During these transactions at Malacca a rebellion broke out among the natives at Goa, taking advantage of which, Pulate Khan, an officer in the service of Kufo Adel Khan king of Bisnagar passed over into the island of Goa with considerable army, and laid siege to the city. One of the principal exploits during this siege was a sally made by Rodrigo Robello de Castello Franco the governor, in which the besiegers suffered considerable loss. But Rodrigo was soon afterwards slain, and Diego Mendez de Vasconcellos was chosen to take the command by the universal suffrages of the besieged. At this time Adel Khan became jealous that his general Pulate Khan intended to usurp the sovereignty over the territory of Goa, on which account he sent his brother-in-law, Rotzomo Khan to supersede him, who entered into a treaty with Diego Mendez, by whose assistance he got the mastery over Pulate Khan. Finding himself at the head of 7000 men, while there were not above 1200 troops in the city of Goa, 400 only of whom were Portuguese, Rotzomo resolved to endeavour to drive them out, and resumed the siege. Being short of provisions, the besieged began to suffer severely from famine, and several of the men deserted to the enemy, some of whom repented and returned to the city. In this critical situation, Emanuel de la Cerda who had wintered at Cochin fortunately arrived with succours, and was followed soon after by Diego Fernandez de Beja, who had been sent to demolish the fort at Socotora, and to receive the tribute at Onnuz. By these the besieged were abundantly relieved and succoured with recruits and provisions when almost reduced to extremity. Soon afterwards arrived Juan Serram who had gone from Portugal the year before with Peyo de Sa, in order to settle a trade in the island of Madagascar, but ineffectually; and Christopher de Brito, who happened to be at Cananor with a large ship and four smaller vessels, where he heard of the distressed situation of Goa, went immediately thither with a strong reinforcement and an ample supply of provisions.
On his voyage from Malacca to Cochin, the ship in which Albuquerque was embarked struck during the night on a rock off Cape Timia in the kingdom of Aru on the coast of Sumatra. Being completely separated a midships, the people who had taken refuge on the poop and forecastle were unable to communicate with each other, and the night was so exceedingly dark that no assistance could be sent from the other vessels. When day-light appeared next morning, Albuquerque was seen holding a girl in his arms, whom chance had conducted to him during the confusion. Pedro de Alpoem came up to his relief, though with much difficulty and danger. On this occasion some of the men were lost, and much valuable commodities, but what Albuquerque most regretted was the wonderful bone which prevented the wounded Moor from bleeding, and some iron lions of curious workmanship, which he had intended for supporters to his tomb. Albuquerque continued his voyage after this disaster in the ship commanded by Alpoem; and on his way back took two Moorish ships, which, though rich did not make amends for the loss he had sustained in the wreck of his own. Immediately on his arrival at Cochin, being informed of the distress of Goa, he dispatched eight vessels to that place with men and provisions, promising soon to repair thither in person. There were then in the town 1000 men, who were besieged by an army of 20,000 natives.
It being now the year 1512, six ships arrived in India from Portugal, having spent a whole year on the voyage without touching at any port; and though the men were tired and sick, they relieved several places. At this time likewise a fleet of thirteen ships arrived from Portugal, one of which was lost on the island of Angoxa. This fleet, which carried 1800 soldiers, anchored off the bar of Goa on the 15th of August 1512. They immediately drove the enemy from a fort which they had constructed at Benistarim; after which Don Garcia and George de Melo passed on with their squadrons, accompanied by Juan Machado and others, who had been recently delivered from slavery in Cambaya. Albuquerque was much rejoiced at the great reinforcements brought out by his nephew Don Garcia and Melo, and by the relief of the captives, as they enabled him to proceed in the enterprises which he had in contemplation. His satisfaction was much increased by the arrival of Antonio de Saldanna with the garrison of Quiloa, which had been abandoned as a place of small importance. About the same time there arrived ambassadors from Persia and Ormuz, the latter of whom had orders from his master to proceed to Portugal.
Having arranged everything at Cochin, and appointed Melo to the command of Cananor, Albuquerque proceeded to Goa, where he was received with every demonstration of joy and respect. After visiting the fortifications, he endeavoured to concert measures for driving Rotzomo Khan from the works which he had constructed for besieging Goa. On the sixth day after his arrival, being on an eminence with several officers taking a view of the works of the enemy, 4000 Moors, 200 of whom were horse, were seen sporting on the plain, it being Friday, which is the sabbath of the Mahometans. On this occasion, a detachment of the Portuguese made a sudden attack on the Moors, and after a hot skirmish drove them for shelter to their works, having slain above an hundred of the enemy, with the loss of one officer and one private, and several wounded. Having resolved to take possession of a strong fort which the enemy had erected near Goa for the protection of their camp, Albuquerque caused it to be attacked both by sea and land at the same time; and thinking that the sea attack was not conducted with sufficient vigour, he went himself in a boat to give orders, and came so near that a cannon-shot struck the head of a Canara who steered his boat, dashing the blood and brains on his beard. Enraged at this incident, he offered a high reward to any one who should destroy that cannon; on which one of his gunners aimed a shot so exactly that it struck the muzzle of the cannon which flew in pieces, and killed the Moorish cannoneer. By this fortunate circumstance, the Portuguese were able to get farther up the river and to get close to the fort. At this time Zufolari, one of the generals of the Moors, appeared with 7000 men on the continental shore to relieve the fort; but being unable to effectuate his purpose, was forced to retire after sustaining some loss by a distant cannonade. Albuquerque now closely invested the fort with 4000 men, 3000 of whom were Portuguese. He divided these into two bodies, one under his own immediate command, and the other under the charge of his nephew Don Garcia. At first the Portuguese received some damage; but in the end Rotzomo Khan agreed to surrender the fort with all its cannon and ammunition, to deliver up all the Portuguese prisoners and deserters, and to evacuate the island of Goa and its dependencies. The Portuguese deserters were severely punished by order of Albuquerque, having their ears, noses, right hands, and the thumbs of their left cut off, in which mutilated condition they were sent home to Portugal. One of these, named Ferdinando Lopez, as a penance for his crimes, voluntarily remained with a negro at the island of St Helena, where he began some cultivation, and was afterwards serviceable to several ships that called in there, by furnishing them with refreshments.
Having thus completely relieved Goa, Albuquerque endeavoured to gain over Rotzomo Khan to the Portuguese service, but unsuccessfully; but his good fortune made a great impression on many of the native princes, several of whom sent pacific embassies to the viceroy. The king of Calicut, terrified at the growing power of the Portuguese, concluded a treaty of peace with Don Garcia, whom his uncle had sent to take the command at Cochin[130]. The kings of Narsinga, Visiapour, Bisnagar, and other districts of India, sent ambassadors to the viceroy; who endeavoured in his answers to impress them powerfully with the value of amity with the Portuguese, and dread of encountering their arms, and sent back envoys of his own to these princes, to acquire intelligence respecting their power and resources. There arrived likewise at Goa an ambassador from the Christian sovereign of Abyssinia, whom the Europeans denominate Prester John[131], who was destined to go over to Portugal, carrying a piece of the true cross, and letters for the king of Portugal from the queen-mother Helena, who governed Abyssinia during the minority of her son David. The purport of this embassy was to arrange a treaty of amity with the king of Portugal, and to procure military aid against the Moors who were in constant hostility with that kingdom. This ambassador reported that there were then three Portuguese at the Abyssinian court, one of whom, named Juan, called himself ambassador from the king of Portugal; and two others, named Juan Gomez and Juan Sanchez, who had been lately set on shore at Cape Guardafu, by order of Albuquerque, in order to explore the country.
[Footnote 130: The editor of Astleys Collection adds, with liberty to build a fort; but this condition is not to be found in the text of Faria, which is followed in that work literally on most occasions, though often much abridged.--E.]
[Footnote 131: In our early volumes it will be seen that this imaginary Prete Jani, Prester John, or the Christian Priest-king, had been sought for in vain among the wandering tribes of eastern Tartary. The Portuguese now absurdly gave that appellation to the Negus of Habesh, or Emperor of the Abyssinians; where a degraded species of Christianity prevails among a barbarous race, continually engaged in sanguinary war and interminable revolution.--E.]
Every thing at Goa being placed in order, the viceroy now determined upon carrying the enterprise against Aden into execution, which had been formerly ordered by the king of Portugal. Without communicating his intentions to any one, he caused twenty ships to be fitted out, in which he embarked with 1700 Portuguese troops, and 800 native Canaras and Malabars. When just ready to sail, he acquainted the captains with the object of his expedition, that they might know where to rendezvous in case of separation. Setting sail from Goa on the 18th of February 1513, the armament arrived safe at Aden. This city, called Modocan by Ptolemy, is situated on the coast of Yemen or Arabia Felix, in lat. 12° 45' N. near the mouth of the Red Sea, and looks beautiful and strong from the sea, being rich and populous owing to the resort of many nations for trade. But Immediately behind are the barren and rocky mountains of Arzira, which present numerous cliffs and precipices. The soil is arid, having very little water, which is procured from a few wells and cisterns, as this part of the country is scarcely watered from the heavens above once in two or three years. Hence it is devoid of all trees, and has neither gardens nor orchards.
Immediately on the arrival of the Portuguese fleet, Miramirzan the governor sent a complimentary message to the viceroy with a present of provisions; but as there was no prospect of voluntary submission or surrender, Albuquerque resolved upon carrying the place by assault, but found the enterprise more difficult than he expected. Having landed his men early in the morning, the troops advanced to the walls with scaling ladders: but after a considerable number had got up to the top of the wall, the ladders broke under the weight of the multitudes who pressed to get up; so that Albuquerque was obliged to order down those who had already ascended, by means of a single ladder constructed out of the broken fragments of the rest. Thus, after four hours engagement, the Portuguese were forced to desist from the attack with some loss, occasioned more by the insufficiency of the ladders than by the prowess of the enemy. George Sylveyra and five men were killed on the spot, but several others died afterwards of their wounds, and some from bruises occasioned by falling from the walls and ladders. Submitting to his bad fortune, and by the persuasion of his officers, Albuquerque resolved to abandon this enterprise, that he might have sufficient time remaining to sail for the month of the Red Sea. But before leaving Aden, he took a redoubt or bulwark which defended the entrance into the harbour, where a great many Moors, or Arabs rather, were slain, and 37 pieces of cannon taken. Having plundered the ships in the harbour, they were all burnt; and on the fourth day after arriving at Aden, the fleet set sail for the mouth of the Red Sea, on their arrival at which great rejoicings were made by Albuquerque and the Portuguese, as being the first Europeans who had ever navigated that celebrated sea.
The form of the Red Sea is not unlike that of a crocodile, having its mouth at the narrow Straits of Mecca or Babelmandeb, the head being that sea which lies between Cape Guardafu and Fartaque, and the extremity of the tail at the town of Suez. Its general direction is from N.N.W. to S.S.E. being 530 leagues long, and 40 over where broadest[132]. The channel for navigation is about the middle, where it has sufficient depth of water for the largest ships, but both sides are very shallow, and much encumbered by sand banks and numerous small islands. No river of any note falls into it during its whole extent. It is called by the Moors or Arabs, Bahar Corzu or the Closed Sea, and by others the Sea of Mecca; but by Europeans the Arabian Gulf or the Red Sea, owing to the red colour it derives from its bottom, as was proved by a subsequent viceroy, Don Juan de Castro, who caused some of the bottom to be dragged up in several places, when it was found to consist of a red coralline substance; while in other places the bottom was green, and white in some, but mostly red. The water itself, when taken up, is as clear as in any other part of the sea. The Red Sea does not abound in fish, but it produces small pearls in many places. The mouth of the Red Sea, called the Straits of Mecca or of Bab-al-mandeb, is in lat. 12° 40' N. and is as it were locked up by seven small islands, the largest of which, now Mehun, was called by Ptolemy Perantonomasiam. On going from the straits towards Suez along the eastern or Arabian shore, there are only a few small ports of no note for the first 44 leagues, till we come to the island of Kamaran, which is subject to the king of Aden. At 60 leagues from thence we come to Gezan a large town; thence 130 leagues to Yambo, all in the dominions of Mecca, having several good towns and harbours. Among these are the famous and well known ports of Ziden and Juddah, or Joda; Mecca being 15 leagues inland from the latter. From Yambo it is 60 leagues to Toro, where the children of Israel are said to have crossed the Red Sea, which at this place is 3 leagues across. Thence to Suez is 40 leagues, and there ends the Arabian shore. On sailing back to the straits along the western shore of Egypt and Ethiopia, from Suez which is 20 leagues from Grand Cairo the vast metropolis of Egypt, it is 45 leagues to Al-cosier; thence 135 to the city of Suakem, in which space there are many ports: From thence 70 leagues farther on is the island and port of Massua, and opposite to it Arkiko; and thence other 85 leagues bring us back to the Straits of Bab-el-mandeb. Behind a ridge of mountains which runs close along the whole coast of Ethiopia, lie the dominions of Prester John, which has always preserved Christianity after its own manner, and has of late been much supported therein by the Portuguese arms.