as it was the will of our Lord that the Portuguese should make good their settlement in that city, and that His name should there be worshipped, so great a quantity of stone and masonry was discovered in some ancient sepulchres of bygone kings, which were situated on the land beneath the surface of the ground, and in the mosques that were thrown down, that two fortresses might well have been constructed; and now, as there were plenty of helping hands to begin the work, and many labourers, Afonso Dalboquerque gave orders to open out the foundations, and he founded a very strong fortress, the foundation filled in to the depth of a war lance, for the position of the ground required it to be so, with two wells of very good water within the precincts for drinking purposes, that were there already built with worked stone masonry.

And in order that our men, who were within the fortress, might be able to rally together for defence, if it were necessary, whenever they so desired, without the enemy being able to cut them off, he laid the foundation of a keep1 of four storey's height along the sea, so that also from its height they might with their artillery defend a hill which the fortress has over against it, which commands its position.

Now because it may be that some who read this history may find fault with building a fortress in an enemy's country with such a weak point, the answer is that Afonso Dalboquerque put up with the commanding position of this hill because there was not in the whole of the city a more commodious place for the security of the captain and the forces that might be placed therein, for alongside of this tower one of our ships of two hundred tons burden could come whenever it was desired. And they called the fortress "A Famosa", i.e., "The Famous." And as I have been told by many persons who have seen it, it seems to have been very appropriately so called; but I do not give a 1 Torre de Menagem; see vol. i, p. 45.

CITY

MIA

special account of its details of construction because it is very much frequented by our Portuguese. And because Afonso Dalboquerque was very much devoted to Our Lady he ordered the men to build a church, to which he gave the name of "Nossa Senhora da Annunciada", i.e., "Our Lady of the Annunciation." And in order that the And in order that the memory of the persons who had taken part in the conquest of this kingdom and foundation of the fortress might remain for ever, he ordered them to make a very large stone slab, upon which were inscribed the names of all the principal men. But, the Portuguese are by nature envious of honour, they would not, therefore, suffer Afonso Dalboquerque to make more account of one than of another, seeing that all were equally meritorious in the work, and in the conquest of that city; and he, in order not to give them cause for displeasure, and yet not to abandon that which he had done, gave orders that the stone should be set up over the gateway with the inscribed names turned to the wall, and on the back of the slab that verse of David, which says: "LAPIDEM QUEM REPROBAVERUNT EDIFICANTES," that is, "The stone' which the builders refused."

CHAPTER XXXII.

How the great Afonso Dalboquerque, at the request of the Governors and people of the city, ordered money to be coined; and of the value thereof, and of the rest that was done thereupon.

While the affairs of Malaca were in this state, Ninachatu came to the great Afonso Dalboquerque with the Governors of the land, and declared to him that the people were suffering great inconvenience from the want of a currency, and they begged he would of his graciousness give orders for some system of coinage; and although he had already for 1 Psalm cxviii, 22 (cxvii Vulg.).

many days desired this himself, yet, as the work of building the fortress occupied the whole of this time, he had put this matter off to a more fitting opportunity, when he should have less to occupy his attention; yet because the necessity which they represented to him was very urgent, and the people could not improve their condition without a currency, he desired to set to work and arrange the matter without loss of any more time, as well because it was a royal privilege of the King, D. Manuel, and of his victory in a kingdom newly acquired, whereof he was by right the king1, so also in order to withdraw and suppress the coinage of the Moors, and cast their root and their name out of the land.

Having made up his mind concerning this, Afonso Dalboquerque ordered that all the merchants, governors, and principal men of the city should be called together, and held a conversation with them respecting their desires expressed to him; and after many different opinions had been given by them all, they agreed to the opinion of all the captains who were there present, that a coinage should be made, and that out of two caixes, which was a pewter coin of the King of Malaca, should be struck a coin with the spheres of the King D. Manuel, to which they gave the name of dinheiro (i.e., money), and another, of greater size, which was worth ten dinheiros, they termed soldo, and others, which weighed ten soldos, they entitled bastardos; and all this money was of pewter, which is found native in the land of Malaca, and the mines of this metal he made direct Crown property of the King of Portugal.

4

And because there was not in Malaca any gold or silver coinage, but trade was carried on by barter of one kind of merchandise for another, they agreed that there should be

1 Maimonides, Gezelah, 5. "Ubicunque numisma alicujus regis obtinet, illic incolæ regem istum pro domino agnoscunt." Quoted by Farrar, Life of Christ, ii, 232, n. 2 See p. 77. 4 Cf. Lat. Solidus; Fr. Sou.

3

Espera, see vol. ii, p. 129.