The King of Cochin, betrayed by some of the Nairs (military nobles) of his palace, who had been gained over by the Zamorin, soon saw his capital carried by assault, and was obliged to seek refuge upon an inaccessible rock in the little Island of Viopia, with those Portuguese who had remained faithful to him. When he was reduced to the last extremity, an emissary was sent to him by the Zamorin, to promise him pardon and oblivion of his offences if he would give up to him the Portuguese. But Triumpara, whose fidelity cannot be sufficiently commended, answered, "that the Zamorin might use his rights of victory; that he was not ignorant of the perils by which he was menaced, but that it was not in the power of any man to make him a traitor and a perjurer." No one could have made a nobler return than this for the desertion and cowardice of Sodrez.
Vincent Sodrez had arrived at the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, when a fearful tempest occurred, in which his ship split upon the rocks, and he and his brother perished. The survivors regarded this event as a judgment of Providence for their bad conduct, and they made haste, with all sails set to return to Cochin. They were detained by contrary winds at the Laccadive Islands, and were there joined by another Portuguese squadron under the command of Francisco d'Albuquerque, who had sailed from Lisbon almost at the same time as his cousin Alfonzo d'Albuquerque the most distinguished captain of the period, who with the title of Capitam mõr had started from Belem at the beginning of April, 1503.
The arrival of Francisco d'Albuquerque placed the Portuguese affairs, which had been so gravely compromised by the criminal conduct of Sodrez, upon a better footing, and at the same time effected the rescue of Triumpara, their sole and faithful ally. The besiegers fled at the sight of the Portuguese squadron, without even a show of resistance, and the Europeans in conjunction with the troops of the King of Cochin ravaged the Malabar Coast. As a consequence of these events, Triumpara allowed his allies to construct a second fortress in his dominions, and authorised an augmentation of the number and importance of their mercantile houses. This was the moment that witnessed the arrival of Alfonzo d'Albuquerque, the man destined to be the real creator of the Portuguese Empire in the Indies. Diaz, Cabral, and Gama, had prepared the way, but Albuquerque was the leader of large views who was needed to determine which were the principal towns that must be seized in order to place the Portuguese dominion upon a solid and lasting basis. Thus every particular of the history of this man who showed so great a genius for colonisation, is of the deepest interest, and it is well worth while to record some particulars of his family, his education, and his early exploits.
Alfonzo d'Alboquerque or d'Albuquerque, was born in 1453 at Alhandra, eighteen miles from Lisbon. Through his father Gonzalo d'Albuquerque, the Lord of Villaverde, he was descended, but illegitimately, from King Diniz; and through his mother from the Menezez, the great explorers. Brought up at the court of Alphonzo V., he there received as liberal and thorough an education as was possible at the period. He made an especial study of the great writers of antiquity, whose influence may be traced in the majesty and accuracy of his own style, and of mathematics of which he knew as much as could be learnt at that time. After staying for some years at Arzila, an African town which was under the dominion of Alphonzo V., he returned to Portugal, and was appointed Master of the Horse to John II., a prince whose chief anxiety was to extend the name and power of Portugal beyond the seas. It is evident that it was to the constant attendance upon the king imposed upon him by the duties of his office, that Albuquerque owed the inclination of his mind towards geographical studies, and his anxious desire to find the means of giving to his country the Empire of the Indies. He had already taken part in an expedition sent to the succour of the King of Naples against an incursion of the Turks, and in 1489, had been charged with the commission of revictualling and defending the fortress of Graciosa, upon the coast of Larache.
We must now return from this digression and take up the history of Albuquerque, from the time of his arrival in India in 1503. It took him but a few days to become thoroughly aware of the position of affairs; he perceived that the commerce of Portugal must depend upon conquest for its power of development. But his first enterprise was proportioned to the feebleness of his resources; he laid siege to Raphelim, which he wished to make a military station for his countrymen, and then with two ships he undertook a reconnaissance of the coast of Hindostan. Being attacked quite unexpectedly both by land and sea, he was on the point of yielding when the fortunate arrival of his cousin Francisco turned the combat, and put the Zamorin's troops to flight. The importance of this victory was considerable; the conquerors remained masters of an immense booty and quantities of precious stones, which had the result of stimulating the Portuguese spirit of covetousness; at the same time it confirmed Albuquerque in his designs, for the execution of which the consent of the king was needful, and also more considerable resources. He therefore set out on his return to Lisbon, where he arrived in July, 1504.
This same year, King Emmanuel wishing to organize a regular government in the Indies, had made Tristan da Cunha his viceroy, but Da Cunha having become temporarily blind was obliged to resign his power before he had exercised it. The king's choice next fell upon Francisco d'Almeida, who set out with his son in 1505. It will be soon seen what were the means which he considered should be employed to assure the triumph of his countrymen.
On the 6th of March, 1506, sixteen vessels left Lisbon under the command of Tristan da Cunha, who had by that time regained his health. With him went Alfonzo Albuquerque, carrying with him, but unknown to himself, his patent of Viceroy of India. He was ordered not to open the sealed packet until three years should have expired, when Almeida would have completed the term of his mission.
This numerous fleet, after having stopped at the Cape de Verd Islands and discovered Cape St. Augustine in Brazil, steered directly for the unexplored parts of the South Atlantic, and went so far south that the old chroniclers assert that several sailors being too lightly clad died from cold, while the others were scarcely able to work the ships. In 37° 8' south latitude, and 14° 21' west longitude, Da Cunha discovered three small uninhabited islands, of which the largest still bears his name. A storm prevented a landing there, and so completely dispersed the fleet that the admiral could not get his vessels together again before he arrived at Mozambique. In sailing along this African coast he explored the island of Madagascar or Sam-Lorenzo, which had just been discovered by Soarez, who was in command of eight vessels which Almeida was sending back to Europe; it was not thought advisable to make a settlement upon the island.
After having wintered at Mozambique, Da Cunha landed three ambassadors at Melinda, who were to reach Abyssinia by travelling overland, then he anchored at Brava, which Coutinho, one of his lieutenants had been unable to subjugate. The Portuguese now laid siege to this town, which resisted bravely but which yielded in the end, thanks to the courage of the enemy and the perfection of their arms. The population was massacred without mercy, and the town pillaged and burnt. Upon Magadoxo, another town on the African Coast, Cunha tried but in vain, to impose his authority. The strength of the town and the stubborn resolution shown by the numerous population as well as the approach of winter forced him to raise the siege. He then turned his arms against Socotra, at the entrance of the Gulf of Aden, where he carried the fortress. The whole of the garrison were put to the sword, the only man spared being an old blind soldier, who was discovered hidden in a well. When asked how he had been able to get down there, he answered,—"The blind only see the road which leads to liberty." At Socotra, the two Portuguese chiefs constructed the fort of Çoco, intended by Albuquerque to command the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, by the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, thus cutting one of the lines of communication with the Indies, which was the most used by the Venetians.
Here Da Cunha and Albuquerque separated, the former going to India to obtain a cargo of spices, the latter officially invested with the title of Capitam mõr, and bent on the realization of his vast schemes, setting out on the 10th of August, 1507, for Ormuz, having left his nephew Alfonzo da Noronha in charge of the new fortress. He took in succession, and as if to get his hand in for the work, Calayati, where were found immense stores, Curiaty and Mascati, which he gave up to pillage, fire, and destruction, in order to avenge a series of acts of treachery easily understood by those who know the duplicity of these eastern people. The success which he had just gained at Mascati, important as it was, did not content Albuquerque. He dreamed of other and grander projects, of which the execution was, however, much compromised by the jealousy of the captains under his orders, and notably of Joao da Nova, who contemplated abandoning his chief, and whom Albuquerque was obliged to place under arrest on board his own ship. After having suppressed these beginnings of disobedience and rebellion, the Capitam mõr reached Orfacati, which was taken after a vigorous resistance.