_Voyages of the Author to different parts of India._
When I was at Pegu in August 1569, having got a considerable profit by
my endeavours, I was desirous to return to my own country by way of St
Thome, but in that case I should have been obliged to wait till next
March; I was therefore advised to go by way of Bengal, for which country
there was a ship ready to sail to the great harbour of Chittagong,
whence there go small ships to Cochin in sufficient time to arrive there
before the departure of the Portuguese ships for Lisbon, in which I was
determined to return to Europe. I went accordingly on board the Bengal
ship; but this happened to be the year of the _Tyffon_, which will
require some explanation. It is therefore to be understood that in India
they have, once every ten or twelve years, such prodigious storms and
tempests as are almost incredible, except to such as have seen them,
neither do they know with any certainty on what years they may be
expected, but unfortunate are they who happen to be at sea when this
tempest or _tyffon_ takes place, as few escape the dreadful danger. In
this year it was our evil fortune to be at sea in one of these terrible
storms; and well it was for us that our ship was newly _over-planked_,
and had no loading save victuals and ballast, with some gold and silver
for Bengal, as no other merchandise is carried to Bengal from Pegu. The
tyffon accordingly assailed us and lasted three days, carrying away our
sails, yards, and rudder; and as the ship laboured excessively, we
cut away our mast, yet she continued to labour more heavily than before,
so that the sea broke over her every moment, and almost filled her with
water. For the space of three days and three nights, sixty men who were
on board did nothing else than bale out the water continually, twenty at
one place, twenty in another, and twenty at a third place; yet during
all this storm so good was the hull of our ship that she took not in a
single drop of water at her sides or bottom, all coming in at the
hatches. Thus driving about at the mercy of the winds and waves, we were
during the darkness of the third night at about four o'clock after
sunset cast upon a shoal. When day appeared next morning we could see no
land on any side of us, so that we knew not where we were. It pleased
the divine goodness that a great wave of the sea came and floated us off
from the shoal into deep water, upon which we all felt as men reprieved
from immediate death, as the sea was calm and the water smooth. Casting
the lead we found twelve fathoms water, and bye and bye we had only six
fathoms, when we let go a small anchor which still hung at the stern,
all the others having been lost during the storm. Our anchor parted next
night, and our ship again grounded, when we shored her up the best we
could, to prevent her from over-setting at the side of ebb.
When it was day, we found our ship high and dry on a sand-bank, a full
mile from the sea. When the _tyffon_ entirely ceased, we discovered an
island not far from us, to which we walked on the sand, that we might
learn where we were. We found it inhabited, and in my opinion the most
fertile island I had ever seen. It is divided into two parts by a
channel or water-course, which is full at high tides. With much ado we
brought our ship into that channel; and when the people of the island
saw our ship, and that we were coming to land, they immediately erected
a bazar or market-place with shops right over-against the ship, to which
they brought every kind of provisions for our supply, and sold them at
wonderfully reasonable rates. I bought many salted kine as provision for
the ship at half a _larine_ each, being all excellent meat and very fat,
and four wild hogs ready dressed for a larine. The larine is worth about
twelve shillings and sixpence. Good fat hens were bought for a _byza_
each, which does not exceed a penny; and yet some of our people said
that we were imposed upon, as we ought to have got every thing for half
the money. We got excellent rice at an excessively low price, and indeed
every article of food was at this place in the most wonderful abundance.
The name of this island is _Sondiva_ or Sundeep, and belongs to the
kingdom of Bengal, being 120 miles from Chittagong, to which place we
were bound. The people are Moors or Mahometans, and the king or chief
was a very good kind of man for a Mahometan; for if he had been a tyrant
like others, he might have robbed us of all we had, as the Portuguese
captain at Chittagong was in arms against the native chief of that
place, and every day there were some persons slain. On receiving this
intelligence, we were in no small fear for our safety, keeping good
watch and ward every night, according to the custom of the sea; but the
governor of the town gave us assurance that we had nothing to fear, for
although the Portuguese had slain the governor or chief at Chittagong,
we were not to blame, and indeed he every day did us every service and
civility in his power, which we had no reason to expect, considering
that the people of Sundeep and those of Chittagong were subjects of the
same sovereign.
Departing from Sundeep we came to Chittagong, by which time a peace or
truce had been agreed upon between the Portuguese and the chiefs of the
city, under condition that the Portuguese captain should depart with his
ship without any lading. At this time there were 18 Portuguese ships of
different sizes at that port, and the captain being a gentleman and a
brave man, was contented to depart in this manner, to his material
injury, rather than hinder so many of his friends and countrymen who
were there, and likewise because, the season for going to Western India
was now past. During the night before his departure, every ship that was
in the port, and had any part of their lading on board, transshipped it
to this captain to help to lessen his loss and bear his charges, in
reward for his courteous behaviour on this occasion. At this time there
came a messenger from the king of _Rachim_ or Aracan to this Portuguese
captain, saying that his master had heard tidings of his great valour
and prowess, and requesting him to bring his ship to the port of Aracan
where he would be well received. The captain went thither accordingly,
and was exceedingly well satisfied with his reception.
The kingdom of Aracan is in the mid-way between Bengal and Pegu, and the
king of Pegu is continually devising means of reducing the king of
Aracan under subjection, which hitherto he has not been able to effect,
as he has no maritime force, whereas the king of Aracan can arm two
hundred galleys or foists; besides which he has the command of certain
sluices or flood-gates in his country, by which he can drown a great
part of his country when he thinks proper, when at any time the king of
Pegu endeavours to invade his dominions, by which be cuts off the way
by which alone the king of Pegu can have access.
From the great port of Chittagong they export for India great quantities
of rice, large assortments of cotton cloth of all sorts, with sugar,
corn, money, and other articles of merchandise. In consequence of the
war in Chittagong, the Portuguese ships were so long detained there,
that they were unable to arrive at Cochin at the usual time; for which
reason the fleet from Cochin was departed for Portugal before their
arrival. Being in one of the smaller ships, which was somewhat in
advance of our fleet from Chittagong, I came in sight of Cochin just as
the very last of the homeward-bound fleet was under sail. This gave me
much dissatisfaction, as there would be no opportunity of going to
Portugal for a whole year; wherefore, on my arrival at Cochin, I was
fully determined to go for Venice by way of Ormuz. At that time Goa was
besieged by the troops of _Dialcan_ [Adel-khan,] but the citizens made
light of this attack, as they believed it would not continue long. In
the prosecution of my design, I embarked at Cochin in a galley bound for
Goa; but on my arrival there the viceroy would not permit any Portuguese
ship to sail for Ormuz on account of the war then subsisting, so that I
was constrained to remain there.
Soon after my arrival at Goa I fell into a severe sickness, which held
me four months; and as my physic and diet in that time cost me 800
ducats, I was under the necessity to sell some part of my rubies, for
which I only got 500 ducats, though well worth 1000. When I began to
recover my health and strength, very little of my money remained, every
thing was so scarce and dear. Every chicken, and these not good, cost me
seven or eight livres, or from six shillings to six and eightpence, and
all other things in proportion; besides which the apothecaries, with
their medicines, were a heavy charge upon me. At the end of six months
the siege of Goa was raised, and as jewels rose materially in their
price, _I began to work_[168]; and as before I had only sold a small
quantity of inferior rubies to serve my necessities, I now determined to
sell all the jewels I had, and to make another voyage to Pegu; and as
opium was in great request at Pegu when I was there before, I went from
Goa to Cambay, where I laid out 2100 ducats in the purchase of 60
parcels of opium, the ducat being worth 4s. 2d. I likewise bought three
bales of cotton cloth, which cost me 800 ducats, that commodity selling
well in Pegu. When I had bought these things, I understood the viceroy
had issued orders that the custom on opium should be paid at Goa, after
which it might be carried anywhere else. I shipped therefore my three
bales of cotton cloth at Chaul, in a vessel bound for Cochin, and went
myself to Goa to pay the duty for my opium.
[Footnote 168: From this expression it may be inferred, that besides his
mercantile speculations in jewels, Cesar Frederick was a lapidary.--E.]
From Goa I went to Cochin, in a ship that was bound for Pegu, and
intended to winter at San Thome; but on my arrival at Cochin I learnt
that the ship with my three bales of cotton cloth was cast away, so that
I lost my 800 seraphins or ducats. On our voyage from Cochin to San
Thome, while endeavouring to weather the south point of Ceylon, which
lies far out to sea, the pilot was out in his reckoning, and laying-to
in the night, thinking that he had passed hard by the Cape of Ceylon;
when morning came we were far within the Cape, and fallen to leeward, by
which it became now impossible to weather the island, as the wind was
strong and contrary. Thus we lost our voyage for the season, and we were
constrained to go to Manaar to winter there, the ship having lost all
her masts, and being saved from entire wreck with great difficulty.
Besides the delay and disappointment to the passengers, this was a heavy
loss to the captain of the ship, as he was under the necessity of hiring
another vessel at San Thome at a heavy charge, to carry us and our goods
to Pegu. My companions and I, with all the rest of the merchants, hired
a bark at Manaar to carry us to San Thome, where I received intelligence
by way of Bengal, that opium was very scarce and dear in Pegu; and as
there was no other opium but mine then at San Thome, for the Pegu
market, all the merchants considered me as a very fortunate man, as I
would make great profit, which indeed I certainly should have done, if
my adverse fortune had not thwarted my well-grounded expectations, in
the following manner: A large ship from Cambaya, bound for _Assi_
[Acheen?] with a large quantity of opium, and to lade pepper in return,
being forced to lay-to in crossing the mouth of the bay of Bengal, was
obliged to go _roomer_[169] for 800 miles, by which means it went to
Pegu, and arrived there one day before me. Owing to this circumstance,
opium, which had been very dear in Pegu, fell to a very low price, the
quantity which had sold before for 50 _bizze_ having fallen to 2-1/2, so
large was the quantity brought by this ship. Owing to this unfortunate
circumstance, I was forced to remain two years in Pegu, otherwise I must
have given away my opium for much less than it cost me, and even at the
end of that time I only made 1000 ducats by what had cost me 2100 in
Cambaya.
[Footnote 169: The meaning of this ancient nautical term is here clearly
expressed, as drifting to leeward while laying-to.--E.]
After this I went from Pegu to the Indies[170] and Ormuz, with a
quantity of _lac_. From Ormuz I returned to Chaul, and thence to Cochin,
from which place I went again to Pegu. Once more I lost the opportunity
of becoming rich, as on this voyage I only took a small quantity of
opium, while I might have sold a large quantity to great advantage,
being afraid of meeting a similar disappointment with that which
happened to me before. Being now again resolved to return into my native
country, I went from Pegu to Cochin, where I wintered, and then sailed
for Ormuz.
[Footnote 170: Here, and in various other parts of these early voyages,
India and the Indies seem confined to the western coast of the
peninsula, as it is called, or the Malabar coast.--E.]