to account for the injuries he had done to Cabral.
De Gama, knowing that he was not to be trusted, threatened
to make him a prisoner under the hatches, if he did
not immediately agree to pay tribute to the king of
Portugal[4]. The king from fear engaged to pay
2000 miticals of gold yearly, and gave one Mehemed
Aleones, a principal man among the Moors whom he hated,
as an hostage for the payment. The reason of
his dislike to Mehemed was this: Ibrahim was himself
an usurper, having seized the government in prejudice
to the right heir, and was afraid that Mehemed intended
to dethrone him. When the king found himself
at liberty, in consequence of this arrangement, he
refused to send the promised tribute, in hope that
De Gama might put the hostage to death, by which means
he might get rid of his enemy: But the Moor, on
finding the tribute did not come, was fain to pay
the same himself, by which means he procured his own
liberty. While at Quiloa, the fleet was joined
by the squadron of five ships under Stephen de Gama.
Leaving Quiloa, De Gama proceeded with the whole fleet
for Melinda, where he took in water and visited the
king[5]. Going from thence for India, and being
arrived off Mount Dely, to the north of Cananor, he
met a ship belonging to the Moors of Mecca, and bound
for Calicut, which was taken by our men after a stout
resistance[6]. When the ship surrendered, De
Gama went on board and commanded the owners and all
the principal Moors to come before him, whom he ordered
to produce all their goods on pain of being thrown
overboard. They answered that they had nothing
to produce, as all their goods were in Calicut; on
which De Gama ordered one of them to be bound hand
and foot and thrown into the sea. The rest were
intimidated by this procedure, and immediately delivered
up every thing belonging to them, which was very valuable;
all of which was committed to the charge of Diego
Hernando Correa, the factor appointed for conducting
the trade at Cochin, by whose directions they were
transported into one of the Portuguese ships.
De Gama ordered all the children belonging to the
Moors to be taken on board one of his own ships, and
vowed to make them all friars in the church of our
Lady at Belem, which he afterwards did[7]. All
the ordinary merchandize belonging to the Moors was
divided among his own men; and when all the goods
were removed, he ordered Stephen de la Gama to confine
the Moors under the hatches, and to set the ship on
fire, to revenge the death of the Portuguese who were
slain in the factory at Calicut. Soon after this
was done, the Moors broke open the hatches, and quenched
the fire; on which the admiral ordered Stephen de
Gama to lay them, aboard. The Moors rendered desperate
by this inhuman treatment, defended themselves to
the utmost, and even threw firebrands into our ship
to set it on fire. Night coming on, Stephen had
to desist, but was ordered to watch the Moorish ship
carefully that it might not escape during the dark,
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