A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 02 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 778 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 02.

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 02 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 778 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 02.

The particular incidents of this engagement are so confusedly related in Lichefilds translation of Castaneda as to baffle every attempt to reduce them into intelligible order.  Among these, the two following are more distinctly told.  Tristan de la Silva endeavoured to board a ship which appeared to be the admiral, of which the captain and a numerous crew were Turks.  A little before De Silva got up to this ship, the crew had fired off a piece of ordnance which lay on the upper deck, and which by its recoil broke a large hole in the side of the ship.  The Turks were so intent on defending themselves against the Portuguese boats, that they neglected to barricade this hole, of which the people in De Silvas boat took advantage to get on board; Alonzo Lopez the master, and Alvaro Lopez one of the kings servants, now town-clerk of Santarem, being the first who entered by the hole.  A desperate conflict ensued on deck, in which many of the Turks were slain, others hid themselves below the hatches, and others leapt into the water, most of whom were drowned, as they were covered with shirts of mail.

The caravel commanded by Pedro Raphael, one of these brought within the bar to co-operate with the boats, was struck by a ball from the battery on shore, which killed three men and dangerously wounded other ten.  In the confusion occasioned by this accident, another shot killed the master at the helm, and the caravel drove with the tide of flood right under the bows of a large Moorish ship full of men which had not yet been attacked by the boats.  In this situation, a great number of the enemy boarded the caravel, and used our men very ill.  The caravel afterwards drifted on certain rocks, where she remained till the end of the battle.  The situation of the caravel was now perceived by the admiral, who ordered effectual succour to be sent to Raphael.  The succours boarded the caravel, which was quite full of Moors, whom they drove out with great slaughter; but all of our men belonging to that caravel were sore hurt.

On the next day, being the first of January 1505, the admiral went with the fleet to Cananor, to take in the rest of his lading.  He was here informed by the factor of the humbled situation of the Moors, from whom, in his opinion, the Portuguese had no longer any thing to fear in India.  Being ready to depart for Europe, the admiral made an oration to Manual Telez, and those who were to remain with him in India, giving them instructions for their conduct after his departure; and as the enemy was so greatly humbled, he considered that such a fleet as had formerly been left by Albuquerque was quite sufficient, in which he left an hundred soldiers.  Indeed the zamorin, as has been already said, was sick of the war, and remained quiet after the departure of the admiral.

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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 02 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.