Volume Two
The Portuquese in the Sea of Oman Annals of History 1497 CE – 1757 CE Volume Two by: Al Qasimi Publications Author: Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi (United Arab Emirates) Publisher: Al Qasimi Publications, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Edition: First Year of publication: 2025 ©All rights reserved * ISBN: 978-9948-716-94-5 * Printing Permission: UAE Media Council No. MC 03-01-0571385, Date: 24-03-2025 Printing: AL Bony Press- Sharjah, UAE Age Classification: E The age group that matches the content of the books was classified according to the age classification issued by UAE Media Council * Al Qasimi Publications, Al Tarfa, Sheikh Muhammad Bin Zayed Road PO Box 64009 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Tel: 0097165090000, Fax: 0097165520070 Email: info@aqp.ae
_ 5 _ Contents Introduction to Volume Two 7 • Episodes of the year 1507 9 Researchers’ Guide 501 Volume Two Reference 505
_ 7 _ Introduction to Volume Two This volume covers the events of the year 1507. The trade conducted by the Portuguese fleets was costly due to the long distance from India to Europe via the Cape of Good Hope. Moreover, it was fraught with the dangers of the Nau phenomenon-violent winds and turbulent seas in the oceans. In contrast, other trade routes, such as those passing through the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean, or through the Red Sea and into the Mediterranean, were much calmer than the open oceans. Futhermore, these alternative routes were significantly shorter in distance to Europe compared to the Cape of Good Hope. The goods transported through the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea were also more economical than those shipped via the Cape of Good Hope, leading to a decline in the demand for Portuguese merchandise. As a result, the King of Portugal ordered the commander Afonso de
_ 8 _ Albuquerque to seize control of the key entrances to these routes-namely, the Strait of Ormuz, the gateway to the Arabian Gulf, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea. Afonso de Albuquerque undertook this mission, successfully capturing Ormuz at the entrance to the Gulf in 1507, although he failed in his attempt to seize Bab al-Mandab. This volume chronicles the conflicts and battles between the Portuguese and the cities along the eastern coast of Oman, as well as the confrontations in Ormuz on the Persian coast. In September 1507, Afonso de Albuquerque signed a treaty with the King of Ormuz, placing him under the authority of the King of Portugal. Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi
_ 9 _ Episodes of the year 1507 In that year, the Chief Officer Afonso de Albuquerque sailed with his fleet from Socotra to Ormuz, arriving in a place called Kalhat, and what he did there is mentioned in the book: "Lendas da India", 2nd chapter:(1) Chapter: II How Afonso d’ Albuquerque, the Captain-in-Chief, sailed with his fleet from Socotra towards Ormuz and arrived at the place called Kalhat, and what he did there. When he left Socotra Afonso d’ Albuquerque took with him three Moorish pilots, provided by the King of Melinde, who knew the coast towards Ormuz. He gave one pilot to Afonso Lopes da Costa and another to Antonio do Campo, and he directed that the Moorish pilots should be well housed and treated, and because the Moors navigated by (1) Document no. and reference.
_ 10 _ the position of the stars at night, each day they should make landfall of the coast they sighted and the course they were taking, and make sure that everything agreed, and they should then reckon by the sun’s position to ensure they were right, so that the Moors could not lead them astray. Sailing with great caution and watchfulness they came in sight of Cape Ras-el-Had and entered the Gulf. Running along the coast they came first to a place name Kalhat, which has houses of stone and of mud, many of them roofed with straw, scattered and ill-defended, and outside the town on the right a grove of date palms where there are wells of drinking water. The town lies along the shore, and behind it there are great ranges of rocky mountains, and on the sea there are zambucos and ships which come to load cargoes of horses and dates and salted fish, swordfish and bonito of which there are plenty along this coast. The King of Ormuz receives great revenues from this because the town belongs to him and he has here a captain and soldiers to make peace and war, and tax-collectors appointed by Khwaja Attar, the Regent of the kingdom of Ormuz, who has tax-collectors and their servants in every town: the principal officials of the kingdom are all eunuchs and they think this is an exalted condition. All the ships which come from India call in here because it is the first
_ 11 _ place they come to. The King of Ormuz always keeps a large fleet here of the sort of craft they call terradas, which are large well-manned boats with sails and oars, with no guns but large numbers of archers with Turkish bows, and the King has about four hundred of these, with ten fighting men aboard each. When ships are running to Ormuz in the monsoon period, and also when they are running to India, they are guarded until they have passed this cape because otherwise the King would lose much of his revenues. No ship would dare come to Ormuz because on the coast beyond, opposite this cape, there are people called Nautaques, who are under the lordship of the King of the Resbuto, which has borders with Cambay. These Nautaques live along the coast are estuaries very dangerous to navigate. They go in light terradas, with sails and oars, and the oarsmen are all archers who carry their bows and arrows with them. They row but when the need arises, they let go the oars and stand up with their bows and shoot two or three arrows at a time which they hold between their fingers, and they are very dexterous and good shots. The arrows are three-edged, and when they lodge the shafts fall out. These Nautaques make agreements with the lords of the lands on which they live to give them a certain part of what they take, and so many join them from all over the country, and
_ 12 _ they make up a large fleet and come to this coast of Kalhat, where there are light winds and calms, to rob the ships making for Ormuz. The Nautaques overtake them and go round the vessel shooting so many arrows that they overcome and rob them, or else the ships agree to give them a certain sum; and when they cannot take a ship they go astern of it, shooting showers of arrows, and tie ropes to the rudder and tow them so that they run aground, and leave them to perish on the land. Because of the harm done by these Nautaques the King of Ormuz orders his fleets to defend and guard the ships, and the Nautaques flee from them because the Parsees are better fighters than they are. Sometimes the ships carry cannon which prevent them from tying the rudders, and then the Nautaques have another trick: they take long ropes, which they carry for this purpose, and they place themselves in many terradas on each side the run the rope under ship so that it catches in the rudder, and so they move the ship. Because the ships carry divers to go down and cut the ropes, the Nautaques have the ropes twisted with iron chains, which they cannot cut. The ships have these difficulties because they have to have long rudders half a meter below the keel and they are built in such a way that they could not be steered
_ 13 _ otherwise. So if the King of Ormuz did not protect the merchants’ ships with his fleet he would lose much of the revenue they pay him in port and customs dues. When Afonso de Albuquerque, the Captain-in-Chief, arrived in port with his ships and with flags flying, there were many merchants bound for Ormuz, and they all got into boats and visited the Captain-in-Chief, each taking him a present of money and things to eat, and they told him that they were traders who were crossing the sea with their merchandise to buy and sell without doing harm to anyone, and that they put themselves into his hands and would do what he ordered. The Captain-in-Chief replied through Gaspar Rodrigues, the linguist, who knew all the languages well, saying that he would not harm them since he was pleased that they had come to submit to the flag which was that of the King of Portugal, lord of all the seas in the world. If they had not submitted, he would have ordered their ships to be burnt; for this reason, they were safe, and because they were in that port, which belonged to the King of Ormuz with whom he was going to make a treaty of peace and friendship. He said that they should return to land and tell the Sheikh to trust him the come and speak with him, and they would make a treaty of peace and friendship as
_ 14 _ he was going to do with the King of Ormuz, and that even if they did not come to terms, he would certainly return to the land, and if the sheikh did not trust his assurances and failed to come, then he would burn down the town and all the ships in port. The Moors were very frightened by this, and they went to the Sheikh and gave him the message from the Captainin-Chief, throwing themselves at his feet and begging him to make peace with the Captain-in-Chief and save their ships. Then the Sheikh send the Captain-in-Chief presents of sacks of rice and dates, and goats, and sent a message to say that he was ready to do whatever he wanted. The Captain-in-Chief was pleased with the present because it was of provisions, and before he sent an answer he ordered that everything should be paid for at twice its value. But the messengers would not take payment, and then he ordered that everything was to be taken back to the shore because he would accept no presents saved from friends; so, the messengers had to take the payment. Then the Captain-in-Chief gave his answer, that he came with this fleet, which belonged to the King of Portugal, in order to ask the King of Ormuz to be his vassal and pay him tribute because he was lord of India and promise him obedience, as many other kings of the coasts of India and
_ 15 _ Melinde had done. If he did this there would be peace for ever, in his city and in all his ports, and if he did not the city and all the ports on that sea would be destroyed; and because the town belonged to the King of Ormuz he would before long have to promise obedience and pay tribute; and so he should call a council and see what they wished. When the Sheikh and the merchants heard this message, they were very afraid, and they held a council. The sheikh’s answer was that it was in his hands to do whatever he wished, for good or for bad but that the town belonged to the King of Ormuz, and he was his servant, and all who were there; and since he said that if the King of Ormuz promised obedience he would agree peace with him for ever in his city and ports, he should go on his way. If the King of Ormuz made himself a vassal of the King of Portugal and agreed peace with him, then his ports and towns would be free as he said; and if the King of Ormuz did not do so and made war on him, then when he returned here he would obey his in everything because he had no power to defend himself, and he would yield to him all the revenues from land and sea. The Captain-in-Chief saw that the answer was a good one, but he had determined to cause all the destruction, death and devastation he could in these ports so that the
_ 16 _ news would travel to Ormuz and they would be afraid of him, and being afraid would do as he wished. This was so fixed in his heart that he sent back word to the sheikh that he wanted nothing but that he should promise obedience and pay tribute each year; and that he must agree now, because if he did not reach agreement in Ormuz, when he returned from there, he would not find so much to burn as there was now. While the message was being taken ashore, the Captains talked among themselves, and they were angry because the Captain-in-Chief had not discussed it and consulted with them as was right, and seemed not to take them into account even when they were present and it was a matter of peace and war in which they would have to fight and be in the forefront; and since they were Captains of the King and noblemen they should be taken into account. Afonso Lopes da Costa was the foremost in this, and everyone agreed that he should speak to the Captain-in-Chief. While they were talking of other things, Afonso Lopes da Costa raised the matter, saying: Sir, you make little account of us and do not consult us about your decisions, so you should not hold it against us if we tell you what each of us believes to be to the advantage of God and the King our lord in these matters into which we are entering, because ten people have more understanding than one.
_ 17 _ I say this because we all thought that the reply sent by the sheikh was so reasonable that it seemed unnecessary to ask anything more of him, Ormuz being the head and principal city which must agree or be broken. If it pleases God that it become a tributary of the King our master, then all his ports will be free and we cannot do him harm; but if Ormuz does not obey, then we make war openly on all his ports. But at present, without being sure of what Ormuz will do, it does not seen reasonable to make war on his towns, and it may be that because of this, thinking us to be unreasonable and proud people, the King of Ormuz and those of his council will be more prepared, and they will be afraid and think that they cannot reason with us, and will trust to war for their salvation. Therefore, sir, we ask you to agree matters and consult with all of us, since we have to share in the work and the dangers, in which through his mercy our Lord will give us victory and to you the honour you desire. The Captain-in-Chief was a very intelligent man but he was easily angered. He listened to the end to everything Afonso Lopes da Costa said, which was supported by all the other Captains except João da Nova, who did not join in. Then the Captain-in-Chief replied, saying “I have listened to all that you said, so I ask that you too will listen to me,
_ 18 _ and I will answer you in full. As for the first point you make that I should decide everything with your advice, it is good that I should do so. Show me your commissions, and if the King orders that I should do so, I will observe them fully; and if you do not have this in your commissions, I tell you that if I do no accomplish or if I do wrong in what I have in mine, only he who gave it me can hold me to account. I say nothing in secret. When you see that I do not do what I should, then you may tell me so as friends, and no more. So let it be understood that you never ask me for anything save what I myself wish to give, since I have no obligation except what I wish. When the matter is such that my own intelligence is not sufficient, then I will help myself with yours, for I know well that you are men of such quality that each one of you could discharge my office, and a greater one besides. Furthermore, as you also thought that we should go to Ormuz first, as to the head and principal city, because on that would depend on what we have to do here, I reply that Ormuz is a bigger problem than you think, and I know that it will give us much to do. It has no experience of suffering the blow that we need to strike, because no one has every touched it to take away its greatness. So, it is necessary to do what I do, and not what it seems to you that I should do. If on the way there
_ 19 _ we wage ruthless war with fire, blood, death and cruelty, before we reach Ormuz, they will think that we are very powerful and will be afraid of us, and that will be a great help. I assure you that when you see Ormuz you will say that it would take a good Venetian armada to conquer it. We are only what we are, and Our Lord helps us with His mercy as it pleases Him; we have to use tricks and pretense, which will serve us better than anything else. As for you being the first into dangers and labors which will bring me so much honour, I say that as for being first into danger that is up to you, it is in your own hands; my place is restricted and only death can take it from me; and as for the honour that I shall win from your labors, the gift of the flag that you follow can give you far more, and you may be certain of rewards and increase of honour as each one deserves, where as for me the only reward of the war is in the voice of the people, who say Captain so and so won but the action was that of his gentlemen. They brought him fame believing that he won because he led well and attacked well; yet he does not lose all round because the people say So-and-so lost the battle but it was because of the weakness of his men, /798/ or because they were unwilling to fight according to their captain’s orders; because the voice of the people sees nothing. The Lord King
_ 20 _ made me your Captain-in-Chief and sent you with me to serve him in what I command, and I, by his commission and appointment, command you of what you should do. It pleased Our Lord that I should go forth and act in His holy service, and that of the King. So, sirs, I beseech you, let this one time suffice for me to tell you to do things my way, for you are lieutenants. If you think that you have some other obligation and wish to withdraw from this one, you may do so, relinquishing your ships, which I shall receive because they belong to the King; and I shall seek men who will be glad to serve the King in them and with the responsibilities that you repudiate. The Captains listened to the Captain-in-Chief’s answer, but no one answered except Manuel Telles, who was a presumptuous man. He said “Sir, all you say is true, and for my part I am grateful because you show me what I should do if I see things that do not, please me”. The Captain-inChief stopped him and said It would be better to say if you see things done that are not in the King’s service. I show you the way now, but who will do so when you leave your Captain-in-Chief’s flag and jump ashore on Cape Guardafui? Remember that you have made this complaint openly, and it goes much against your honour. If you have
_ 21 _ a good friend, he will tell you should perform deeds in this world which will absolve you from this offence, for it will be better for you to be as bold in your determination. I am your Captain-in-Chief, to command you what the King commands me to do, and when I look for you and do not find you, that will be all; because if I had power to do more I should give you a piece of advice with which you would never again leave the King’s flag unprotected in battle. I serve His Highness in the work which is his and which you undertook to do. I will say no more about it, because I will give account of mine, and every man of his own. So saying he left the discussion; and they complained about the Captain-in-Chief thereafter because he did not take them into his confidence. The Captain-in-Chief treated them with this disregard because when he was in the company of Tristan da Cunha he never took account of him, which was right as being is Captain-in-Chief. When the Sheikh received the Captain-in-Chief’s angry reply he devised crafty answers to gain time, and on the advice of the merchants and sea-captains who were there he ordered that the boats from the ships that were taking on water should be seized so that our men would not have anything in which to land and do him harm, and then they
_ 22 _ have the advantage of them. But the Moors were so feeble that they did not dare attack and take the boats when they were all on land. Seeing that their ships were all lost to them, the merchants made an agreement with the terradas of the fleet, that they would row them out to sea at night and then they could hoist sail and escape. They made a start, quietly throwing tow-lines which were hauled in, and the terradas rowed out, towing them until they could make sail. The terradas were ready with their oarsmen, and the Moors removed from the town the few goods they had there. From Antonio da Campo’s ship, which was closest to the land, the ships could be heard moving, and the news was shouted to the others. There was a great commotion, and the Captain-in-Chief ordered boats to be lowered, at which the terradas began firing arrows. The boats made for the ships, some of which had scattered and made for the coast, and the others which were already out to sea took to sail and our men did not see them and even if they had seen them they would not have been able to go after them. When day broke our men were in among the ships on land, and many arrows were shot at them. The Captain-in-Chief went out in a skiff to prevent the ships from being set on fire, and he went ashore with the men from the boats.
_ 23 _ There was nothing to stop them because the Moors did not wait, they fled at once towards the mountains. The Captain-in-Chief ordered the town to be sacked, but they found nothing except dates and salted fish; and he ordered the Captains to rob the ships, which were unmanned, where they found plenty of rice, sugar, pepper and spices. He ordered Pero Vaz d’ Orta, the fleet quartermaster, to collect the pepper and spices, of which there was not a great deal, and the men stole everything else, and collected masts and spars for the ships, and cut up firewood. Then they set fire to the ships and the town, which destroyed many houses, and everything was ruined. /800/ Our men were well provided with rice and sugar and other things they needed. The Captain-in-Chief ordered the sailors to kill everyone they found on shore and this was done, and there was left not one old man or old woman or beggar or sick person. Chapter: III How the fleet left Kalhat and sailed along the coast and the Captain-in-Chief came to another place named Kuriyat, which he destroyed, leaving no one alive and everything burnt, and he also destroyed muscat. Sailing along the coast the fleet came to another town called Kuriyat, situated along the shore. On all this coast there is no sandy
_ 24 _ beach, all are of stones, and this town was at the foot of the mountains, because there is a narrow strip between the sea and the mountains. There are a few stone houses and many have straw roofs. Here too is a Sheikh of the King of Ormuz and revenues are collected because horses from the mountains and dates are shipped from here, and the mountain lords are at peace with these towns because they are ports through which their merchandise can pass. There was nothing in the town because when they heard the news from Kalhat everyone had left, and there was nothing at sea, because knowing that the fleet was sailing along the coast everything had put out to sea or returned towards Kalhat. Close to the land there was a kind of island where the Moors had guns with which they could damage boats arriving to disembark. Our fleet anchored some way from the land because of the wind; only Manuel Telles and Antonio da Campo went in closer, and because it was late when they arrived, they did nothing. There were many Moors in the town, who positioned themselves in readiness to fight with our men, not because they thought they could defend themselves but only so that they could not be blamed for not fighting.
_ 25 _ The next day the Captain-in-Chief saw what sort of a place it was and the barricade set up on the island, and he ordered Antonio da Campo an Manuel Telles to capture the island while he would go with João da Nova to the other side, and Afonso Lopes da Costa and Francisco de Tavora would enter the town at the end where there was another barricade. He ordered everyone to keep together until they reached land: the boats with their berços, the Captain-inChief with his flag and the Captain with their pennants, sounding their trumpets. The ships did not fire because their shots could do nothing on land. Before the boats arrived Antonio da Campo and Manuel Telles reached the island the attacked the Moors, of whom there were about two hundred, meeting no resistance except for some showers of arrows which were the main defense the Moors had. Seeing the island under attack, the Captain-in-Chief hurried ashore and as they disembarked the Moors gave them much trouble with showers of arrows and stones, because their position was high up and the boats drew up beneath it. But as soon as our men set foot on the shore, they attacked the Moors in such a way that they abandoned the barricade, because Afonso Lopes da Costa and Francisco de Tavora had already entered the other side.
_ 26 _ Then the Moors regrouped, moving and shooting off arrows in great numbers, and there were more than two thousand of them. Our men engaged them in battle and pursued them and they did not wait for our men to catch them up with their lances. The Moors had prepared an ambush with about five hundred of them hidden among some gullies, and these came out against our rear with great shouts. At this the Captain-in-Chief halted and ordered Afonso Lopes to go back, which he did with sixty men. This did not more than surprise the Moors, who continued to shoot many arrows, but then they took to flight into the rocky places of the mountains, where they were joined by other who made bold to arrive because the Captain-in-Chief was not advancing. As they came on our men attacked again, but the delay was short once they heard the sound of our weapons, and they all fled, with our men after them, until the town was deserted; and they ran for about half a league. The Captain-in-Chief remained on a hillock, because the sun was already very hot, and he ordered João da Nova to halt the men, who made them all come back to a grove of palms which stood at the foot of the hills, where they rested. The Captain-in-Chief ordered that sentinels should be posted at several places to keep watch on the Moors
_ 27 _ and make sure that they did not make a sudden attack. He ordered some food to be brought from the ships, not much because plenty of provisions were found in the town, and in the palm grove were ripe dates and plenty of good water in many wells. So, they ate and rested, and then they robbed the town of the little they could find and collected much rice and bunches of dates and plenty of fish. While this was being done the Captain-in-Chief went into a beautiful mosque that was there, its flag still on the tower. When everything had been stripped from it the Captain-in-Chief ordered the master of his ship with his sailors to bring plenty of wood and palm leaves from the straw houses, and put it in the mosque and the stone houses. Then it was all set on fire so that everything was reduced to ashes, with a hundred and fifty dead Moors, many of them old men and women and beggars; everyone was dead and nothing left standing. Then the Captain-in-Chief returned to rest and passed the night there. The next day they set sail along the coast and arrived at the port of Muscat which is a large town standing on the shore with an inlet which makes a good harbour, because to the left there is a hill so that the harbour is encircled ad sheltered all round. On either side the town is bounded by high ranges of mountains, and it
_ 28 _ extends inland among them, a good country with gardens and groves of date-palms and wells of good drinking water. It is a town of seven hundred inhabitants with many stone houses with flat roofs, and mosques. The town is populated with many foreign merchants who come here to ship horses, dates and salted fish. As soon as they had arrived the Captain-in-Chief talked to his Captains and told them that he would be pleased to agree to peace with this place because it had an abundance of provisions so that when they were in Ormuz they could get supplies from here, and he had no worries about anything else. Hile they were talking an almadia arrived from the shore with two well-dressed Moors. They came aboard, and when they saw the Captain-in-Chief seated in a chair and the Captains and many others standing they threw themselves at his feet saying that they brought a message from the sheikh who was lord of the town, who told them to say that he did not want them to do the damage they had done in other towns and so he would promise him obedience and be his vassal and pay him the tribute collected for the King of Ormuz. The Captain-in-Chief asked them if they had brought a signed paper from the sheikh to that effect. They said that they had not, but if he sent someone to speak to the
_ 29 _ Sheikh, he would know that they had spoken the truth. Then the Captain-in-Chief sent Gaspar Rodrigues the linguist shore with one the Moors, and the sheikh received him very honourably and said to him much more than the Moors had said. While the linguist was ashore the Captainin-Chief talked with the Captains, and they agreed to make peace with the port and the town if they took the tribute in the form of provisions to Ormuz, rice, sugar, butter and dates, to the values of the five thousand xerafins that the town paid to the King of Ormuz. This was agreed, and when the Moor and the linguist came back with the message, the Captain-in-Chief told the Moor that he would safeguard the town and the port and agree perpetual peace with him and make him lord of that town for ever, him and his children and all their descendants, as long as they remained vassals of the King of Portugal, whose servant he was; but every year they must pay a tribute of as much as the town paid the King of Ormuz, in provisions or in xerafins. When the Moors heard this, they said that they would take the message to the sheikh, and they took their leave. But the Captain-in-Chief ordered that the ship’s mate should take them in the skiff and observe the shore and what the town was like. This he did, and took the Moors,
_ 30 _ and he saw that at each end of the town there were wooden buildings filled with rubble, with cannon in position; and the streets of the town were barricaded along the shore. When the mate returned with this information it was already the hour of vespers. To be more certain of all this the Captain-in-Chief ordered the other ship’s boats to go ashore with barrels to collect water, and he ordered Gaspar Rodrigues the linguist to go and speak to the sheikh once more and ask for an immediate reply, because he wanted to leave; and ask him to command that water should be given to the boats. The sheikh readily agreed and ordered the people of the town to bring water to skins to the boats, and the sailors also went with their barrels to the wells and brought them back full of water. The arrangements were so good that by nightfall the boats had made three journeys for water because the sheikh gave much help. He sent a message to the Captain-in-Chief that he was glad to give him all he asked, and that soon he would receive the provisions. Then he sent six boats with rice and dates, which the quartermaster saw, noting what was given so that he could make an account. This was done with all possible goodwill; and all day until nightfall the boats fetched and carried more than a hundred sacks of
_ 31 _ rice, and sugar and many dates, until it was dark; and the Captain-in-Chief and everyone were very content. But next day there were no more boats, and so it continued until midday, when the Captain-in-Chief sent the linguist shore to find out why they were not coming. The Sheikh said that they were collecting the dues from the houses of merchants to send, and he would send it all together. He sent a present to the Captain-in-Chief of sheep and goats and some hens and many loaves made with wheat flour, and he showed the linguist that rice and sugar were being taken from houses. So, the Captain-in-Chief waited, and when it was already late the boats made one journey, laden with provisions which they put aboard the ships; and they did not return again. The Sheikh was doing all this with guile, because he was waiting for help to reach him that night from a captain from the mountains with two thousand fighting men armed with javelins and shields and swords. The sheikh was a great ally of this captain, the lord of the interior, because he used Muscat as the port for his merchandise. As these two thousand fighting men, and as many others that the sheikh had, were making ready to fight with our men, they sounded kettle-drums, with much shouting and firing of rockets. When the Captain-in-Chief heard this he
_ 32 _ said “That is willing help arrived, and we have a fight on our hands”. He sent word to the ships that were nearby for their Captains to come, and he told them what he thought, and he sent Dinis Fernandes in the skiff to have a look at the shore, but as he went close, they shot arrows and shouted at him. So, he returned to the Captain-in-Chief who agreed with the Captains that they should attack the town before daylight, before the Moors had got used to the new arrivals. They arranged to disembark in the centre of the shore, and from there make their way in their battle order to attack and enter through the barricades, and once inside they would scour the town from within along the shore and join up and all take the town together. Afonso Lopes da Costa, Manue Telles and João da Nova would capture the barricade on the right, and the Captain-in-Chief and Francisco de Tavora would go to the other one. When this had all been agreed he ordered that twelve boats should go to each barricade, and with the berços they carried they would fire at the barricades so that the Moors would not drive them back. This was done, and the men made ready and an hour before dawn the boats were summoned by a gun. The Captains came with their men well prepared and embarked, and in the flag-ship’s with the men was Jorge Barreto, an
_ 33 _ honoured nobleman, and the Captain-in-Chief went in his skiff. When they were all in the boats the Captain-inChief’s chaplain said the general confession from the top of the castle and gave them absolution. By this time, it was daybreak and they set off for the shore, because the Captain-in-Chief wanted the Moors to see our men armed. When they did, the Moors gave great shouts and began to fire many guns; but our men disembarked on the shore as they wanted, and the Captainin-Chief had the trumpets sounded they called on St. James, and each man went his way as had been planned. Our men had some difficulty in entering the barricades, with stones raining down on them from the gullies above, and the Moors fought hard with lances and arrows, wounding many of them. The Captains made haste to enter, and Afonso Lopes da Costa, and João da Nova and Manuel Telles entered and captured the barricade, killing and wounding many Moors, and the rest fled into the town, with Afonso Lopes da Costa pursuing them halfway into the town. The Captain-inChief also entered and took the other barricade, and as the Moors fled from him towards the town they came upon the rear of Afonso Lopes da Costa’s men and attacked them fiercely, whereupon the others who were fleeing came back
_ 34 _ and attacked our men with such force that they turned them back. The Captain-in-Chief scoured the town as had been planned in order to join Afonso Lopes da Costa, but did not find him, but hearing the shouts of the Moors who were fighting Afonso Lopes he went towards them and found our men almost in flight. As he came up, he ordered the trumpets to sound, calling on St. James, and then everyone with a great effort attacked the Moors so strongly that they soon took to flight, and our men went half a league out of the town in pursuit. The Captain-inChief did not want to follow them further because the Moors continued to run, and he ordered the Captains to go back through the town killing anything alive, and forbidding on pain of death that anyone should set fire to anything until the provisions had been taken. The Captain-in-Chief with his men and Jorge Barreto stationed themselves at the entrance to the town to make sure that the Moors did not return. There was a great killing of families in the town, women and children, and when everywhere was deserted the order was given for the boats to be loaded with provisions and for everything found to be seized. Then food was brought, and men ate and rested by the wells. The Captain-in-Chie encouraged the Captains
_ 35 _ to take on water and provisions and in a large building they found quantities of coir, and chains and hawsers, all new, and unused water receptacles, all belonging to the Sheikh, who sold them to the ships that came into port and allowed no one else to do so, and he made a lot of money. The shipmasters took it all for they had great need of it, especially the water tanks because they had few barrels and in the heat of that country these all gaped and could not hold water; this was the principal gain. For three days our men worked at this, taking provisions on board at their ease, and at night the Captains and men kept watch. The Moors were up in the mountains watching what our men were doing. It happened that they were cutting down the supports of a large mosque and it suddenly collapsed, trapping more than twenty men pinned down under the upper storey. By a miracle of Our Lord no one died, and they found a hole through which they all escaped from danger, for which they all praised Our Lord. The Captain-in-Chief, knowing that everyone had reassembled and much water had been collected, went ashore to get the men. There came a Moor with a message from the sheikh to say that he had done enough damage, and he should not set fire to the town. The Captain-inChief answered that fire was his principal employment,
_ 36 _ but he would not burn the town if he would send him ten thousand xerafins, and they should be brought before midday or else they would leave him with what he found. But he received no reply, and many places were set on fire and by night everything was razed to the ground. When all the men had returned to their ships it was found that six were dead and many wounded by arrows. So that night they rested. The next day The Captain-in-Chief hoisted his flag, at which the Captains came to him and when all were seated on the quarter-deck he said to them “Sirs, I see that you have worked hard and deserve the many rewards that the King will give you for them. Nevertheless, as your Captainin-Chief, I must say to you what I am obliged to say. I beg you not to disobey me in what I command; because Afonso Lopes da Costa, I commanded you that after you went through the barricade you should scour through the town to join me. This you did not do, but following your own inclination went after the Moors right into the town and brought about a very difficult situation. If Our Lord had not helped you, I do not know what would have happened to you and your men. It could have gone so badly that you might all have been killed and left this fleet in such a sorry state that there would have been nothing for it but to sail away to India or return to Portugal.
_ 37 _ Since it is so important that you should not commit any disobedience and do only what your Captain-in-Chief commands, I require you in the name of the King our Lord and charge you to obey my commands in everything, all of you. You, João da Nova, did not come from Portugal under my flag, but I am willing that you should join it and come under my command to serve the King in the conquest that, as you know, I have come to make. Now I am worried that you might go away without my permission and leave me in this war in which you see me engaged, which is so important for the King’s service. You wish to go with your ship, which is the strongest of them all and is most use full to me. In this you have towards the King in this matter. So, I order you on his behalf to give me your right hand. João da Nova gave it to him, with his cap in his hand, and gave him an undertaking that he would not leave his company without his permission. He ordered that a document should be drawn up by the notary of the fleet, which João da Nova signed. When that was done João da Nova said to him “Sir, I did not bind myself to go in your company except by my own wish. Tristan da Cunha sent me so that when the time comes, I should go to India and to Portugal to tell the King of your deeds; and so I am very offended at your binding
_ 38 _ me like this.” The Captain-in-Chief said “When the time comes of which you speak I will not prevent your journey. I only bound you not to leave me secretly without my permission, as I know you have arranged to do with your friends, who tell me your secrets.” None of the Captains responded to this so that it should not be thought that they had given advice, but they felt even greater hatred for the Captain-in-Chief. Then they left and went to their ships, and the Captain-in-Chief set sail. Chapter: IV How the fleet left Muscat and what was done on the way to the city of Ormuz, how peace was made with the port of Sohar and the port of Khor Fakan destroyed. As our fleet sailed along the coast, they saw a large town of good houses situated in a wide plain between the mountains and shore, and in the town a castle with very fine land around it and a wide beach, where there were many soldiers, foot and horse, and a Persian Moor as captain of the King of Ormuz. With this Moor were many men from other towns who were recounting the damage our men had done. He already had three thousand men, for he had sent to the mountains for help, and he was very proud. So, when
_ 39 _ our fleet arrived, he sent a message to the Captain-in-Chief telling him not to come ashore to do him harm because he had fighting men to prevent him landing, and he must not expect to do there what he had done elsewhere. The Captain-in-Chief replied to the messenger that he should go and tell his captain that he had not come there to do him harm but only to agree perpetual peace if he would become a vassal of the King of Portugal, who was the Lord of India; and that what the King of Ormuz received every year should be paid as tribute to the King of Portugal. If he agreed to this, he would be a friend to him in every way, and if he did not, he could be certain that he would land and do what he had done in other towns. He told him to take good counsel in this, because he was going to do the same at Ormuz; the Captain-in-Chief said he would wait all day for his answer, and if none came the next day he would dine on land. When the captain heard this message, he called together the Regents and the elders and they talked in council. They agreed to do all that the Captain-in-Chief wished, taking into account that our men were going to capture Ormuz, and that if they took it, then all the ports and towns would be subject to the King of Portugal; and if they did not take Ormuz they would have to return to India and
_ 40 _ then all the towns would be freed. So, there was nothing to lose in promising him obedience and doing as he wished, and they did not risk the damage that would certainly be done to their homes. All this was agreed and confirmed by everyone; and one of the Regents went to the Captain-in-Chief and said to him that they did not wish him to land and do them harm but that he should go in peace, because all the people and the Regents would obey him in all things and were content to do his will and the commander of the fortress surrendered it and would do his bidding. He said that this had all been agreed in council when they had heard his message, and they would send away the many people from the mountains who had come to help; and he must tell them what he wanted. The Captain-in-Chief said that he was very pleased to find them sensible and not foolish like the others who had ended up with broken heads. He told him to return to land and that both the Regents should come back in the evening. So, they returned to land. Being as alert a man as can be, the Captain-in-Chief talked about this with his Captains, and they agreed to prepare both for peace and for war. The Captain-in-Chief ordered that two small camelos should be put in the ships boats with their carriages so that they could be fired on
_ 41 _ land if necessary, with axes, spades and levers, and all the equipment for fighting against the fortress. Then he equipped and ordered to be made ready three boats with banners and some noblemen and gentlemen, very elegantly dressed. In one of them was Afonso Lopes da Costa, in another Francisco de Tavora, and in the boat of the flagship was Dom Antonio de Noronha, his nephew, and Jorge Barreto de Castro, and Ayres de Sousa, Chichorro, and Duarte de Sousa, who carried the flag with the Portuguese arms which was to be raised on the keep of the castle, with five men to escort it. He ordered that the Captains and their men should not leave the boats until the flag was hoisted in its place, and that the Regents should also remain in the boats until the flag was in position. Then the Regents arrived in gala clothes, and they saw the preparations that had been made in the boats. They entered the boat with Dom Antonio and went to land, where the captain was waiting for them on the shore, also in gala dress, with many people in festive mood. Duarte de Sousa landed with flag and the five men and João Estão the notary, and they went to the castle with the captain walking in front of them with a rod, making the people move out of the way. There was no one in the fortress, and the captain alone entered with our men and with
_ 42 _ his own hand hoisted the flag at the highest point of the keep, declaring that he was a vassal of the King of Portugal, “because this town and this castle belong to the King of Portugal and I will always do as the Captain-in-Chief here present commands.” He signed a paper confirming what he said, and he carried the keys in his hand and went to the boats. When they saw the flag in place the ships fired guns and hoisted flags. The Captains landed from the boats, and with the captain and the Regents they entered the town, which was decorated with boughs, and they entered the fortress, which they entrusted to the captain. When all this was done, they returned to the boats and thence to their ships. The Captain-in-Chief sent a cassock of scarlet cloth with gold braiding to the captain, and four rolls of scarlet cloth, and to each of the Regents he gave five ells of crimson satin, and he sent them away with much honour. They asked him what he wanted from the land, for he commanded everything, and he said that he wanted no more than the pleasure it gave to find such honourable men. They returned to land and soon sent the Captainin-Chief many cows, sheep and goats, and many bunches of dried dates in such abundance that all the ships were provisioned with food and fresh water. Then the Captain-
_ 43 _ in-Chief set sail and went on his way, leaving this town, which was called Sohar, in peace and subjection. Having dealt with this town the Captain-in-Chief continued along the coast and came in sight of a town called Khor Fakan, situated in open country at the foot of a great range of mountains. It is an area of open ground where people from the mountains come to sell horses, and they are bought by merchants in ship who take them as cargo to India. Because the people of the town are sometimes at war with those of the mountains at either end, with a gate and above it a lower to guard the gate. The town has fine houses and many soldiers, both foot and horse, and as our fleet arrived, they put on a great show of skirmishing and brandishing their weapons and challenging our men to come ashore. But when they saw our fleet, the Moors began to take their possessions and their families into the mountains and made themselves strong behind the wall. The town stretched along the shore, and outside it to the right there was a large grove of date palms with many wells of good water, and in the fields, there was much livestock large and small. The Captain-in-Chief spoke with the Captains and it was agreed to land the next morning, as they did. Before daybreak all of them with their armed men joined the
_ 44 _ Captain-in-Chief who went aboard his skiff with ten men, and in his ship’s boat was his nephew Dom Antonio with seventy nobles and men of rank from his flag-ship, and many others who were with the other Captains were their friends and relatives. When they were all embarked the chaplain made the usual confession and gave absolution, and by this time it was clear daylight, and they made for the shore. The Captain-in-Chief never liked to land before daylight, saying that the sight of our men made our enemies afraid. When they reached the shore many Moors arrived, on foot and horse, to prevent them landing. Then the berços on the boats began their work and the shore was soon emptied save for the many Moors felled by the shots, and our men disembarked at their pleasure. The Captain-inChief ordered Afonso Lopes and João da Nova to scour the outskirts of the town and Francisco de Tavora and Manuel Telles to enter through the centre, and Dom Antonio and Antonio do Campo to enter from the side of the town towards the mountains. In each company there were more than a hundred well-armed men, and the masters and pilots and seamen remained in the boats with the gunners, who were well prepared, and the boats remained afloat for whatever
_ 45 _ might be needed. As they entered the town, they sounded trumpets and called on St. James, and when the Moors heard our men fighting, to which they could only reply with arrows, they drew back towards the gate leading to the mountains, strengthening their positions within the wall and in the gate-tower, and they caused much damage to our men from the walls with stones. Afonso Lopes scoured the outskirts, and at the end of the town he found many people who were making a sally, and when they heard our men, they turned back into the town to go towards the mountains. These people came face to face with Manuel Telles and Francisco de Tavora, and finding themselves caught between our men they went into some large old mosques. Our men followed them into the mosques, most of them were women and families, and they all threw themselves down on the floor without fighting. So, Afonso Lopes left twenty men on guard at the door and went on towards the mountain gate, where the Moors were putting up a strong defence. The Captain-in-Chief also arrived there, and seeing their defence he ordered the four berços to be brought from the boats on carriages, and then ordered them to shoot at the Moors on the walls, because our men were on the
_ 46 _ scaffolding of the wall. The berços knocked some of them down, the others all fled up towards the mountain, which was very precipitous, from where they threw down large rocks from which our men were protected by the wall. The Captain-in-Chief left Dom Antonio and Antonio do Campo to guard the gate and scoured the town, and he went to the mosques where he commanded that everyone should be killed; children, old people, all were killed, and the women had their noses and ears cut off, the men their right hands and noses, and he ordered that some well-built young men should be sent to the ship-masters to be loaded with irons and set to work in the ships. The Captain-in-Chief scoured the town until he came to the palm grove, and seeing such good wells he stayed to guard them, ordering the Captains that the men should take whatever they found and collect all the food they found, and especially they should stock up with water. This was done all day long with much diligence until sunset, when they reassembled. They found few goods but many things useful for ships, and no ships because they had all fled out to sea until our fleet had passed. But there was a good supply of ropes and particularly of heavy hawsers, and these the Captain-in-Chief ordered
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