Goa, Diu, and Cambaia.
GOA is the principall city that the Portugals have in the
Indies, where is resident the Viceroy with his Court and
ministers of the King of Portugall. From Ormus to Goa
is nine hundred foure score and ten miles distance, in
which passage the first city that you come to in the
Indies, is called Diu, and is situate in a little Iland in
the kingdome of Cambaia, which is the greatest strength
that the Portugals have in all the Indies, yet a small
city, but of great trade, because there they lade very
many great ships for the straights of Mecca
and Ormus
with marchandise, and these shippes belong to the Moores
and Christians, but the Moores can not trade neither
saile into those seas without the licence of the Viceroy
of the king of Portugall, otherwise they are taken and
made good prises. The marchandise that they lade these
ships withall commeth from Cambaietta a port in the
kingdome of Cambaia, which they bring from thence in
small barks, because there can no great shippes come
thither, by reason of the sholdnesse of the water thereabouts, and these sholds are an hundred or fourescore
miles about in a straight or gulfe, which they call
Macareo, which is as much to say, as a race of a tide,
because the waters there run out of that place without
measure, so that there is no place like to it, unlesse it
be in the kingdome of Pegu
, where there is another
Macareo, where the waters run out with more force then
these doe. The principall city in
Cambaia is called
Amadavar, it is a dayes journey and an halfe from Cambaietta, it is a very great city and very populous, and
for a city of the Gentiles it is very well made and builded
with faire houses and large streets, with a faire place in it
with many shippes, and in shew like to Cairo
, but not so
great: also Cambaietta is situate on the seas side, and
is a very faire city. The time that I was there, the city
was in great calamity & scarsenesse, so that I have seene
the men of the countrey that were Gentiles take their
children, their sonnes and their daughters, and have
desired the Portugals to buy them, and I have seene
them sold for eight or ten larines a piece, which may be
of our money x.s. or xiii.s. iiii.d. For all this, if I had
not seene it, I could not have beleeved that there should
be such a trade at
Cambaietta as there is : for in the
time of every new Moone and every full Moone, the small
barks (innumerable) come in and out, for at those times
of the Moone the tides and waters are higher then at
other times they be. These barkes be laden with all
sorts of spices, with silke of China
, with Sandols, with
Elephants teeth, Velvets of Vercini, great quantity of
Pannina, which commeth from Mecca
, Chickinos which
be pieces of golde woorth seven shillings a piece sterling,
with money, and with divers sorts of other marchandize.
Also these barks lade out, as it were, an infinite quantity
of cloth made of Bumbast of all sorts, as white stamped
and painted, with great quantity of Indico, dried ginger
& conserved, Myrabolans drie and condite, Boraso in
paste, great store of sugar, great quantity of Cotton,
abundance of Opium, Assa Fetida, Puchio, with many
other sorts of drugges, turbants made in
Dui, great
stones like to Corneolaes, Granats, Agats, Diaspry, Calcidonii, Hematists, and some kinde of naturall Diamonds.
There is in the city of Cambaietta an order, but no man
is bound to keepe it, but they that will; but all the
Portugall marchants keepe it, the which is this. There
are in this city certain Brokers which are Gentiles and
of great authority, and have every one of them fifteene
or twenty servants, and the Marchants that use that
countrey have their Brokers, with which they be served:
and they that have not bene there are informed by their
friends of the order, and of what broker they shall be
served. Now every fifteene dayes (as abovesayd) that the
fleet of small shippes entreth into the port, the Brokers
come to the water side, and these Marchants assoone as
they are come on land, do give the cargason of all their
goods to that Broker that they will have to do their
businesse for them, with the marks of all the fardles and
packs they have: and the marchant having taken on
land all his furniture for his house, because it is needfull
that the Marchants that trade to the Indies cary provision of housholde with them, because that in every
place where they come they must have a new house, the
Broker that hath received his cargason, commandeth his
servants to carry the Marchants furniture for his house
home, and load it on some cart, and carry it into the
city, where the Brokers have divers empty houses meet
for the lodging of Marchants, furnished onely with bedsteds, tables, chaires, and empty jarres for water: then
the Broker sayth to the Marchant, Goe and repose your
selfe, and take your rest in the city. The Broker tarrieth
at the water side with the cargason, and causeth all his
goods to be discharged out of the ship, and payeth the
custome, and causeth it to be brought into the house
where the marchant lieth, the Marchant not knowing any
thing thereof, neither custome, nor charges. These goods
being brought to this passe into the house of the Marchant, the Broker demandeth of the Marchant if he have
any desire to sell his goods or marchandise, at the prises
that such wares are worth at that present time? And if
he hath a desire to sell his goods presently, then at that
instant the Broker selleth them away. After this the
Broker sayth to the Marchant, you have so much of
every sort of marchandise neat and cleare of every
charge, and so much ready money. And if the Marchant
will imploy his money in other commodities, then the
Broker telleth him that such and such commodities will
cost so much, put aboord without any maner of charges.
The Marchant understanding the effect, maketh his
account; and if he thinke to buy or sell at the prices
currant, he giveth order to make his marchandise away:
and if he hath commodity for 20000 dukets, all shalbe
bartred or solde away in fifteene dayes without any care
or trouble: and when as the Marchant thinketh that he
cannot sell his goods at the prise currant, he may tary
as long as he will, but they cannot be solde by any man
but by that Broker that hath taken them on land and
payed the custome: and perchance tarying sometimes
for sale of their commodity, they make good profit, and
sometimes losse: but those marchandise that come not
ordinarily every fifteene dayes, in tarying for the sale of
them, there is great profit. The barks that lade in
Cambaietta go for Diu to ade the ships that go from thence
for the streights of Mecca
and Ormus, and some go to
Chaul and Goa: and these ships be very wel appointed,
or els are guarded by the Armada of the Portugals, for
that there are many Corsaries or Pyrats which goe coursing alongst that coast, robbing and spoiling: and for
feare of these theeves there is no safe sailing in those
seas, but with ships very well appointed and armed, or
els with the fleet of the Portugals, as is aforesayd. In
fine, the kingdome of Cambaia is a place of great trade,
and hath much doings and traffique with all men,
although hitherto it hath bene in the hands of tyrants,
because that at 75 yeeres of age the true king being at
the assault of Diu, was there slaine; whose name Sultan
Badu. At that time foure or five captaines of the army
divided the kingdome amongst themselves, and every one
of them shewed in his countrey what tyranny he could:
but twelve yeeres ago the great Mogol a Moore
king of
Agra and Delly, forty dayes journy within the land of
Amadavar, because the governour of all the kingdome
of Cambaia without any resistance, because he being of
great power and force, devising which way to enter the
land with his people, there was not any man that would
make him any resistance, although they were tyrants and
a beastly people, they were soone brought under obedience. During the time I dwelt in
Cambaietta I saw very
marvellous things : there were an infinite number of
artificers that made bracelets called Mannii, or bracelets
of elephants teeth, of divers colours, for the women of
the Gentiles, which have their armes full decked with
them. And in this occupation there are spent every yeere
many thousands of crownes: the reason whereof is this,
that when there dieth any whatsoever of their kindred,
then in signe and token of mourning and sorrow, they
breake all their bracelets from their armes, and presently
they go and buy new againe, because that they had rather
be without their meat then without their bracelets.
