which the Moors carry every year hence to the Straits without our being able to prevent them from so doing; but if we deprive them of this their ancient market there, there does not remain for them a single port, nor a single situation, so commodious in the whole of these parts, where they can carry on their trade in these things. For after we were in possession of the pepper of Malabar, never more did any reach Cairo, except that which the Moors carried thither from these parts, and forty or fifty ships, which sail hence every year laden with all sorts of spiceries bound to Méca, cannot be stopped without great expense and large fleets, which must necessarily cruise about continually in the offing of Cape Comorim; and the pepper of Malabar, of which they may hope to get some portion because they have the King of Calicut on their side, is in our hands, under the eyes of the Governor of India, from whom the Moors cannot carry off so much with impunity as they hope to do; and I hold it as very certain that if we take this trade of Malaca away out of their hands, Cairo and Méca are entirely ruined, and to Venice will no spiceries be conveyed except that which her merchants go and buy in Portugal.

mantêm, e sostem nossas gerações, e com seu tanto gasto aquy somos aportados com esta armada, e com os poderes d'ella ganhâmos, e El Rey tudo ficaria perdendo se lhe nom dessemos premicias do seu gasto e nossa obrigação, que lhe forçadamente devemos, que ha de ser aquy lhe fazermos sua forteleza com nossos trabalhos, porque possamos dizer que ganhámos esta cidade ás lançadas com nosso sangue, e lhe entregamos arrematada pera sempre em seu serviço, pedindolhe que este tamanho serviço nos pague a nossos filhos e gerações, do que elle se nom poderá escusar; tudo, senhores, vos he presente, porque cada hum por seu assinado me ha de dar sua determinação, pera me eu livrar ante Sua Alteza de quem me accusar. Pera que sem duvida lhes affirmo que indaque n'esta hora Malaca se me entregasse, com toda sua riqueza, a não tomaria se n'ella nom ouver de fazer a milhor, e mais forte, e possante forteleza que ouver n'estes partes; pois Malaca he a mais populosa cidade da India, que está no meo e estremo de todolas riqas mercadarias e tratos que por ella correm. E pois, senhores, tudo lhe tenho apresentado, vossas mercês agora se determinem no que façamos, porque eu nada hey de fazer, senão o que per elles for assentado."

"But if you are of opinion that, because Malaca is a large city and very populous, it will give us much trouble to maintain our possession of it, no such doubts as these ought to arise, for when once the city is gained, all the rest of the Kingdom is of so little account that the King has not a single place left where he can rally his forces; and if you dread lest by taking the city we be involved in great expenses, and on account of the season of the year there be no place where our men and our Fleet can be recruited, I trust in God's mercy that when Malaca is held in subjection to our dominion by a strong fortress, provided that the Kings of Portugal appoint thereto those who are well experienced as Governors and Managers of the Revenues, the taxes of the land will pay all the expenses which may arise in the administration of the city; and if the merchants who are wont to resort thither-accustomed as they are to live under the tyrannical yoke of the Malays--experience a taste of our just dealing, truthfulness, frankness, and mildness, and come to know of the instructions of the King D. Manuel, our Lord, wherein he commands that all his subjects in these parts be very well treated, I venture to affirm that they will all return and take up their abode in the city again, yea, and build the walls of their houses with gold; and all these matters which here I lay before you may be secured to us by this half-turn of the key, which is that we build a fortress in this city of Malaca and sustain it, and that this land be brought under the dominion of the Portuguese, and the King D. Manuel be styled true king thereof, and therefore I desire you of your kindness to consider seriously the enterprise that ye have in hand, and not to leave it to fall to the ground."

When the great Afonso Dalboquerque had brought his harangue to an end in the words which I have recounted, the Members of the council held among themselves divers opinions, some leaning to this, and others to that side, and

the result of the meeting was that the majority again declared that it would be of service to the King to take the city of Malaca and cast the Moors out of it, and build a fortress therein. The others were of a contrary opinion, and declared that the city ought not to be again attacked, for it was very doubtful if the undertaking could be accomplished, and that the vengeance which had been meted out to the Moors for their treatment of Diogo Lopez de Sequeira and his men was sufficiently severe, and even if they had all things necessary for the construction of the fortress there was not time enough for its completion, for they were already at the beginning of the monsoon, and it was absolutely necessary to support India, for no one could tell how affairs at Goa had gone on since they had set out from that city.

Afonso Dalboquerque, perceiving these differences of opinion which were held in the council, yielded to the majority and resolved to attack the city and fortify himself in it, and as for all other doubts which were raised by the opposite party, to put them into the hands of Our Lord Jesus Christ that He might order them all as best to his service, and he commanded that a formal resolution should be drawn up by the Secretary, whereunto he put his signature, as did also all the Captains, Fidalgos, and Cavaliers who were there.

CHAPTER XXVII.

How the great Afonso Dalboquerque again attacked the city according to the resolution which had been arrived at, and how he entered the bridge by force of arms and fortified himself on it.

Having taken the opinions of the Captains, Fidalgos, and Cavaliers of the Fleet, under their signatures, as I have related, the great Afonso Dalboquerque made up his mind to attack the city, and taking it, by the aid of our Lord, to

fortify himself therein. And because the Moors were in an advanced state of preparation, and had arranged a better system of defence than they had on the first occasion when our men made an entry into the city, he decided with all the Captains to attack the bridge with his whole force in one company.

Having agreed upon this method of attack, all went away to their respective ships to get ready, waiting for the day when it would be high water in the spring tides, so that the junk could get up to the bridge; and when the time was come on a Friday, two hours before morning-Afonso Dalboquerque gave orders for the signal which he had agreed upon, to wake them, and they, as they were already prepared, came on board his ship, and from it set forth all together in their boats; and when Antonio Dabreu in the junk had now arrived within a crossbow-shot from the bridge, the Moors began to open fire upon him from one side and the other with large matchlocks,' blowing tubes, and poisoned arrows; and with bombards which threw leaden shot as large as an espera2 they swept the decks of the junk from one side and the other, and as Antonio Dabreu did not seek therein any place of safety where he could avoid the shots which they kept on pouring into the junk, he was the first who was hit with a bullet from a large matchlock, which struck him on the jaw and carried away many of his teeth and part of his tongue.

Afonso Dalboquerque, who was in his boat close by the junk, seeing Antonio Dabreu wounded, ordered him, more by force than by his own wish, to be taken to the ship to have his wounds dressed, and appointed Pero Dalpoem to go on board the junk and act as Captain of it until Antonio Dabreu was well again. When the delay that had thus arisen had

1 Espingardões.

2 Espera or Esfera, an ancient kind of artillery-Bluteau, s.v. But see also vol. ii, p. 129, note 5,

passed away-not much time having been wasted-they went on again a second time with the junk leading the way, in the order which they had appointed, and when the junk drew up alongside, as it was very lofty and quite overhung the bridge, as I have already said, the Moors, not being able to bear the severe handling which our men gave them from the round top of the mainmast1 with many canisters of gunpowder, and darts, and matchlocks, fled, deserting the bridge, and withdrew to the stockades which they had on the bridge, on this side and that.

Afonso Dalboquerque, perceiving that the Moors were beginning to fall into confusion, ordered the Captains to press on more quickly at the oars, and all united in a body set to work to fall upon the stockades, according to the preconcerted arrangement. And although they found behind them a great force of Moors, who defended them for a considerable space of time with signal bravery, nevertheless our men got into the stockades and routed those who held them. In this affair of entering, many of our men were wounded and two or three killed, but it was at the cost of many Moors, who there lost their lives; and Afonso Dalboquerque, seeing himself now master of the bridge, remained where he was quietly with his flag and a part of his force, and gave orders to certain of the Captains to go and take the mosque, and to others to attack some palisades which the Moors had set up at the mouth of a street which led to the bridge, and that neither the one party or the other should leave their stations without his express orders.

When the Captains arrived at the palisades, although they met with some amount of resistance, yet they bore themselves so valiantly that they discomfited the Moors and got possession of the works. The others, however, to whose lot it fell to assault the mosque, found they had a heavy and

1 De cima da gavea; see Jal, Glossaire Nautique, s.v. Gavea.