The Sun and the Lion

After the two voyages commanded by Vasco da Gama and Cabral, the Portuguese had basically understood the monsoon patterns of the Indian Ocean. The commander knew that he needed to take advantage of the monsoons to quickly reach the Malabar coast before the end of the summer, so the Portuguese fleet did not stay in Kilwa too long.

Vasco da Gama skipped other port cities and reached Malindi for supplies before crossing the Indian Ocean to the coast of Malabar. The Sultan of Malindi was the only East African ruler who treated the Portuguese with a smile. He warmly received the arrival of his old friend Vasco da Gama, and the commander's attitude was much more relaxed than before.

The Portuguese fleet then moved northeast, first arriving at Anjadeep Island near the Malabar coast on August 20, relying on this island as a base to attack several nearby ports, and then moved south along the coast to A lagoon near Cannanore, where piracy activities continued based on the favorable terrain.

Before setting off, Manuel gave the fleet two written orders. The first was to Vasco da Gama - "The commander of the East Indian Navy should decisively use the most forceful means to sail from Calicatezza." Molin got everything Portugal deserved."

Manuel was very contemptuous of Zamorin, which can be seen from the conditions he proposed - requiring Zamorin to make reasonable compensation for the people and goods lost by Portugal in India; requiring Zamorin to follow the instructions of the Portuguese court Expelling all Muslim traders; expanding previously agreed trade agreements, etc.

The second order was issued to the Sodre brothers, who were ordered to "control the entrances and exits of the Red Sea to ensure that the Muslim ships in Mecca can neither enter the Red Sea nor come out, because since ancient times, we and them have been sworn enemies. They hate us the most and obstruct our entry into India the most. And they control the spice trade, and all the spices from India flow into Europe through their hands."

Regarding the piracy activities on the way to Calicut, the Italian commercial agents accompanying the ship knowingly pretended to be deaf and dumb, and da Gama also sent someone to inform them: "Don't ask anything about anything that happens on the way, it has nothing to do with you. "

The lookout who was observing the nearby waters on the headland next to the lagoon discovered a large ship sailing along the coast. This incident was quickly reported. The commander ordered several ships to be deployed in an ambush. The captain and sailors excitedly carried out the order.

To Vasco da Gama's surprise, the merchant ship was quite obedient to the "pirates" who intercepted them, and the Portuguese sailors took control of the large sailing ship with little resistance.

After interrogating the captain, he learned that the ship was called Miri, was armed, had just returned from Hijaz, and was carrying pilgrims and their property. There were many wealthy merchants among them, including Fakih, the Mamluk commercial agent in Calicut, who owned many merchant ships.

For these wealthy businessmen, the most common and convenient way to meet pirates in the Indian Ocean is to pay for passage. This has become a routine. He is confident that he can buy safety again with money.

He offered to pay for the repair of the Portuguese ships, provide the Portuguese with spices in Calicut, and fill his four largest ships for free, while handing over hostages to the Portuguese to ensure that the promise would be fulfilled.

Unexpectedly, the commander was unmoved by these conditions and ordered the merchants on the ship to hand over all their property themselves. The merchants handed over a large amount of property before being tortured.

But the commander insisted that they hid the property, but what the other Portuguese people could not understand, he seemed to adhere to strange principles. He refused to accept the terms proposed by the other party, and flatly refused to order the complete ransacking of the ship. It was really incredible. Li Yu: "Think carefully about the jewelry and cargo on that ship!"

The commander ignored the objections of his subordinates and continued to pursue his own plan.

Under his order, a group of Portuguese sailors first removed the rudder and sail rigging of the Mili, and then began to place gunpowder and light it. If things continued like this, hundreds of Muslims on the ship would be burned alive. die.

The passengers of the Miri realized the seriousness of the matter. They extinguished the flames on the ship and found all weapons that could be used for self-defense. Seeing that the merchant ship had not been set on fire, the Portuguese approached the Mili again with the small boat carrying the sailors.

The Muslims who tried to fight back then took advantage of their superior position to shoot or throw anything that could cause damage to the boat. The Portuguese responded with arquebuses and revolving guns, but these firearms only killed or wounded a few people and were unable to damage the hull at all.

"I can guarantee that the wealth displayed by those Muslims is enough to redeem all the Christians imprisoned in the Maghreb. The remaining property is a large sum of money even for His Majesty the King." One person recorded the entire process. The clerk wrote this with obvious confusion, and the other Portuguese were equally unable to understand the commander's motives.

The commander just observed the Mili in the distance through the observation hole in the captain's room, without responding to any messages from his subordinates or the other party.

The Mili, which lost power, floated on the sweltering Indian Ocean for nearly a week under the commander's indulgence. It was not until the sixth day that the commander ordered "to use active actions to eliminate these mu." Slim.”

The clerk recorded the date of the Mili's complete destruction and said: "I will always remember this date."

The carrack approached the Miri and blasted its sides with artillery, but after several days of torture, the morale of the passengers was very high, and grappling hooks and ropes were suddenly thrown to create a passage between the two ships.

The Portuguese obviously did not expect that the other party could take the initiative to attack. They were caught off guard and suffered a critical attack. They were beaten back by the Muslims who boarded the Karak sailboat.

It was just that Da Gama sent six warships to monitor the merchant ship. Another Karak quickly joined the battle and approached the Mili from the other side, forcing the Muslim who had already boarded the ship to return to defense.

The scribe who witnessed and personally participated in the battle wrote highly of the fighting spirit and courage of these Muslims and believed that they deserved respect.

Although the Portuguese were unable to board and set fire to the merchant ship due to the desperate resistance of the Muslims and the wind and waves, in the end, a passenger took the initiative to swim to the Portuguese boat and informed him that he was willing to use ropes to secure the Mili to a Portuguese ship. Moreover, all the valuable belongings have been thrown into the sea, and basically there is no loot to be found even if the ship is captured.

In the end, Vasco da Gama got what he wanted and burned the ship. Most of the passengers were burned alive. The Portuguese fished out some who jumped into the sea. In the end, only the pilot and some children survived, and they were all forcibly converted. Christianity.

Such extreme atrocities were puzzling to many Portuguese people, but for Vasco da Gama, this was only the prelude to all hostilities and violence, and his blood was already boiling.