Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/117

93 SURRENDER OF THE CAPITAL. 93 a greater damp into the people of Granada, than chapter the most successful military achievement could have '- — done. They beheld the enemy setting foot on their soil, with a resolution never more to resign it. They already began to suffer from the rigorous blockade, which effectually excluded supplies from their own territories, while all communication with Africa was jealously intercepted. Symptoms of in- subordination had begun to show themselves among the overgrown population of the city, as it felt more and more the pressure of famine. In this crisis, the unfortunate Abdallah and his principal counsel- lors became convinced, that the place could not be maintained much longer ; and at length, in the month of October, propositions were made through the vizier Abul Cazim Abdelmalic, to open a nego- tiation for the surrender of the place. The affair was to be conducted with the utmost caution ; since the people of Granada, notwithstanding their precarious condition, and their disquietude, were buoyed up by indefinite expectations of relief from Africa, or some other quarter. The Spanish sovereigns intrusted the negotiation to their secretary Fernando de Zafra, and to Gon- salvo de Cordova, the latter of whom was selected for this delicate business, from his uncommon ad- dress, and his familiarity with the Moorish habits and language. Thus the capitulation of Granada was referred to the man, who acquired in her long wars the military science, which enabled him, at a later period, to foil the most distinguished generals of Europe.