ews of these battles spread abroad through
India. Many Rajas in the interior sent envoys to the Portuguese
commander, and the Zamorin himself earnestly sued for peace. The
prestige of the Portuguese was assured by Pacheco's victories, and
from this time forth for nearly a century the inhabitants of Southern
India recognised that the Portuguese were stronger than themselves,
and were eager to trade with them or to make alliances.

Pacheco increased his reputation by a daring march to Quilon, where
he rescued the Portuguese factor from much danger; for at Quilon, as
at all the ports along the coast, the Moplas showed an unrelenting
hatred to the European agents. When Lopo Soares de Albergaria, son of
the Chancellor of Portugal, who commanded the squadron sent from
Portugal in 1504, reached the Malabar coast he found the Indian ports
ringing with news of Pacheco's victories. He once more bombarded
Calicut, and then returned to Portugal, bringing with him a rich
cargo and also the gallant Portuguese commander. It is a lasting
disgrace to King Emmanuel that he neglected to reward the hero of
Cochin according to his merits. He gave his faithful servant a
distinguished reception, and had sermons preached in his honour in
every church of Portugal, {33} but eventually, like Camoens and other
famous Portuguese warriors, Pacheco was left to die in poverty and
misery.

It was after the return of Pacheco, and probably owing to that brave
man's advice, that King Emmanuel in 1505 inaugurated a new departure
in the relations between Portugal and the East. Pacheco's victories
made it evident that it was not only possible for Portuguese
garrisons and local squadrons to defend the Portuguese factors, but
that they could defeat and conquer powerful native monarchs. A
conception of the ease by which a Portuguese empire could be
established in the East was now grasped by King Emmanuel. His ideas
were still mainly commercial, but he began to perceive also that the
safe maintenance of trade and commerce would necessarily involve a
regular war to the death with the Muhammadan powers who had reaped
the greatest profit from the trade of the East with Europe. Hitherto
the Portuguese in India had striven with the Muhammadan Moplas
settled on the Malabar coast; but it now became apparent that the
Muhammadans of Egypt, Persia, and Arabia would come to the help of
their co-religionists. Emmanuel decided therefore to maintain a more
powerful army an