HISTORY, 



29 



described by Duarte Barbosa as a well-built, 

 wealthy, and flourishing place, which exported 

 honey, wax, and ivory. It was again attacked 

 by D. Xuno da Cunha, who was bent upon aveng- 

 ing the insults offered to his allies, the chiefs of 

 Zanzibar, Melinde, and Atondo. The Sultan de- 

 fended himself stoutly, introduced into the city 

 5000 black archers, and armed a fort with cannon 

 taken from Portuguese ships : the women and 

 children were sent to the mainland, and a system 

 of sorties and surprises was organized, which pro- 

 tracted the affair from November 14 to March 

 3, 1529. At length D. Xuno, after destroying 

 the houses and cutting down the palm trees, set 

 fire to the place, and burnt it to the ground. 

 These active measures secured peace for some 

 years. In 1586 the Turkish corsair, Ali Bey, 

 persuaded Mombasah to place itself, Hke Makdis- 

 hu, Ampaza, Lamu, Kelifi, and Brava, under the 

 Sultan of Stambul. D. Duarte de Menezes, vice- 

 roy of India, sent from Goa a fleet of 18 ships, 

 under Martim Affonso de Melo Bombeyro, who 

 revenged the insult by burning Mombasah the 

 third time. 



Tradition asserts, contrary to received opinion, 

 that the Conquistadores penetrated far into the 

 interior, and common sense suggests that soldiers 



