214 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



\ 



cious metal into the sea. At Mozambique lie took a pilot for 

 the island of Quiloa, three hundred miles to the north, whose 

 sovereign was enriched by his gold-trade with the African port * 

 of Sofala. Here he attempted to enter into a treaty of com- 

 merce ; but the prejudices entertained against Christians pre- 

 vented any concessions on the part of the Moors. At Melinda 

 Cabral landed two criminals and the presents for the king sent 

 out by Emmanuel. Obtaining pilots for the Indian coast, he 

 departed on the 7th of August, and arrived at Calicut on the 

 13th of September. 



From this point dates the first European establishment in 

 the East Indies. Stimulated by considerations of interest, the 

 zamorin, after many delays, granted the admiral an interview, 

 in which the latter stated the ardent desire of his master, the 

 King of Portugal, to furnish the zamorin's subjects with all 

 articles of European production or manufacture, taking in 

 exchange the spices and jewels of the East. A market or 

 bazaar was at once opened, and the cargoes of the ships, being 

 transferred to it, were rapidly converted into cinnamon, diamonds, 

 and drugs. 



The Moors now became seriously jealous of the activity, 

 power, and success of their rivals. They resorted to every 

 means to excite the hostility of the zamorin and his subjects 

 against them. They attacked and destroyed the Portuguese 

 market, plundering it of goods to the amount of four thousand 

 ducats. The inconstant zamorin offering neither apology nor 

 restitution, Cabral determined on vengeance. He boarded two 

 large Moorish vessels, killed six hundred men, and salted down 

 three elephants for food. He then bombarded the town : palaces, 

 temples, and storehouses crumbled to dust beneath the thunders 

 of the artillery. The zamorin fled, and Cabral withdrew with 

 his victorious fleet to Cochin, a rich capital one hundred and 

 fifty miles to the south of Calicut, where pepper was abundant 

 and the king -was poor. Trimumpara, the monarch, was in- 



