286 



JOURNAL, B.A.S. (CEYLON). 



[Vol. XX, 



of his lacking all that he had expected by her, he determined 

 to declare war and break the peace ; but he wished first to see 

 if he could capture the ships that formed the armada, to which 

 end he sent word to all the ports at which it called that they 

 were not to supply it with water or wood, and that they were 

 to arm some ships, in order to see if they could take them 

 unawares in some river : the which Thome de Sousa soon 

 discovered, because in some ports they presently began to 

 refuse him what he asked for, and he sent to take in water and 

 wood by means of almadias 1 , because he well knew the habits 

 and nature of Raju. And the latter, wishing to declare himself 

 once for all, sent some lascarins after the manner of robbers 

 to fall upon the poor wretches and people in the service of the 

 fortress that were in the jungle making cinnamon 2 , the which 

 Joao Correa learnt of, but dissembled in order to see if Raju 

 would send and inform him before breaking the truce, as had 

 been agreed to between them. 



Just at this juncture 3 there fled to our fortress eight panicaes*, 

 fidalgos, all relatives, because Raju had sent to a village 5 

 where they lived to summon them ; and as all now feared 

 these summonings, they fled one night, and as they could not 

 get to Columbo except by the great tranqueira 8 , they reached 

 it in the dead of night like household servants, and finding the 

 guards asleep killed them all, and got to the other side. The 

 captain of the tranqueira hastening at the uproar, and learning 

 what had happened, feared that Raju would order him to be 



1 Light boats (see Hob. -Job. s.v.). 



2 This is the first occasion on which Couto mentions the peeling of 

 cinnamon. (Cf. supra, p. 242, note 4 .) From a royal letter of 7 

 March 1589, printed in Arch. Port.-Or. iii. (217-8), it seems that the 

 captain of Columbo was peeling cinnamon for his own profit, and the 

 king getting nothing, though this lack is naively ascribed to the failure 

 of " Raju " to pay the customary tribute. According to " Don Duart 

 de Meneses the Vice-roy, his tractate of the Portugall Indies," &e. 

 (1584), printed by Purchas (ix. 164), " Seylan the Madune [sic], doth 

 pay every yeare for tribute to his Majestie, 300. Bares of Cynamon, 

 containing 300. weight the Bare, which is 90000. weight, at the 

 rate of ten Pardaos the Bare, which is 900000. Reys, and it is 562 I. 

 10 s. sterling." 



3 The printed edition has confusao, where the manuscript reads 

 conjuncao. 



4 This is the plural of panical, regarding which word see supra, p. 69, 

 note \ 



5 The printed edition has " some villages," which may be the correct 

 reading. 



6 The tranqueira grande was at Kaduvela, and is often mentioned 

 in later times as the scene of engagements between the Sinhalese and 

 the Portuguese or Dutch (see infra, p. 397, note 2 ; M. Lit. Reg. iv. 

 174 ; C. A. S. Jl. xii. 103, where " great stockade " is a translation of 



tranqueira grande). 



