NO. 59.— 1907.] PORTUGUESE IN CEYLON. 



311 



What the king was like, we are not told ; but Castanheda, 

 quoting from Dom Manuel's letter to the pope (c/. B 8 with B 3), 

 gives us a minute description of the king's dress and his surroun- 

 dings, which were evidently intended to impress the western 

 strangers.* The Portuguese envoy was accorded a favourable 

 reception ; and a treaty of mutual friendship and trade was 

 entered into,f subject to ratification by the viceroy, the king 

 agreeing to pay to the king of Portugal an annual tribute of 

 one hundred and fifty quintals of cinnamon, J the first year's 

 contribution being then and there delivered to Dom Lourenco. 

 The latter thereupon, with the king's consent, § and as a 

 memorial of his " discovery " of Ceylon, erected upon a rock 

 overlooking thesea|| a stone padrdo or pillar having the arms of 

 Portugal on one side and the device of the sphere on the other, 



* The reception by candle-light is characteristic. Down to British 

 times the Kandyan kings were accustomed to receive European envoys 

 in the night-time (c/. Py bus's Mission 79, Hugh Boyd's Embassy to 

 Candy 213, Percival's Ceylon 404). 



-f Correa's statements as to the writing of the treaty on a slip of 

 silver, &c. , I look upon as fiction : in fact, I doubt if there was anything 

 more than a verbal agreement ; at any rate no copy even of any 

 treaty now exists (see J. F. Judice Biker's Collecgdo de Tratados, 

 preamb. vii.). 



% So Cast. (B8), following the royal letter (B 3). According to Bar. 

 (B 9) it was the Moors who gave four hundred bahars of cinnamon to 

 Dom Lourenco in the king's name. Cor. (B 10) has it that the Sinhalese 

 king agreed to pay a yearly tribute of a shipload of cinnamon and two 

 elephants (Cast, mentions two elephants later). Finally, Gaspar da 

 India (B 1) makes Dom Lourenco say that he brought from Ceylon two 

 hundred and fifty cruzados' worth of cinnamon (with no mention of 

 elephants). On these various statements see note 6 to B 1. 



§ So Cast. says. Cor. would have us believe that the king not only 

 gave his willing consent to the erection of this padrdo, but expressed the 

 desire to have one in each of his ports. According to Bar., Dom Lou- 

 renco did not wait for the king's permission, but got together some of 

 the Sinhalese, and with their approval set up the stone. The details he 

 gives in connection therewith seem to be authentic. 



j| I think that Cor. is right in his description of the spot where the 

 padrdo was set up ; for we know that on the coast of Africa conspicuous 

 points were chosen on which to erect these pillars. Cast, simply says 

 that the padrdo was erected " on the shore," and Bar. only says " on a 

 rock." 



