No. 60. — 1908.] barros : history of ceylon. 21 



island of Ceilam, and carried seven elephants, which it was 

 conveying for sale to the kingdom of Cambaya 1 ; and it 

 belonged to two merchants of the same Cochij, who were called 



Mammale Mercar and Cherina Mercar 2 he went to 



Aires Correa, and pretending that in this he was doing him a 

 service, told him that he had had news, that from the port of 

 Coulam 3 had set sail a ship laden with all kinds of spicery, 

 with which he could well load two of our ships, and that it was 

 bound for Mecha, and on the way had to take in some ginger 

 at Cananor 4 ...... 



Dec. I., Bk. vi., Chap. vi. 



The king of Cochij during this time had not yet seen 



the admiral 5 ; and because he learnt [November 1502] that 

 there was about to enter his port a ship of Calecut, which was 

 coming from Ceilam, and which belonged to a Moor of Calecut 

 called Nine Mercar, fearing that Vincente Sodre on going out 

 would capture it, he sent and begged the admiral that he 

 would not impede that ship, which he wished to enter that 

 port of his, although it was from Calecut 6 



1 Cambay was at this time one of the chief markets for the sale of 

 Ceylon elephants (see Barb. 55, 64, 167 ; and infra, p. 23). 



2 These two brothers were the leading Moorish merchants at Cochin, 

 and their operations were very widespread. The Laccadives were 

 known to the early Portuguese as "the islands of Mamale " (see Pyr. 

 i. 323 n., ii. 481), and this man had a monopoly of the Maldive trade 

 until deprived of it by the Portuguese. 



3 Quilon. The edition of 1778 has " Ceilao." 



4 Misled by this story, the Portuguese attacked the ship, which, 

 worsted in the fight, took refuge in the bay of Cananor, whence the 

 victors conveyed it to Calicut, where the Portuguese " common people " 

 feasted on the flesh of the elephants that had been killed in the engage- 

 ment. Discovering the fraud, the Portuguese commander, Pedralvares 

 Cabral, returned the vessel to its captain, with apologies for the damage 

 done. Such is Barros's version, but Castanheda (I. xxxvii.) simply 

 says that the samuri, wishing to buy an elephant, asked the Portu- 

 guese to intercept the ship. 



5 Vasco da Gama. 



6 Since the massacre at Calicut, in December 1 500, of the factor 

 Aires Correa and between thirty and forty others, the Portuguese had 

 declared unceasing war against Calicrit and all connected therewith. 



