BARRETTO DE RESENDE’S ACCOUNT OF MALACCA, 1° 
An old and very narrow isthmus started from the point of 
Tanjon-Tuan, now called Caborachado (Cape Rachado) and crossed 
to meet another pcint called Tanjon-Balvala, on the coast of 
Samatta, or, by corruption, Samattra (Sumatra). 
It was by this isthmus, which extended between two seas, one 
lying on the North and the other on the South, that the natives 
from the main land of Ujontana crossed over to Samatta. 
This name of Samatta means Peninsula, or Chersonese; and 
it is this peninsula that Ptolemy mentions under the name of the 
Golden Chersonese. We shall have occasion to return to this 
further on. 
Permicuri chose this place because he considered it capable 
of being placed in a state of defence. This monarch had to protect 
himself from the ruler of Pam (Pahang), a territory in the interior 
of Ujontana. 
This ruler made occasional armed attacks upon Permicuri, for 
he sought vengeance for an act of treachery, of which Permicuri had 
been guilty towards a relative of his, the “ Xabandes’”’ (Shahbandar) 
of Singapore, whom Permicuri had assassinated in spite of the 
proofs of friendship he had received from him, at the time when 
Permicuri pursued by his father-in-law, the old Emperor of Java, 
had sought a refuge in Singapore. 
Permicuri therefore fortified himself on the crest of the hill, 
in a strong position where he was free from the fear of being taken 
by his enemy. MHe evinced great energy and zeal in enlarging his 
territory, which he extended beyond the river Aerlele; and he 
developed his new State by encouraging commerce and traffic with 
the surrounding tribes, who all came to Malacca to fish for the 
“ Saveis”’, a kind of shad, whose eggs placed in brine formed a 
much sought-after dish. Later, when the port had become 
frequented, the merchants of Coromandel, chiefly the Chelis (Chulia 
i.e. Klings) came over with stuffs and clothing; and they thus 
attracted thither the inhabitants of the surrounding islands, who 
helped to populate and to bring custom to the port, by bringing 
merchandise and exchanging their gold and spices for the stuffs of 
Coromandel. 
This is the origin of the wealth of Malacca, which became one 
of the richest and most opulent States in the world. At this period 
the natives were possessed of much ingot gold, and the prosperity 
of the country continued under the reign of Permicuri’s successors 
who were Xaquemdarxa, (Iskandar Shah) the Sultan Medafarxa, 
the Sultan Marsusel, the Sultan Alaudim (Ala-ed-Din) and lastly 
the Sultan Mohameth (Mahmud) who was conquered by Afonso 
d’ Albuquerque, who captured the whole country, a little more than 
a hundred years after its foundation, on the 15th of August, 1511. 
After conquering Malacca, the invincible Captain constructed a 
stone fortress at the foot of the hill on the sea-shore, to the South- 
East of the mouth of the river, where the Sultan Mohameth had 
built the palaces where he had kept the treasures with which he 
R. A. Soc., No. 60, 1911 
