Albuquerque had established a treaty of amity and commerce with the king of Columbo, who furnished the Portuguese with cinnamon; and Soarez went thither at this time, by order of the king of Portugal, to construct a fort at Columbo, and to reduce the prince of that country to pay tribute. On this occasion his fleet consisted of seven gallies, two ships, and eight small vessels, carrying materials and workmen for building the fort, and 700 Portuguese soldiers. At first the king consented to have the fort built, but changed his mind at the instigation of the Moors, and put Soarez to considerable difficulty; but in the end the Moors were put to flight, the fort built, and the king constrained to become a tributary vassal of Portugal, by the yearly payment of 1200 quintals of cinnamon, twelve rings of rubies and sapphires, and six elephants.
At this time Juan de Sylveira returned from the Maldives, where he had taken two ships belonging to Cambaya, and had got permission of the king of the Maldives to erect a fort at the principal harbour. Sylveira went upon a similar mission to Bengal, where he was in great danger; as a young man of Bengal who sailed there with him, gave notice of his having taken these two ships, so that he was considered as a pirate. He had fared worse than he did, but for the arrival of Juan Coello from Pisang, sent by Andrada to the king of Bengal. After passing the winter in Bengal with great difficulty on account of famine, Sylveira set sail, being invited by the king of Aracan to come to his port of Chittagon by a messenger who brought him a valuable present; but all this kindness was only intended to decoy him to his ruin, at the instigation of the king of Bengal. He escaped however from the snare, and arrived at Ceylon as Soarez had finished the fort of Columbo, of which he appointed Sylveira to the command, leaving Azevedo with four ships to guard the sea in that neighbourhood.
About the same time Menezes secured the safety of Malacca, as mentioned before, by supplying it with men and ammunition, and appointed Alfonso Lopez de Costa to the government, in place of Brito who was dying. Duarte de Melo was left there with a naval force; and Duarte Coello was sent with an embassy and present to the King of Siam, to confirm a treaty of peace and amity, and to request of him to send a colony of his subjects to inhabit the city of Malacca, so that the Moors whom he hated as much as the Portuguese, might be for ever excluded from that place. All this was agreed to, and as a testimonial of his friendship to the Christians, he caused a great cross, ornamented with the arms of Portugal, to be erected in a conspicuous part of the city of Hudia, where he then resided. Having thus succeeded in his mission, Coello was forced by stress of weather upon the coast of Pahang, where he was received in a friendly manner by the king, who voluntarily submitted to become a vassal to the crown of Portugal, and to pay a cup of gold as an annual tribute. This was done more from hatred to the king of Bintang, than from love to the Portuguese.
The kingdom of Siam was at this time one of the greatest in the east, the two others of greatest consequence being China and Bisnagar. The great river Menam runs through the middle of the kingdom of Siam from north to south, having its source in the great lake of Chiamay in lat. 30° N. and its mouth in 13°, so that the length of this kingdom is 330 leagues. On the west it joins Bengal, on the south Malacca, on the north China, and on the east Cambodia. Its territory contains both mountains and plains, and it is inhabited by many different races of people, some of whom are extremely cruel and barbarous, and even feed on human flesh. Among these the Guei ornament themselves with figures impressed by hot irons[143]. Siam abounds in elephants, cattle, and buffaloes. It has many sea-ports and populous cities, Hudia being the metropolis or residence of the court. The religion of the Siamese agrees in many considerable points with Christianity, as they believe in one God, in heaven and hell, and in good and bad angels that attend upon every person[144]. They build sumptuous temples, in which they have images of vast size. They are very religious, sparing in their diet, much given to divination, and addicted to the study of astrology. The country is exceedingly fertile, and abounds in gold, silver, and other metals. The memorable services of the subjects are recorded that they may be read to the kings. When the king of Siam takes the field, he is able to set on foot a force of 300,000 men and 10,000 elephants.
[Footnote 143: Perhaps tattooing may be here alluded to.--E.]
[Footnote 144: It is hardly possible to conceive how it could enter into the conception of any one to compare the stupid polytheism of the worshippers of Budda with the Christian religion: In one thing indeed the Catholic church has contrived to establish a resemblance, by the subordinate worship of innumerable idols or images.--E.]
About this time, Fernan Perez de Andrada arrived at Pisang, where he was well received, but lost his largest ship, which was set on fire by the careless management of a lighted candle, so that he was forced to return to Malacca. From that place Juan Coello[145], was sent to China, meeting with furious storms and other dangers by the way. While on the coast of Tsiompa, taking in fresh water, he was nearly lost. At Patane and other places he established commercial treaties with the native princes, and spent the winter without being able to reach China, being obliged to return to Malacca to refit. After which he again resumed his voyage for China with eight ships. The empire of China is the most eastern in Asia, as Spain is the most westerly in Europe; and opposite to China is the island of Hainan, as that of Cadiz is to Spain. It is almost as large as all Europe, being divided from Tartary by a wonderful wall which runs from east to west above 200 leagues, and ends at a vast mountain or promontory which is washed by the eastern sea of Tartary. This vast empire is divided into fifteen provinces. Along the coast are those of Quantung, Fokien, Chekiang, Nanking, Xantung, and Leaotung; those of the inland country are Queichieu, Junnan, Quangsi, Suchuen, Huquang, Xensi, Kiangsi, Honan, and Xansi, in all of which there are 244 cities. Its riches are prodigious, and its government admirable above all others. The natives allege that they alone have two eyes, the Europeans one, and that all the other nations are blind. They certainty had both printing and cannon long before the Europeans. The city of Quantung or Canton, which is the principal sea-port, is remarkable for its size, the strength of its fortifications, and the prodigious resort of strangers for trade.
[Footnote 145: It will appear from the sequel that Fernan Perez de Andrada commanded on this voyage, not Coello as stated in the text.--E.]
After some considerable difficulties and dangers, Fernan Perez arrived at Canton, where he had a conference with the three governors of the city, to whom he presented Thomas Perez as ambassador to the emperor from the king of Portugal, and requested them to forward him and the present he was charged with. Perez settled a commercial treaty with the governors of Canton, and having concluded his traffic there and at the neighbouring parts, he returned to Malacca, loaded with riches. He was no less welcome there than Menezes had been formerly, as it was reduced to a dangerous situation in consequence of war with the king of Bintang, of which we shall have occasion to give an account in the sequel.
In 1518 Diego Lopez de Sequeira was sent out as governor of India, in reward for his services in Africa and for having discovered Malacca. One of his ships was in danger of perishing at the Cape of Good Hope in consequence of being run against by a great fish, which stuck a long horn or beak two spans length into her side. It was afterwards found that this was a fish called the needle. Soarez immediately resigned the government to Sequeira, and set sail for Portugal with nine ships. On taking possession of the government, Sequeira sent Alonson de Menezes to reduce Baticala in the island of Ceylon, the king of which place had neglected to pay the stipulated tribute; and Juan Gomez was sent to build a fort at the Maldive islands. Sequeira then went from Cochin to Goa, whence he dispatched Antonio de Saldanna to the coast of Arabia, and Simon de Andrada to China.