Page 6 - Anglo Portuguese Rivalry in The Gulf_Neat

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sailed for Goa in the same year, brought warning
managed to escape from the clutches of the local
letters concerning his activities to Dom Kieronymo de
Indian authorities, and made his way to the court of
Azevedo, the Viceroy at Goa.
Jahangir at Agra, whence he proceeded to Persia by
These warnings were duplicated by others which way of Kandahar.1
were sent overland in the following year, and which Encouraged by Sherley’s promises, and cheered by
reached Goa at the beginning of November, 1613. In
the news that “ the' King of Persia much favoureth the
these letters, the Viceroy was ordered to prevent by English nation, and is of late fallen out with the
fair means or foul Dom Roberto, as he is termed in
* Portugals,” the chief factors at Surat now resolved to
Portuguese documents, from reaching Persia ; and it try to open up a trade with Persia. The maritime
was not the fault of Azevedo that his prey escaped him.
power of the Portuguese had been greatly reduced
As soon as these orders of the Lisbon authorities had since their disastrous defeats by the English off Swally
§
been received in Goa, it was resolved to hasten the
in 1610, and again in January, 1615 ; whilst at the same
i departure of Dom Luiz da Gama, who was about to time, their small fort at Gombrun which guarded the
proceed to take up the captaincy of the fortress of
wells on the mainland whence the population and
Ormuz; and to give him a sufficient naval and
garrison of Ormuz depended for most of their water
military force to ensure his being able to secure
supply, was attacked and taken by the Khan of Lar,
Sherley’s person by force if necessary. Da Gama was
after a trifling resistance. All these events were of
ordered to proceed forthwith to Laribandar (Diul-Sind) •
good augury for the East-India Company, and after a
at the mouth of the Indus, where Sherley had been
preliminary journey to Ispahan by two factors in 1615,
landed together with his companions from England in
the first English vessel destined for the Persian trade,
the Expedition, and to offer the local Governor a bribe
the James, was despatched from Surat in 1616. The
of 6,000 pardausy to induce him to surrender the
Portuguese attempt to intercept the vessel proved
intended victim; failing which, he was to be offered abortive, and after this first successful venture had
an equally large bribe to kill him. Dom Hieronymo,
: been repeated in the two following years, a factory was
in reporting this drastic decision to the home authori­
definitely settled at Jask in 1619, which became the
ties, added that he felt sure that Dom Luiz da Gama
centre of the East India Company’s commercial
would succeed in his mission, both because of his own activities in Persia for the next three years.
capabilities, and because the Governor, like all :
It is interesting to note that one of the reasons
Mohamedans, would be easily bribed, whilst Sherley
which induced the Surat factors to embark, on their
had nothing to offer as a counter-bribe. Nevertheless,
Persian adventure in 1616, was the fact that Sherley .
Sir Robert escaped the trap set for him, and Dom Luiz
was absent from Persia, having been sent by his master
arrived off Sind in January, 1614 to find that the bird
had flown. Sherley’s principal companion, Sir Thomas xSee the correspondence of Dom Hieronymo de Azevedo with his home
i
Powell, the ambassador-elect from' the “ British Government on tne question of intercepting Sherley, as printed by Cunha
Rivara on pp. 207-211 of the Chronista de Tissuary, I, Nova Goa, 1866.
Solomon ” to Shah Abbas, together with several Cf also Bocarro Decada XIII^ pp. 201-203, and the journal of Sherlev’s
: members of his entourage died, but he himself voyage out to Sind in the Expedition as printed by Purchas in Vol. I of his
jPilgrime: (1625 edition).
54 55
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