Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 2).djvu/54

 factors from the ships what the prices were to be, and these "should last for ever." A factory was to be established where goods were to be bought and sold; and all these things were written down by the scribes, so as to constitute an agreement, which both parties signed. When completed, De Gama took counsel with his captains, and settled that two divisions of the fleet should cruise along the coast, "making war on all navigators, except those of Cananore, Cochym, and Coulam," while the factors should remain on shore, with a sufficient number of men to buy and gather into their warehouse at Cananore, "for the voyage to the kingdom, much rice, sugar, honey, butter, oil, dried fish, and cocoa-nuts, to make cables of coir and cordage."

Having arranged all these matters to the satisfaction of everybody at the place, except the Moorish merchants, who were "very sad" when they saw their ancient trade by the Red Sea passing into the hands of strangers, Dom Gama sailed with his combined fleet for Calicut, where, on arrival, he found the port deserted of its shipping, the news of his doings at Onor and Baticala having reached the ears of the people of Calicut; the king, however, sent one of the chief Brahmins of the place, with a white flag of truce, in the vain hope that some terms of peace might be agreed upon. But the captain-major rejected every condition, and ordering the Indian boat to return to the shore, and the Brahmin to be safely secured on board of his ship, he bombarded the city, "by which he made a great destruction." Nor was his vengeance satisfied by this wanton destruction of