The latter, as a Christian empire, and the seat of that mythical monarch, Prester John, was a subject of great interest to the Christians of Europe. It has been said that John II of Portugal sent one of his equerries João Peres de Covilhão to Abyssinia, where he had become a person of influence and eventually died. Ambassadors had also been sent to that country by way of Melinda in Vasco da Gama's second voyage to the East, and had been favourably received by David, the then Emperor of Abyssinia.
The existence Of such a Christian empire interested most Europeans only on account of its religion, but Albuquerque looked on it from a political aspect. He hoped to make use of the Abyssinians to attack Egypt from the South and overthrow the Muhammadan dynasty reigning there. In case this could not be accomplished, he formed a scheme by which the waters of the Nile should be diverted, so as to run through Abyssinia to the Red Sea, and thus destroy the fertility of Egypt. He even went so far in pursuance of his idea as to request the King of Portugal to send him experienced miners from the island of Madeira, who were accustomed to dig through rocks. Another plan he formed was to send a detachment to Medina to carry off the body of Muhammad. But he felt his present voyage to be rather one of exploration, and so, after sailing about throughout the summer of 1513, he left the Red Sea in the month of August for India. This cruise was one of great importance to the Portuguese, and a knowledge of the coasts, and of the navigation of the Red Sea was obtained, which proved in after years to be very useful. Before departing Albuquerque burnt many of the ships which were moored in the harbour of Aden, and he promised to return speedily and conquer the city.
On leaving the coast of Arabia, Albuquerque sailed direct to Diu. The situation of affairs in Gujarát had somewhat altered. Mahmúd Sháh Begára had always been willing that the Portuguese should build a fortress there, and his willingness may be attributed to the fact that Málik Ayaz, the Nawáb of Diu, had become practically independent of him. This Muhammadan ruler had been the declared enemy of the Portuguese ever since the days of the first Viceroy, Dom Francisco de Almeida. He had assisted the Emir Husain in the naval battles of Chaul and Diu, and had formed a high idea of the power of the Portuguese. He now submitted to Muzaffar Sháh II, who had just succeeded as King of Gujarát, and implored him not to grant permission for the Christians to build a fortress at Diu. He consented however to the foundation of a factory, and Albuquerque accordingly left one ship behind him, when he sailed south, with Fernão Martins Evangelho as Factor. On their way to Goa the Portuguese seized all the Muhammadan ships which had that year left Calicut, and had not yet been able to get across the Indian Ocean because of the monsoon, which is said to have completed the ruin of the Mopla merchants of Calicut. Albuquerque also left a squadron under Lopo Vaz de Sam Paio to blockade the port of Dábhol, and he then returned safely to Goa.
The year 1514 is the most peaceful of Albuquerque's administration. In it he was occupied mainly with matters of internal policy and the strengthening of his relations with the native princes. The most important event of the year was the building of the fortress of Calicut, and though the policy by which he attained this end cannot be commended, the result was a remarkable conclusion to his transactions on the Malabar coast. The long and consistent opposition of the Muhammadans of Calicut to the establishment of the Portuguese power is one of the leading threads of the history of the period. From the time of Vasco da Gama's first voyage and the murder of the Portuguese factor in 1500, Calicut had been the headquarters of the enemies of Portugal. King Emmanuel never ceased reiterating his orders that Calicut should be conquered at any cost; he declared his honour to be involved in the destruction of the Zamorin's power; and the defeat and death of Dom Fernão de Coutinho exasperated him exceedingly.
By the fleet which was commanded by Dom Garcia de Noronha the most precise orders had been sent for the building of a fortress at Calicut, and Francisco Nogueira had brought out a royal commission to be Captain of it. The Zamorin, who had been much impressed by the conquest of Goa, now declared his willingness to grant a site for a fortress at Calicut, but he would not grant the only site which Albuquerque was inclined to accept, because it completely commanded the harbour. On his return from the Red Sea, Albuquerque was informed by Nogueira of the temporising policy of the Zamorin, and resolved to carry out the King's orders without more delay. He met with considerable opposition, especially from the Rájá of Cochin, who feared that the lucrative pepper trade, which he enjoyed, owing to the existence of a fortress and factory in his capital, would go to Calicut, and his views were adopted by the civil officers in charge of the trade and also by all the adherents of Almeida's policy. Nevertheless Albuquerque persisted, and since nothing could be done with the reigning Zamorin he advised the heir apparent to secure his accession by poison.
The advice was followed; the Zamorin was poisoned, and his murderer and successor allowed Albuquerque to build a fortress on the site he had chosen. It was the best fortified castle erected in India, and its water gate, by means of which reinforcements and ammunition could be introduced direct from the sea, was especially admired. The new Zamorin offered to pay full compensation to the Portuguese for all the damage that had been done since the murder of the first factor, and he also sent two native envoys to Lisbon to protest his sincere submission to King Emmanuel. The erection of the fortress at Calicut set the seal on the Portuguese power on the Malabar coast; the Mopla merchants were controlled at their headquarters, and the Commentaries assert that the Rájá of Narsingha or Vijayanagar
'declared, when he heard of it, that since the Zamorin of Calicut had assented to the building of a fortress in his land by the Portuguese, the Captain-General of India might as well build another in Bisnagar (Vijayanagar) if he pleased.'3
3 Albuquerque's Commentaries, vol. iv. pp. 74, 75.
Though the building of the fortress at Calicut was the most important event of Albuquerque's rule in 1514, some notice must likewise be given to his relations with Gujarát, and the expeditions he sent to Ormuz and Malacca.
It was reported to him by the factor he had left at Diu, that the Nawáb of that place had gone to Ahmadábád in order to induce the King of Gujarát to refuse the Portuguese leave to build upon the island, and also that Ismáil Sháh, of Persia, had sent a special embassy to Ahmadábád to induce the King to accept the Shiah form of the Muhammadan religion. Albuquerque, on this, determined to send a better equipped embassy than before to the Court of Muzaffar Sháh II. He selected two fidalgos, on whom he could rely, Diogo Fernandes de Beja, who had been his flag captain in the Red Sea, and Jaymé Teixeira. The ambassadors arrived safely at Surat, but it was not until after a long delay that they were forwarded to Ahmadábád. They at once demanded of the Minister that the Portuguese should be allowed to build at Diu, and were told in reply that the very name of a fortress was distasteful to the King. The ambassadors replied