rs and fifty men, whom he
ordered to surprize the fort and turn out Bannadala, trusting to his
great credit with Xilimixa to bear him out in this procedure. The
Portuguese officers accordingly executed their orders so effectually,
that they used to be called the Founders of the Portuguese dominion in
Pegu, and Salvador Ribeyro their commander was like to have got the
whole credit of the exploit, as some even affirmed that he was its
author, though in reality all was due to Nicote. Bannadala being
expelled from his fort, fortified himself with 1000 men in a
neighbouring island of the river Siriam, and seized the treasures of the
pagoda of Digan to maintain his troops. Xilimixa was much offended by
the conduct of the Portuguese in this affair, and resolved to support
Bannadala, but was dissuaded by the contrivances of Nicote, who
represented that he was about to favour a sacrilegious robber, and
offered to arrange matters with the Portuguese to his entire
satisfaction. He accordingly went to Siriam, where he ordered every
thing to his own mind; and when the fort was nearly finished, he went to
Goa, where he offered to deliver up the fort to the viceroy, whence the
Portuguese might easily conquer the kingdom of his master, to whom he
represented his voyage to Goa as intended to procure an auxiliary force
which would enable him to make a conquest of Bengal. At the same time
Nicote negociated with all the princes in the provinces adjoining the
dominions of Xilimixa, persuading them to confederate with the
Portuguese viceroy, by which means they might easily conquer the kingdom
of Pegu; and several of them sent ambassadors along with him to Goa for
this purpose.

Hardly had Nicote set sail for Goa, when Xilimixa became sensible of his
error in confiding in him, and sent a fleet of war boats down the river
Siriam with 6000 men under Bannadala to expell the Portuguese from their
fort. Salvador Ribeyra met this great armament with only three small
vessels and thirty men, and, without the loss of one man, took forty
vessels of the enemy and put the rest to flight. Then calling in the aid
of the king of _Pram_, Xilimixa beset the fort with 1200 vessels by
water, while 40,000 men surrounded it by land; but as Ribeyra learnt
that the enemy observed no order or discipline, he boldly fell upon them
with his handful of men, and having slain their general put that army to
flight. Bannadala rallied 8000 of the fugitives, with which be ag