Page 19 - Anglo Portuguese Rivalry in The Gulf_Neat

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There are several detailed and reliable accounts of most of their ill-success, “ for as the old proverb is they
: the siege of Ormuz Castle available in print, and it is entred without fear or witt, for when the Portugale
therefore not necessary to give here more than the came to the push of the pike with them, they had never
briefest outline of the progress of the siege.1 The a pike to answer them, and soe with shame were
English devoted their efforts principally to destroying constrained to give back, and lost that with dishonour
the galleons moored close under the castle walls; and . which they might have maintained with credit.”
in this they were so successful, that by the first week The Persian army was singularly ill-equipped for a
in April they had sunk or burnt them all, including the siege, being poorly supplied with powder and shot ;
5. flagship Sdo Pedro, which after being set on fire by a but the former being liberally provided by the English,
daring cutting-out ‘expedition one night, drifted, a they continued their sapping and mining of the
blazing wreck, over to the shore near Gombrun where Santiago bastion to such good effect that they were
she sank. Meanwhile they had landed from the ships enabled to make a second assault on the 27th April.
some heavy guns which kept up a practically continuous This attack was carried out by a force of at least two
I;
bombardment of the Castle, under cover of which the thousand men “ who very resolutely ranne up the
r Persians dug their approach trenches as far as the foot breach into a part of the Bulwarke which they might •
of the bastion of Santiago. They next resorted to wholly have possessed that very instant, had they not
mining, and though the Portuguese endeavoured to at first made such haste as to runne their resolution
forestall them by counter-mining, a part of the bastion out -of breath; insomuch that onely eight or ten
was blown up on March 27th, causing a breach, through Portugals and a few Negros, made them onely with
which although “ it proved somewhat difficulte and bad their Rapiers to give ground and to retire themselves
to enter, yet the Persians gave a very resolute assault. unto the very outward skirt of the Bulwarke, where
thereunto, but it was so well defended by the Portugalls, they had not roome for fortie men to stand in the face
that the Persians were forced for that time to retire.” of their Enemie, yet there they barricaded themselves.
Monnox sharply criticised the lack of discipline which Which before they could affect to their purpose, the
prevailed amongst the Persians, to .which he attributed Portugall plyed two or three pieces of ordnance from
one of his Flankers that lay open unto them, in such
1 The fullest account on the English side is Monnox’s History at large of the
taking of Ormuz Castle, printed in part by Purchas in Vol. II of the 1625 sort, that they sent some scores of them to carry newes
edition of his Pilgrimes and first printed in full from the original manuscript \ unto their Prophet Mortus Ali, that more of his
I 1 in the India Office as an Appendix to the English edition of the Commentaries f
: Disciples would shortly be with him.” Despite the
i of Ruy Freyre <T Andrade. Other valuable contemporary sources will be found
mentioned in this work, and in the 1622-1623 volume of Foster’s English heavy losses suffered by the Persians from the raking
Factories in India series. Herbert, Della Valle and others give hearsay and
I fire of the Portuguese guns, and from the hand-
i 1 • less reliable narratives. On the Portuguese side, the longest account is to be
found in Chapters 30-^1 of the Commentaries of Ruy Freyre £ Andrade, ' grenades and powder-pots which the “ Portugals
! whilst the relations of Simla de Mello, Manuel Borges de Sousa and other
participants, which are printed in the appendices to this work, will also be bestowed as liberally as if they had come from the
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found useful, and in places more reliable. Another valuable source is the mouth of Hell,” the attackers hung on to the lodgement
depositions of many witnesses of the siege printed on pp. 205-293 of Como
te perdeu Ormuz. Both English and Portuguese versions agree well Enough thus effected in the Santiago bastion. In the course
together, when due allowance is made for their different standpoints. of three days’ furious hand to hand fighting, the
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