No. 60. — 1908.] couto : history of ceylon. 



75 



By this affair Machine king of Ceitavaca was so exasperated 

 against his brother, that after the Malavares had returned, on 

 his informing them that he was determined to make war on his 

 brother the king of Cota, they told him to send and ask succour 

 of the Qamorim, and said that when the latter had sent it to 

 him, he would have little trouble with that business, offering 

 him their services for setting forward his ambassadors. Madune 

 thereupon at once dispatched them with persons of rank, whom 

 he selected for that purpose, by whom he sent costly articles 

 to the Qamorim and for his ministers, asking him for a good 

 armada, the expenses of which he would pay entirely to his 

 satisfaction. 



These ambassadors the Qamorim received well ; and per- 

 suaded by the Moors, and mastered by self-interest, he ordered 

 to collect the ships that had gone out, and to fit out others 

 with all speed, and made up the number of forty-five, in which 

 he ordered to embark two thousand men, and made captain 

 of this armada Ali Abrahem Marca 1 , a Moor who was a great 

 pirate and a bold knight. This armada reached Columbo at 

 the beginning of the past October ; and as Madune was 

 already prepared with large armies, the Moors having joined 

 him, they moved against the city of Cota, laying siege to it 

 all round. 



Description of the City of Cota 2 . 



This city is situated in the midst of a beautiful lake, and has 

 one single narrow pass by which it is entered, which by order 

 of Nuno Freire had been fortified with a bastion and tran- 

 queiras, in which was placed the artillery that they had 

 captured from the pardos ; and around the city they arranged 

 many boats to prevent the enemy if they sought to cross over 

 to it, either in others or in jangadas 3 . 



And the first thing that the king did was to dispatch a very 

 urgent message to the governor 4, in which he told him of the 

 risk and danger in which he was, begging him to send him 

 succour, since he was vassal to the king of Portugal ; and an- 

 other to Martim Afonso de Sousa, who he learnt was in Cochim, 



1 According to Zmuddin (Lopes 63) this man was brother to Cunhale, 

 of whom we shall hear later on (see infra, p. 91 et seq.}. 



2 Apparently Couto intended to give here a detailed description of 

 the city of Cota, but, for some unexplained reason, omitted to do so. 

 He has partially supplied this omission in VII. x. xiv. (pp. 216-7 infra). 



3 Rafts, from Tarn, sangdqlam (see Hob. -Job. s.v. " Jangar : '). 



4 Nuno da Cunha. 



