Finding the port dangerous, Soarez came to anchor about a league from the city of Jiddah, yet so excellent were some of the cannon of the place, that three or four pieces were able to carry that prodigious distance. Soliman sent a message to the Christian fleet offering a single combat man to man, which Gaspar de Silva and Antonio de Menezes both offered to accept, but Soarez would not allow the combat. Soarez now caused the channel leading up to Jiddah to be sounded, and at this time the inhabitants were much alarmed by the fire of one of the Portuguese vessels; but Soliman appeased the tumult, and made his appearance without the walls with some of his men, while the walls were filled by vast multitudes of the infidels, who rent the air with loud cries. After two days of inaction, the Portuguese began to complain of the delay; but Soarez appeased his officers by shewing his instructions, in which he was ordered to fight the fleet of the Mamelukes, which could not be accomplished, and not to attack the city, where there might be much danger and little chance of profit. Though the votes differed in the council of war, it was resolved by a majority to desist from the enterprise against Jiddah, and accordingly Soarez and his armament retired to Kamaran, whence he detached several ships to different parts of the Red Sea. At this place died Duarte Galvam, a learned and ingenious man, who had been employed in several embassies in Europe, and though above seventy years of age was now going ambassador to Prester John. At the time of his death, he told his attendants that his son George and all his men had been cast away in their vessel, and that the inhabitants of the island of Dalac had cut off the heads of Lorenzo de Cosme and others that had been sent to that place. All this was afterwards found true, yet it was utterly impossible that the intelligence could have reached Duarte at Kamaran before his death.
After suffering much distress from famine, of which several men died, and losing seventeen Portuguese who were made prisoners by the Arabs, and carried to Jiddah, Soarez set sail from Kamaran and appeared before Zeyla in the kingdom of Adel, on the north-east coast of Africa, a little way out from the mouth of the Red Sea. This place was called Emporium Avalite by Ptolemy, who describes it as a great mart in ancient times. On the present occasion Zeyla was taken with little opposition, being unprepared for defence, and was reduced to ashes. From Zeyla, Soarez went to Aden on the coast of Arabia, but soon found he had been to blame for not taking possession when formerly offered it; as Miramirzan had repaired the wall, and now procrastinated the surrender of his city by various affected delays. Soarez fearing to lose the season of the trade winds for returning to India, set sail for Barbora on the same coast with Zeyla, which he meant likewise to destroy; but the fleet was dispersed in a storm, and on its being afterwards collected, it was found that more than eight hundred men had perished, from famine, disease, and shipwreck, in this disastrous and ill-conducted expedition.
While these disasters attended Soarez, the city of Goa, where Monroy commanded, was threatened with destruction. According to orders from Soarez, some ships had been taken from the enemy, but with more profit than reputation, though not without danger. One Alvaro Madureira, who had married at Goa, fled to the enemy and turned Mahometan. He afterwards repented and returned to Goa; but again fled to the Moors and brought them to attack the Portuguese ships, which were in imminent danger of being captured. About this time likewise, one Ferdinando Caldera, who was also married at Goa, fled from that city to avoid punishment for some crime he had committed, and joined the Moors; though some say that he was forced to desert by Monroy, who was in love with his wife. However this may have been, Caldera went to serve under Ancostan an officer of the king of Bisnagar. Don Gutierre de Monroy demanded of Ancostan to deliver him up, which was refused; after which Monroy suborned another person to go over to the enemy to assassinate Caldera; which was done, but the assassin was instantly slain by the Moors. On the return of Soarez to Goa, being informed of these incidents, he left Monroy to take what satisfaction he thought proper from Ancostan. Monroy accordingly sent out his brother Don Fernando at the head of 150 Portuguese, 80 of whom were horse, and a considerable body of natives, to attack Ancostan. Fernando defeated the Moors at Ponda; but the Moors having rallied defeated him in his turn, and obliged him to retire with the loss of 200 men killed and taken prisoners. On these hostilities, the whole country was up in arms, and Adel Khan the king of Bisnagar ordered his general Sujo Lari to besiege Goa. Lari accordingly endeavoured to cross over into the island at the head of 4000 horse and 26,000 foot, but was repulsed. In the mean time, as all intercourse was cut off between the island and the continent, the besieged became distressed by want of provisions; but on the arrival of three ships, one from Portugal, one from Quiloa, and the third from China, Lari raised the blockade and the former peace was renewed.
Similar misfortunes took place at Malacca, through the misrule of George de Brito and others, which occasioned all the native inhabitants to desert the city to avoid oppression. In this situation, Mahomet, the exiled king, sent a considerable force to attempt recovering his capital, under the command of Cerilege Rajah his general. Cerilege intrenched his army, and so pressed the besieged that the Portuguese had assuredly been driven from Malacca, had not Don Alexius de Menezes arrived to assume the government with a reinforcement of 300 men.
Antonio de Saldanna arrived in India in 1517 with six ships. In this fleet one Alcacova came out as surveyor of the king's revenue, invested with such power as greatly curtailed the influence of Soarez, and having the inclination to encroach still farther on his authority than he was warranted. This occasioned great dissensions between the governor and surveyor; who finding himself unable to prevail, returned into Portugal where he made loud complaints against the administration of affairs in India. Hence began the practice of listening to complaints at home against the governors and commanders employed in India; and hence many took more care in the sequel to amass riches than to acquire honour, knowing that money is a never-failing protection from crimes. Soarez sent Juan de Sylveira to the Maldive islands, Alexius de Menezes to Malacca, Manuel de la Cerda to Diu, and Antonio de Saldanna with six ships to the coast of Arabia by orders from the king. The only exploit performed by Saldanna was the capture and destruction of Barbora, a town near Zeyla but much smaller, whence the inhabitants fled. Saldanna then returned to India, where he found Soarez about to sail for the island of Ceylon.
The island of Ceylon, the southernmost land in India, is to the east of Cape Comorin. It is sixteen leagues distant from the continent[139], to which some imagine that it was formerly joined. This island is about 80 leagues from north to south, and about 45 leagues from east to west[140]. The most southerly point, or Dondra Head, is in lat. 5° 52' N. The most northerly, or Point Pedro, in 9° 48'. In the sea belonging to this island there is a fishery of the most precious pearls. By the Persians and Arabs it is called Serendib[141]. It took the name of Ceylon from the sea by which it is surrounded, owing to the loss of a great fleet of the Chinese, who therefore named that sea Chilam, signifying danger, somewhat resembling Scylla; and this word was corrupted to Ceylon. This island was the Taprobana of the ancients, and not Sumatra as some have imagined. Its productions are numerous and valuable: Cinnamon of greatly finer quality than in any other place; rubies, sapphires, and other precious stones; much pepper and cardamoms, Brazil wood, and other dyes, great woods of palm-trees, numbers of elephants which are more docile than those of other countries, and abundance of cattle. It has many good ports, and several rivers of excellent water. The mountains are covered with pleasant woods. One of these mountains, which rises for the space of seven leagues, has a circular plain on the top of about thirty paces diameter, in the middle of which is a smooth rock about six spans high, upon which is the print of a man's foot about two spans in length. This footstep is held in great veneration, being supposed to have been impressed there by a holy man from Delhi, who lived many years on that mountain, teaching the inhabitants the belief in the one only God. This person returned afterwards to his own country, whence he sent one of his teeth to the king of the island as a token of remembrance, and it is still preserved as a holy relick, on which they repose much confidence in time of danger, and many pilgrims resort thither from places a thousand miles distant. The island is divided into nine kingdoms, Columbo on the west being the chief of these. The others are Gale on the south, Jaula, Tanavaca, Cande, Batecalon, Vilacem, Trinquinimale, and Jafanapatam[142].
[Footnote 139: The distance between Ceylon and the Carnatic across Palks Bay is about 63 English miles; but at Jafnapatnam and Ramiseram, this distance is lessened to 43, by two capes, at the former projecting from the island, and at the latter from the continent.--E.]
[Footnote 140: From Point Pedro in the north to Dondra Head in the south are 265 miles, and its widest part from Negombo in the west to Poukiri Chene in the east is 143 statute miles.--E.]
[Footnote 141: More properly Selan-dib, or the Isle of Selan. The derivation of the name of Ceylon in the text does not admit of commentary.--E.]
[Footnote 142: All of these except Cande, Candi, or Kandi, the central mountainous region, still occupied by the native Hindoo race, appear to have been small sovereignties of the Moors or Malays; and have been long under European rule, having been conquered by the Portuguese, Dutch; and British in succession. The topography of Ceylon will be illustrated hereafter, and does not admit of being explained in the compass of a note--E.]