in

his dominions and India, and whose ships the Portuguese had often plundered, sent a large fleet to protect his trade and to inflict merited revenge for the injuries which his subjects and others of his faith had suffered. The Egyptian flotilla found a squadron of the Portuguese fleet near Choul, about 30 miles south from Bombay. The two fleets here engaged in conflict, which was continued for several days, and resulted in the defeat of the Portuguese and the death of their commander, who was a son of Almeida. The viceroy resolved to avenge the death of his son, and destroy the Egyptian fleet, or compel the ships to return to the Red Sea. He had prepared a fleet of 19 ships and was nearly ready to sail, when Albuquerque arrived from Portugal with a large reinforcement, and showed a commission appointing himself viceroy. Almeida was indignant at being thus superseded in power at such a time, and having learned that his officers would support him in refusing obedience in such peculiar circumstances, he told Albuquerque that he was determined to continue in the command of the fleet till he had avenged the death of his son and destroyed the Egyptian fleet, or driven them all from the Indian seas. Albuquerque remonstrated, but all was in vain, for he had no means to enforce obedience, and so Almeida sailed on his expedition. While on his way, learning that Dabool, a place of large trade on the coast, had espoused the cause of the Egyptians, he made a furious attack upon it, and got possession of the fort and the city. He first gave up the whole place to plunder and massacre, and then set the city on fire. "The streets streamed with blood, the fire raged furiously, and in a few hours there remained of this magnificent city only a pile of smoking wood and ashes. The shipping in the harbor was also consumed."* Almeida then

*The Jesuit Lafiteau describing the capture of Dabool says, "The Portuguese spared neither age nor sex. The wife of the Governor himself could not purchase his life with the offer of all her riches. The insolent conquerors fell with such savage fury upon the miserable inhabitants that they took pleasure in tearing children from the bosom of their mothers and dashing their brains out against the walls; so that their cruelty has passed into a proverb in Hindustan, the Hindus in their imprecations being accustomed to say, May the wrath of the Feringhis fall upon thee, as it fell upon Dabool." When at length they were glutted with murder, they thought of nothing but satiating their avarice, and

proceeded to the Gulf of Cambay in search of the Egyptian fleet, and found it near the island of Diu. The Portuguese attacked the Egyptians, sunk or seized all the large ships and obtained great booty. Almeida compelled the Egyptian admiral to deliver up all the European prisoners, and he then set sail for Cochin. When near Cannanore, he ordered a general massacre of all the prisoners on board his ships. Such wanton cruelty excited great dread of Portuguese power, and the abhorrence of men who appeared to delight in murder and mas

sacre.

On returning to Cochin, Almeida reluctantly resigned his power into the hands of Albuquerque, and soon after sailed for Portugal. When passing along the southern coast of Africa, he went ashore with some of his men, who becoming involved in a quarrel with the natives, he interfered and received a wound which soon proved mortal. Albuquerque now duly invested with the power of viceroy, proceeded to carry into effect the plans of conquest he had formed. He failed in an attack on Calicut, where in a severe conflict "he was so stunned by repeated blows, that he remained for some time apparently dead, but his followers carried him off; he revived and slowly recovered." In 1510 he took Goa. The prince to whom it belonged, made vigorous attempts to recover it and expel the Portuguese, but after much severe fighting and great loss on both sides, Albuquerque retained possession of the place. He erected strong fortifications, and made it the capital of all the Portuguese dominions in the Indian seas. He next took Malacca, then a place of large trade with the eastern archipelago. His attempts to take Aden failed, but he succeeded in obtaining possession of Ormuz, then the chief emporium of commerce in the Persian Gulf.

Albuquerque greatly enlarged the power of the Portuguese in India, and his government has always been regarded as the most successful and brilliant period in their eastern history. Succeeding viceroys were animated by a similar spirit, and were

Almeida, before he could get them away, was obliged to set fire to the town and thus put the finishing stroke to the destruction of all that had escaped the hands of the rapacious soldiery."

almost constantly engaged in some warlike enterprise. No one of the European nations interfered with the Portuguese for a century after they commenced their conquests in the East, and so they had only the native powers to contend with. These wars were often carried on with great cruelty and barbarity. The Portuguese were superior to the native powers in the construction and management of their ships. They were also superior in the quality of their guns and other materials of war, and they had more skill in using them. It was their custom to seize and plunder all ships trading without a license from them, and if any city or town refused to allow them such privileges as they demanded, or to carry on trade with them on such terms as they dictated, they attacked and plundered all such places as far as they could. In 1500, "they attacked Calicut, then the most commercial city on the Malabar coast, seized the ships of the king, burnt many richly laden in the harbor, and made slaves of the crews." In 1502, "they again attacked Calicut, burning the palace and many houses, and seized several ships, with rich cargoes, in the harbor." In 1505 "they again attacked the city and reduced a large part of it to ashes. They also took Cranganore and burned it. The king of Quiloa refusing to pay them tribute, they seized and plundered the town. In 1507 they took Mombas by storm, and made slaves of the inhabitants. They also burnt down and destroyed the shipping in the harbor." In 1507, "they took Muscat, and committed great ravages on the towns upon the coast of Africa, plundering and burning all places where the chiefs refused to become tributary." In 1508, "Brena was plundered and burnt, and great cruelties were inflicted upon the inhabitants." In 1509, “Calicut was again attacked, and was taken, plundered, and burnt." In 1510," Goa was attacked and taken by the Portuguese, but being soon after recovered by its native sovereign, was again seized, and the whole garrison put to the sword." In the same year they also "plundered and destroyed Zanzibar." In 1511, "they took Malacca by storm, and plundered the city." In 1512, "they seized and plundered Surat." In 1516, "Zeyla was taken and burnt by them." In 1526 and 1527, "they plundered and destroyed Doofar and Massowa, and plundered and burnt Mangalore, Porcia, and Chitwa." In 1530, they again "burnt

Surat and several villages," and the next year they "destroyed Gogo, Pate, Mangarole, and most of the other towns on the coast of Gujerat."

Such instances show the spirit and manner in which the Portuguese carried on their wars of aggression, which were continued through the government of several successive viceroys. In 1536, a powerful combination was formed against the Portuguese. The kings of Cambay and Gujerat raised an army of more than 20,000 men, and the Sultan of Egypt sent 70 galleys, containing 8,000 Turkish soldiers and a powerful train of artillery from Suez. The chief place of conflict was Diu, then in the possession of the Portuguese. At one time the affairs of the Portuguese appeared to be desperate, but they defended themselves with such valor, perseverance, and skill, that the combination failed to accomplish their purpose, and Diu remained in the possession of the Portuguese. In 1570, a yet more powerful combination was formed against them by the Zamorin of Calicut, Adil Shah, king of Beejapoor, and Nizam Murtezza, king of Ahmednuggur. At this time Goa was the principal place of attack, and the united force collected against it was estimated to exceed 100,000 men. This siege of Goa is one of the most memorable in the annals of European warfare in India. After a siege of nearly 2 years and great loss on both sides, the siege was abandoned, and the native powers returned to their own capitals. The Portuguese at one time possessed Sofala, Mozambique, and Mombas on the eastern coast of Africa; Aden and Muscat in Arabia; Ormuz and Bussora in the Persian Gulf; Diu, Damaun, Basseen, Salsette, Bombay, Choul, Dabool, Goa, Onore, Barcelore, Mangalore, Cannanore, Cranganore, Calicut, Cochin, and Quilon on the western coast of India. On the eastern coast they had Negapatam, St. Thome, and Mausalapatam, and they had several places in Bengal; they had also a considerable part of Ceylon. These possessions were all subject in civil and military matters to the viceroy, who lived at Goa. The archbishop of Goa was over them in all ecclesiastical affairs.

In 1580, Portugal was annexed to the crown of Spain, and the two crowns continued united till 1640. During this time the Spanish possessions in America chiefly engaged the atten

tion of the government, and the possessions acquired by the Portuguese in the East were neglected. From this time the power of Portugal in the East declined, and she gradually lost most of her possessions, some to the Dutch, who took Cochin, Ceylon, and Nagapatam, and some to the native powers. The Portuguese dominions in the East are now limited to a few places of small population and no political importance, and a Portuguese ship is now seldom seen in the Indian seas.

Near the close of the 16th century, Holland took its place among the nations of Europe, and soon acquired the first rank as a maritime power. They first attempted to proceed to the East Indies by the Arctic Ocean, but after making three unsuc cessful efforts, a fleet of several ships proceeded round the Cape of Good Hope in 1576. The Dutch were soon engaged largely in eastern trade, and contended with the Portuguese for supremacy in the Indian seas. This was the first interference which the Portuguese experienced from any European power, and the eastern nations then saw the only two Christian nations of whom they had any knowledge, engaged in violent war with each other. The ships of each nation seized and plundered those of the other, wherever they could be found. The conflict was chiefly in the islands and places east and south-east from India, where the Dutch soon gained the ascendency and still have large possessions. They also took Ceylon, Cochin, Negapatam, and some other places from the Portuguese in India.

COMMERCE AND CONQUESTS OF THE ENGLISH.

The first attempts of English navigators to reach India were made through the Arctic Ocean, by Sir Hugh Willoughby, Frobisher, and others. In 1577, Sir Francis Drake commenced his voyage round the world, passing through the Straits of Magellan and returning by the Cape of Good Hope. While on the western coast of South America, he made prizes of several richly laden Spanish ships, and brought home with him great wealth. His success produced great excitement, and a strong spirit for discovery and foreign commerce. Queen Elizabeth visited him on board his ship, and conferred upon him the honor of knighthood.