388 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XIX. 



clearly is what was referred to by de Queiroz in 1687 as the 

 original. It is significant that the word used by him is abrir y 

 which cannot possibly refer to an erection, but to an engraving. 

 The padrdo was engraved on a rock ; that is why the Moors lit a 

 fire to destroy it, instead of pulling it down ; and that fire accounts 

 for its present damaged condition. The date 1501 the speaker 

 was not prepared to discuss. It is amusing as well as significant 

 to note that the attempt now is to read it as 1506. That date 

 was the subject of much correspondence, and till now the only 

 variation on 1501 which had been suggested was 1561. This 

 shows how easy it is to create evidence, given a theory which 

 one is anxious to prove. Mr. Anthonisz has declared that he has 

 frequently examined the stone, and that the date was never meant 

 to be anything other than 1501. It would require a good deal 

 to convince the speaker that Mr. Anthonisz was wrong. 



When, however, Mr. Ferguson desires to establish 1506 as the 

 date of the arrival of Almeida in Ceylon, displacing the long- 

 established 1505, it is desirable to be critical in examining the 

 evidence, and cautious in arriving at a conclusion. Such criti- 

 cism cannot of course at this stage pretend to anything like 

 exhaustiveness ; indeed, the complete proof of the Paper had not 

 reached the speaker till the previous night. But even the short 

 examination to which the Paper had been subjected revealed 

 certain points which should not be overlooked. 



The evidence collected by Mr. Ferguson is both negative and 

 positive in its nature, and the negative will be discussed first. 



On September 13 Dom Francisco arrived at Anjadiva, near 

 Goa. After erecting a fortress there, he left for Onor on October 

 16 ; this town he destroyed, and reaching Cananor on the 22nd 

 he began a fortress there. He next proceeded to Cochin, which 

 he reached on October 30, and from there he despatched Lourenco 

 to Coulao, not far from Travancore, with a punitive force which 

 bombarded the place, probably on November 1. 



It is accepted as definitely settled that the homeward bound 

 fleet of eight vessels left Cananor in two divisions, on the 2nd 

 and 21st January, 1506, respectively. It is also clear that the 

 first of these ships left Cochin for the headquarters at Cananor 

 about November 26, 1505. Castanheda states that it was in 

 November that Lourenco started for the Maldives. On this 

 the writer remarks: "Had Dom Francisco so acted, he would 

 have been guilty of a breach of the king's instructions, according 

 to which he was to send out expeditions of discovery after the 

 dispatch of the cargo ships for Portugal." On examining the 

 text of the instructions (A 19) the speaker is of opinion that 

 it is unreasonable to attach so much weight to the word " after." 

 The Commander of this important expedition had surely a 

 moderate amount of discretion vested in him ? He was at a 

 friendly port close to Ceylon and on the most cordial terms with 

 the raja, to whom he had just presented a crown of gold from 

 his king. Cargo for his ships was being quickly provided. 

 The weather was most favourable for sailing south, indeed so 

 much so as to seriously interfere with ships sailing north. It 



