the lives and property of all, nevertheless our party attacked them and fought so valiantly that the enemy surrendered and their ship was taken. And with this prize Francisco Pantoja sailed straight away to Çacotora, where he found Duarte de Lemos who had come thither but a few days before from Melinde with four ships, in expectation of Afonso Dalboquerque's arrival, in order to accompany him

1 This appears to have been a common name for a ship among the Arabs; for the description of another ship so called, captured by the Portuguese at Ormuz, see vol. i, pp. 113-115.

This name seems to be the Portuguese translation of the name Ali-Khan,

in his entry of the Straits, according to the message which had come to him; and he found also Pero Ferreira acting as captain of the Fort S. Miguel, for D. Afonso de Noronha had sailed away in April last to India.

As soon as Francisco Pantoja had arrived and delivered his letters from Afonso Dalboquerque to Duarte de Lemos, the latter, observing the valuable nature of the ship, ordered him to deliver it up to the factory, and he would thereupon give orders to pay to him and his men whatever their share of the prize should amount to. But Francisco Pantoja being angered at this arbitrary proceeding on the part of Duarte de Lemos towards him, said that he did not belong to his division but to that of Afonso Dalboquerque, who was Captain-General of all those parts, and to him alone would it be right that he should deliver the ship; and hereupon he made a great show of remonstrance. But Duarte de Lemos did not desist from his demands, for he replied that he himself was the chief captain of those parts, and since the prize had been captured in waters subject to his jurisdiction, it therefore fell to him to superintend the management and distribution of the property; and without caring to hear any more about the matter, he gave orders to discharge the cargo, and took for himself all the share which belonged to Afonso Dalboquerque, without holding any ceremony with Francisco Pantoja, nor giving him anything of that which properly should have come to his share.

And having done this, and considering that Afonso Dalboquerque could no longer that season come to join forces with him, by reason of the successful operations at Goa, he made up his mind to spend no more time in waiting, but to make his way to India; and the more so because he had lost two ships, and the four which remained were so much out of repair that they could no longer render any service to the King in those parts. Therefore, after taking supplies and water he took leave of Pero Ferreira, captain of the fortress,