The Englishman in India (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: the native chiefs lived, as often happens under such circumstances, in a state of chronic hostility. The Portuguese took up the cause of Cochin; and in return for their services got, in 1502, leave to build a factor)-, under the auspices of Gama. The following year Alfonso Albuquerque built a fortress, and began his career of victory and aggression. In 1510 the port of Goa was taken, and the Portuguese authority firmly established on the Malabar coast, from Goa to Cape Comorin. ' 0 Marte Portuguez'?the Portuguese Mars, as Albuquerque was called?became the hero of the day, and planted the flag of Portugal on the Spice Islands, Malacca, Ceylon, and Ormuz. Under bis successors, the Portuguese extended their conquests to Macao and Japan. The Isle of Din, at the entrance of the Gulf of Cambay, also fell into their hands, as well as the important isle and harbour of Bombay. At last, from Indus to Ceylon, these bold Lusitanians reigned masters of the sea coast. The riches of India were poured into the lap of Portugal. Indian ambassadors were seen in the streets of Lisbon; whilst the growth of European civilisation, churches,t castles, and palaces, sprung up along the coast of India. As the sailors and soldiers of Portugal were thus seizing a noble prey, her priests and poets followed close behind. Camoens wedded the exploits of Vasco de Gama to ' immortal verse' in his ' Luciad,' and with his own sword helped to achieve that Eastern Lusitanian empire which his pen so gloriously described. Xavier, Ceded by the Mogul to the Portuguese, A.d. 1530. t The churches of the province of Goa numbered more than two hundred, and the priests two thousand, at the time of Buchanan's visit. Many of these churches were magnificent: the chapel of the palace is built on the model of St. Peter'...