Page:History of the Portuguese in Bengal.djvu/128

 MINOR SETTLEMENTS OF THE PORTUGUESE 91 appears to have been a part of the river Hooghly or one of its channels near Saugor Island. Though, he says, he could not find Chandecan in any maps, it is marked in Sir Thomas Roe's map of 1632 and in Fr. Monseratte's map of 1 580-1600. Much information about Chandecan can be derived from the letters of Fr. Fernandes and his companions who carried on mis- sionary work in Chandecan at the express invitation of the King*. The Portuguese built a Church in Chandecan which was formally opened on January 1st, 1600. As it has been shown, the Portuguese activities in Chandecan were checked when the King of Chandecan, whom Beveridge supposes to be Raja Pratapaditya soon changed his attitude towards the Portuguese, and in order to please the King of Arakan treacherously murdered Domingo Carvalho, the gallant captain of the Portuguese. The Portuguese had a small settlement in Bakla which according to Beveridge included a great part of the Bakar- j ganj district and was really identical with the Chandradwip pargana. Fr. Melchior Fonseca who came to Bengal in 1599 has left a very good account of Bakla, which materialy helped Jater investigators in tracing on the history of its rulers. Bakla, was under the rule of a Hindu prince who was one of the twelve Bhuyas of of BengaLf He was well disposed towards the Portuguese and granted Fr. Fonseca a decree allowing the Jesuits free liberty to preach their religion and erect their churches. Fr. Fonseca found a colony of the Portuguese under a captain II (Capitano) in Bakla, which for many years had not been visited by priests. Catrabo called by Manrique one of the Kingdoms of t According to Fr. du Jarric out of the twelve Bhuyas of Bengal only three were Hindus, those of Sripur, of Bakla and of Chandecan.
 * Du Jarric, Histoire, Part IV, Chap. XXIX.