go Fernandes de
Beja, who had been his flag captain in the Red Sea, and Jayme
Teixeira. The ambassadors arrived safely at Surat, but it was not
until after a long delay that they were forwarded to Ahmadabad. They
at once demanded of the Minister that the Portuguese should be
allowed to build at Diu, and were told in reply that the very name of
a fortress was distasteful to the King. The ambassadors replied

'that the King of Portugal's men and property could only be safe in
a very strongly fortified fortress, so that it should not be
exposed to robbery, nor the men to slaughter, things which it was
notorious had been perpetrated in Calicut, Quilon, and Malacca.'[4]

[Footnote 4: Albuquerque's _Commentaries_, vol. iv. p. 101.]

The King then sent an answer that, as a favour to {133} Albuquerque,
he would grant a site for a fortress at Broach, Surat, Mahim, Dumbes,
or Bukkur, but not at Diu. This offer was refused, and the King then
asked whether the Portuguese would allow his ships to make their
voyages in security to Aden, if they did not carry spices. Diogo
Fernandes replied that this could not be allowed, and that the
Gujaratis should be content with trading to Malacca, Burma, Bengal
and Persia, which were allied to the King of Portugal, without
seeking to go to Arabia where he was at war. After these questions
had been discussed at length, the Portuguese ambassadors returned to
Goa, and it was not till some years later, during the governorship of
Nuno da Cunha, that leave to build a fortress in Diu was granted to
the Portuguese. Albuquerque was much pleased with the prudence and
good behaviour of his envoys, which contrasted favourably with the
outrageous conduct of the ambassador of Ismail Shah. It may be added
that the King of Ahmadabad declined to accept the suggestion that he
should become a Shiah.

From Malacca very bad news reached Albuquerque. Though the King of
Siam and other neighbouring rulers had been kindly disposed to the
Portuguese residents there, an energetic attack on their position was
made by a fleet and army of Javanese, commanded by a former servant
of Utemuta Raja. The Captain of the fortress and the Captain of the
fleet, who had been left in command, Ruy de Brito and Fernao Peres de
Andrade, quarrelled, and their {134} dissensions had nearly ruined
the cause of the Portuguese. The latter had, however, won a
considerable naval victory, and Albuquerque was inclined to favour
him. He