constrained to become a tributary vassal of Portugal, by the yearly
payment of 1200 quintals of cinnamon, twelve rings of rubies and
sapphires, and six elephants.

At this time Juan de Sylveira returned from the Maldives, where he had
taken two ships belonging to Cambaya, and had got permission of the king
of the Maldives to erect a fort at the principal harbour. Sylveira went
upon a similar mission to Bengal, where he was in great danger; as a
young man of Bengal who sailed there with him, gave notice of his having
taken these two ships, so that he was considered as a pirate. He had
fared worse than he did, but for the arrival of Juan Coello from Pisang,
sent by Andrada to the king of Bengal. After passing the winter in
Bengal with great difficulty on account of famine, Sylveira set sail,
being invited by the king of Aracan to come to his port of Chittagon by
a messenger who brought him a valuable present; but all this kindness
was only intended to decoy him to his ruin, at the instigation of the
king of Bengal. He escaped however from the snare, and arrived at Ceylon
as Soarez had finished the fort of Columbo, of which he appointed
Sylveira to the command, leaving Azevedo with four ships to guard the
sea in that neighbourhood.

About the same time Menezes secured the safety of Malacca, as mentioned
before, by supplying it with men and ammunition, and appointed Alfonso
Lopez de Costa to the government, in place of Brito who was dying.
Duarte de Melo was left there with a naval force; and Duarte Coello was
sent with an embassy and present to the King of Siam, to confirm a
treaty of peace and amity, and to request of him to send a colony of his
subjects to inhabit the city of Malacca, so that the Moors whom he hated
as much as the Portuguese, might be for ever excluded from that place.
All this was agreed to, and as a testimonial of his friendship to the
Christians, he caused a great cross, ornamented with the arms of
Portugal, to be erected in a conspicuous part of the city of Hudia,
where he then resided. Having thus succeeded in his mission, Coello was
forced by stress of weather upon the coast of Pahang, where he was
received in a friendly manner by the king, who voluntarily submitted to
become a vassal to the crown of Portugal, and to pay a cup of gold as an
annual tribute. This was done more from hatred to the king of Bintang,
than from love to the Portuguese.

The kingdom of Siam was at this time one of the gre