English
Caleral concluded a friendly treaty with the Rajah of Coohin, promising to make him some day Zamorin of Calient, and established a factory at Cochin. Friendly overtures were also received by him from the Rijah of Qnilon and Cannanor. See Hunter’s History, Vol. I, p. 107. The fanatical vandalism of the Portuguese Christians in demolishing a Moslem Mosque, is in sad con¬ trast to the toleration and scrupulous regard for the sanctity of the Christian Church shewn by the early Moslem Arabs under Omar, after the latter had conquered Palestine and visited Jerusalem.—See Sir William Muir's ‘Annals of the Early Caliphate,’ p. 210. * Animated by a crusading spirit the aim of the Portuguese Governmen was to destroy the Arab commerce, and to establish an armed monopoly. See Hunter’s History, Vol. I, p. 108. _ 8 I.e„ the Portuguese Christians. For the origin and significance of t e terra Fercr.gis, see Dr. Hunter’s History of British India, Vol. I, p. 18*. Sft J 9 Dr. Hunter: “The ravenous hordes thus let loose in India, made the race- name of Christian (Ferengi) a word of terror until the strong nile of the Mochal Empire turned it into one of contempt. ” See also n. 2, ibid. * ‘In 1502 Vasco da Gama ai Portuguese Admiral of the Indian Seas oame India for the second time, with a fleet of twenty vessels. He bombarded Cal.cu m so that the Sarnn did not succeed in subduing it, and without attaining his object retired. Becoming powerless, he sent envoys to the rulers of Egypt, Jiddah, the Dakhiu and Gujrat. Com¬ plaining of the malpractices of the Christians, he asked for help, and sending out narratives of the oppressions practised by the Christians over the Musalmaus, he stirred up the veins of then- zeal and rage. At length, Sultan Qab?ur Ghurl* despatched to the and destroyed its Arab merchant-fleet. At Cochin, Cannanore, Qnilon, and Baticala, he established factories. Da Gama's successes were stained by re¬ volting cruelties never to be forgotten. For a graesome detail of those bar¬ barous cruelties, see Huuter’s History, Vol, I, pp. 109, 139, 140 and 141. Da Gama now (1503) returned to Lisbon. The Zamorin and tlio Arab merchants burned to avenge the tortures and outrages inflicted by this Christian fanatic. They attacked the Cochin Raja, seized his capital, and demanded sur¬ render of the Portuguese factors left under his protection. The Cochin chief bravely held out until relieved by arrival of the next Portuguese fleet in Sep- teinber, 1503. Hunter’s History, Vol. I, p. 110. This fleet operated against India under Alfonso de Albuqaerque and his consin Francisco de Albuqner- que. In India, the two Albuquerques built a fort ut Cochin, established a factory at Qnilon, aud severely punished the Zamorin. Alfonso returned to Lisbon in 1501, whilst his consin was lost on his way home togeth*** wifh his squadron.’ See Hunter’s History, Vol. I, p. 111. The next expedition was sent in 1501 under Lopo Soarez de Albergaria. ‘ He continued the policy of unsparing destruction against the ports in which Arab influence prevailed ; laid part of Calicat in ruins, and burned Crnnganor- Soarez broke the Arab supremacy on the Malabar coast. In 1505, King Emmanuel of Portugal sent Don Francisco da Almeida ns the Portuguese Viceroy in India. His priucip d duty was to coersco the Malabar sea-coast chiefs who might be friendly to the Arab merchants, to strengthen the Portu¬ guese factorites on shore, aud thirdly, to break the Moslem Naval supremacy, including the armed Arab merchantmen of Calicut nnd the regalnr Navy of the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt, who menacod the existenco of Portugal iu the East. This was the third aud last act in the long conflict between Mediaeval Christendom nnd Islam. In four yoars (1505-1509), Almeida overthrew the power of the Moslem Arabs at the Malabar ports, defeated the Zamorin nnd destroyed his fleet of 84 ships and 120 galleys, nnd slew 3,000 Mnsalinans.' See Hunter’s History, Vol. I, p. 116. 1 “ The Mameluke Sultan of Egypt sent forth in 1508 a great expedition under Admiral Amir Husnin, who effected a ooalition with tho Moslem fleet of tho northern Bombay const, and was aiming to effect also a junction with the scuthern Calient squadron. Lourenco Almeida, son of tho Portuguese Viceroy, attempted to oppose this junction, but was ehot down. The Moslem victors chivalrously gave him honourable burial, and respectfully congratulated Almeida on a sou who at the age of twenty-two had covered himself with 404 Iudiau coasts a General, named Amir Husain, with a fleet of thirteen war-vessels, containing a naval force with armaments. Sultan Mahmud of Gujrat and Sultan Mahmud Bahmani of the Dakhin also fitted out numerous ships from the ports of Deo, Surat, Kolah, Dabil and Jabul, in order to fight with the Portu¬ guese. First, the ships from Egypt arrived in the port of Deo, and uniting with the ships of Gojrat set out for Jabul, which was the rendezvous of the Portuguese. And some ships of the Samri and some ships of Goa and Dabil having also joined them, they kiudled the fire of war; but suddenly, one warship full of the Portuguese quietly sailed up from the rear. The Portuguese commenced a cannonade, and converted the 6ea into a zone of fire. Malik Ajaz, ruler of Deo, and Amir Husain were obliged to fight with them, but failed to effect anything. Some Egyptian galleys were captured, and the Musalmans drank the potion of martyrdom, whilst the Portuguese triumphantly steered back to their own ports. Inasmuch as at that period, Sultan Salim, Khaqan 1 of Rum (Turkey), defeated the Ghoriah Sultan* of Egypt, and the empire of the latter came to an end, the Samri who was the promoter of this war lost heart, and the Portuguese acquired complete domination. In the month of Ramzan, 915 A.H., the Portuguese proceeded to Kalikot, set fire to the Cathe¬ dral Mosque, and swept the town with the broom of plunder. But on the following day, the Malabarese collecting together attacked imperishable glory. In 1509, Almeida, the senior, defeated the combined Moslem fleets off Din, and slew 3,000 of their men. The aggressions of the Turks upon Egypt gave the Mameluke Snlf.an, of Cairo, work nearer home, and disabled him from sending further expeditions to India. [The Turks wrested Egypt from the Mamelake Sultan in 1517]. Almeida’s victory over Moslems off Diu on February 2nd, 1509, secured to Christendom the Naval supremacy in Asia, and turned the Indian Ocean for tbc next century into a Portuguese sea. ” See Hunter’s History of British India, Vol..I, PP- H7-118. five years of annual expeditions from 1500 to 1505 had given the Portugueso the npper hand in the armed commerce of the Malabar coast. The following four years under Almeida (1505-1509) left them masters of the Indian Ocean. The next six years (1509-1516) were under Alfonso de Albu¬ querque to see them grow into a territorial power on the Indian continent. S6 l In^tbe printed Persian text, JOanhan is obviously a misprint or misread- ing for Email, which is a title leld by Sultans of Turkey. 2 J c., the Mameluke Sultans of Egypt. the Christians, killed five hundred leading Portuguese, and drowned many of them in the sea. Those who escaped the sword tied to the port of Kolam, 1 and intriguing with the Chief of that place, at a distance of half a farsakh from that town, erected a small fort, aud entrenched themselves there. And in the same year, they * wrested the fort of Goah from the possession of Yusaf Adil Shall ; 8 but the latter shortly after amicably got it back from their hands. But after a short period, the Portuguese offering a large sum of money to the ruler of that place re-acquired possession of it, and establishing their Capital at that port, which was very strong, fortified it further. And the Samri, from the humiliation and sorrow consequent on this, died in the year 921 A.H., and his brother succeeding him ceased hostility, and estab¬ lishing peaceful relations with the Portuguese, gave the latter permission to erect a fort near the town of Kalikot, obtaining from them a stipulation to the effect that he would send yearly four ships of pepper and ginger to the ports of Arabia. For a short while, the Portuguese kept their promise and word, but when the fort was completed, they prevented his trading in the afore¬ said articles, and commenced various mal prat ices and oppressions on the Musalmans. And similarly, the Jews who were at Ka- datklor,* being informed of the weakness of the Samri, trans¬ gressed the limits of propriety, and caused many Musalmans to drink the syrup of martyrdom. The Samri, repenting of his past policy, first proceeded to Kadatklor, and completely extinguished 1 Perhaps * Coalan. 1 3 Albuqnerque (1509*1516) succeeded Almeida as the Portuguese Viceroy in India, S Yusaf Adil Shah was king of Bijapur, which was one of the five Musnh man States formed in Southern India out of the old Bahmani kingdom. The fort of Goa was seized by the Portuguese in 1510. “The pirate chief Timoju proposed to Albuquerque that as the lord of Goa was dead (in reality absent) they should seize the place. This they easily did iu March, 1510. But the rightful sovereign, a son of the Ottoman Sultan Amurad II, whose romantic adventures had ended with hie carving for himself the kingdom of Bijapur in southern India, hurried back to Goa, and drove out thn Portuguese in May, The king being agaiu called away by disturbances in the interior, the Portuguese recaptured Goa with the help of the pirate Timoju in November, 1510, Its rightful soveroiern, Yusaf Adil Shah the king of Bijapur, died in the following mouth (December.) Hie son was a minor. 11 See Hunter’s History, Vol. I, pp. 152-153. ♦ That is, * Crangauor. 1 (Seo map in Hunter's History, > ui. j, p. yuj.