Indian Antiquary Vol 52

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 470

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
;
[ NOVEMBER, 1923
(Faria, III, 2, mentions Coulete and Capocate) which gave them shelter (Danvers, II, 26). In the same year Gonzalo Vaz de Camoens with four ships followed a rich Gujarati vessel to the Negrais. Two of his ships were taken by Malabar pirates, but with the other two he captured a rich ship of Achin, laden with ammunition and such an amount of valuable booty that when brought on board his own ships the latter would have sunk, had he not forced his men to throw a quantity of it overboard (Faria, II, 369).
157. In 1583 six Portuguese were taken prisoners in an unsuccessful attack on Kun. hale's fort by Don Giles James Mascarenbas, and one of these was taken to Kunhale, a man of extraordinary strength, "who at one stroke cut him in two" (Faria, III, 13; Py. rard, II, 511 ; Danvers, II, 51, 112-116).
158. In 1584 the Portuguese concluded a peace with the Zamorin, the nominal sovereign of the Malabar pirate chiefs and communities, and received permission to ereot a fort at Panana, ten miles from Calicut, in order to keep them in check, for the Zamorin hypocritically pretended (see para. 143 above) that "they were sea-rovers and were subject neither to him nor to any one else." For this reason when requested to punish the people of Sanguisceo, twelve miles from Goa, he refused, and told the Viceroy, Don Francisco Mas. carenhas, that he might do so himself. As far as I can make out, these were the subjeots of the Hindu Naik of Sangameshwar, who had a fort at Jaygad at the mouth of the Sangameshwar River.39 An expedition against them in 1583 under the Viceroy's nephew Don Juliano (Don Giles Yanez de Mascarenhas, Faria, III, 18) was defeated in consequence of the indiscipline of the young Portuguese gentlemen volunteers, and Don Juliano was killed. A second expedition in 1584 or 1585 under the Viceroy's cousin Don Jeronimo, Assisted by the troops of the King of Bijapur was successful, and the pirate stronghold was destroyed. The Naik was restored to his throne on promise of amendment (Faria, III, 18, 21, Linschoten, I, 92, 143; Bomb. Gaz., X, 341; XV, ii, 119).
159. About 1586 Kunhale sent many pirate vessels to sea and took many Portuguese prisonere. Some of these, it is said, were saved from starvation in prison by the fact that a mouse having made a hole through the wall of their dungeon into a room in which rice was stored, sufficient rice fell through every night for them to live on. One of the prisoners, Emmanuel de Olivera, was beheaded for refusing to turn Muhammadan (Faria, III, 38).
180. In 1589 a Portuguese vessel meeting with some pirates of Cangane on the Malabar coast "pursued them with scoffs, scorning to take up arms against them, and they turnirg upon the galley, entered it and put all the men to the sword” (Faria, III, 62). In the same year two Portuguese galleys were attacked in the River Kharepatam by the famous Moor Costamuza (Cousty Morissey, Pyrard, I, 352), nephew and Admiral of Kuphale, and escaped only by the unexpected retirement of the enemy. Costamuza, in command of a squadron variously estimated at 14 or 22 galleys, soon became absolute on the coast, and took several Portuguese ships including a rich vessel from China, the crew of which they killed, but which they could not plunder as she caught fire. This disaster ruined many of the merchants of Goa. Owing to bad weather, the pirates were unable to regain Calicut and so went to Ceylon, where they concluded an alliance with the King of Jaffnapatam, who agreed to assist them with land forces against the Portuguese and provided them with a refuge in the Straits of Manaar, from which they could intercept ships trading with Bengal, Pegu and the Moluccas. Andreas Hurtado Mendoza was sent with a fleet to attack them. On his way he took two rich ships from Mecca, and in October surprised, and destroyed the pirate fleet at the mouth of the River Cardiva in Ceylon (Pet. Jaurici, Thesaurus, I. 489; Faria, III, 65 ; Ribeiro, Ceylon, p. 79; Danvers, II, 85).
89 Faria (II, 324) mentions the destruction of the Naik of Sanguicer's town in 1571 by Don George de Meneses.