On the 15th of October, the Aracan fleet was observed coming down the river to attack, so numerous that they could not be counted. The foremost vessel was a Dutch pink, and many of the other vessels were commanded by Hollanders. All that could be seen appeared full of men well armed and equipped, and seemed a prodigious overmatch for the small number the Portuguese had to oppose them, as besides the galliot sent to Sundiva another had been dispatched in search of the pink, so that only 12 galliots remained and the fliboat. The Dutch pink fired the first gun, and then the fight began with great fury, the Portuguese galliots bravely advancing against the vast hostile fleet. Four of the galliots got before the rest, and in the very beginning of the action their captains and many of their men were slain, but the other eight came up to their rescue, and great execution was done among the enemy, many of whom were drowned by oversetting their vessels in their haste to escape from the destructive fire of the Portuguese. The battle raged the whole day, but the enemy drew off in the evening, thinking that a reinforcement was coming to the Portuguese, as they saw the galliot approaching which had been sent in search of the pink. In this engagement the Portuguese lost 25 men of note besides others.
Next morning the pink joined the fleet, on board of which all the wounded men were put, and those that were fit for service in that vessel were distributed among the others. Roxo now resolved to remain at anchor at the mouth of the river till Gonzalez came to join him, and then to attack the enemy. At length Gonzalez made his appearance, with 50 vessels well manned and equipped, and on being told the orders of the viceroy and what had been already done, he expressed much displeasure at the viceroy for giving such orders, and at Roxo for imprudently fighting before his arrival. About the middle of November: the combined fleets sailed up the river and discovered the vast fleet of Aracan at anchor in a well chosen situation, where it was resolved immediately to attack them. Roxo took half of the ships belonging to Gonzalez under his immediate command, giving Gonzalez half of these he had brought from Goa, so as to make two equal squadrons. Thus arranged they advanced against the enemy, firing against those vessels they could reach, but none of the enemy ventured to advance. The king of Aracan viewed the engagement from the shore to encourage his people, and caused the heads of such as fled to be cut off and exposed on spears as a terror to the rest. About noon when the heat of the sun was so great as to scorch the Portuguese; the Aracan ships came on in three numerous squadrons. Sebastian Gonzalez put to flight those of the enemy that were opposed to him, and the Portuguese pink compelled that belonging to the Hollanders to draw off. On that side where Roxo commanded there was much slaughter on both sides without any evident superiority; but about sunset, when the advantage was obviously leaning to the Portuguese, Roxo was slain. Being informed by signal of this mischance, Gonzalez was obliged to discontinue following up his good fortune; and on the tide ebbing the fleet separated, one of the Portuguese galliots being left aground among the enemy, who tore her to pieces and slew all her crew; The Portuguese fleet retired to the mouth of the river, where care was taken of the wounded men, and above 200 dead bodies were thrown into the sea. Don Luis de Azevedo succeeded in the command of the Portuguese squadron, and they all retired to Sundiva, whence Don Luis sailed back to Goa, in spite of everything that Gonzalez could say to detain him. Soon after the departure of the Portuguese ships, the king of Aracan invaded and conquered the island of Sundiva, by which Sebastian Gonzalez was reduced to his original poverty, his sovereignty passing away like a dream, his pride humbled in the dust, and his villainous conduct deservedly punished.
In 1616, Don Nunno Alvarez Pereyra succeeded Emanuel Mascarennas Homem as general of the Portuguese in Ceylon, and made several successful inroads into the kingdom of Candy, whence he brought off many prisoners and great numbers of cattle. From the commencement of the Portuguese dominion in that island, they had been engaged in almost perpetual wars with the different petty sovereigns who ruled over its various small maritime divisions, and with the central kingdom of Canea, most of which have been omitted in this work as not possessing sufficient interest. At this time a dangerous commotion took place in the island, occasioned by a circumstance which, though not new in the world, is still admired though often repeated. Some years before, Nicapeti the converted king of Ceylon died without issue, and left the king of Portugal heir to his dominions. A poor fellow of the same name got admittance to one of the queens of Valgameme from whom he learnt several particulars respecting the deceased king, taking advantage of which he determined to assume the character of the late sovereign, and to endeavour to persuade the people that he was their prince who had come again-to-life. For this purpose he feigned himself a jogue, similar to a hermit among the christians; and making his appearance in the neighbourhood of Maregnepora, he gave out that he came to free his country from the tyranny of the Portuguese. Finding credit among the people, many of whom flocked to him, he entered the seven corlas during the absence of the Dissava Philip de Oliveyra, and being assisted by 2000 men sent to him by the king of Candy, he was acknowledged as king by most of the country. Hearing of this commotion, Pereyra sent a force under Emanuel Cesar to suppress the insurrection. Cesar encountered the false Nicapeti at Gandola, a village on the river Laoa, where the insurgents had collected a force of 6000 men. In the heat of the battle, 1000 Chingalese troops who served under Luis Gomez Pinto deserted to the enemy; but Don Constantine, a native Christian of the blood royal who served the Portuguese, called them back by declaring himself their lawful king, on which they immediately returned and proclaimed him their sovereign. After a long engagement the enemy was defeated and fled across the river.
Philip de Oliveyra returned at this time from Candy to his command in the seven corlas, having heard of the insurrection but not of the victory at Gandola, to which place he immediately marched with about 800 Chingalese lascarins. On reaching the field of battle above 1000 men were found slain, but no indication by which he could ascertain which party had gained the victory. An inscription was found on a tree, signifying that all the Portuguese were slain, none of that nation remaining in Ceylon, and that Columbo had surrendered to Nicapeti, which startled the Portuguese who accompanied Oliveyra, and gave great satisfaction to his Chingalese troops. Continuing his march he was attacked in the rear by 300 of the enemy, but on facing about they all fled; soon after which he joined Emanuel Cesar on the river Laoa, and the insurgents fled to the woods. Cesar and Oliveyra by way of obliging the insurgents to return to their duty, seized above 400 of their women and children; but it had the contrary effect, as all their Chingalese troops immediately deserted with their arms, leaving only about 200 Portuguese. In this dilemma Cesar marched to the pagoda of Atanagala, not far from Maluana where the general resided, who sent him a reinforcement of 500 men, 200 of whom were Portuguese.
Nicapeti had so much success with the natives that he collected an army of 24,000 men, with which he marched against Columbo, and was so vain of his good fortune that he caused himself to be proclaimed emperor of Ceylon, and transmitted an order to the king of Candy to send him one of his two wives. The answer on this occasion was, that it should be done when the Portuguese were subdued. Nicapeti was so enraged at this answer, that he threatened to use the king of Candy like the Portuguese; and on this threat coming to the knowledge of the 2000 auxiliaries from Candy, they immediately returned home. By these means the two enemies of the Portuguese became at variance with each other, to the great benefit of the Portuguese interests. Emanuel Cesar being joined by a considerable reinforcement, marched against Nicapeti, and found the road by which Nicapeti intended to march clean swept and strewed with flowers. A Chingalese who carried intelligence of the approach of Cesar to Nicapeti, was ordered to be impaled, the tyrant declaring there were no Portuguese in Ceylon; but he was soon undeceived, as the van guards of the two armies came in sight of each other. Nicapeti immediately took possession of a hill with 7000 men, where he entrenched himself; but his works were soon carried, 1000 of his men slain, and the usurper was forced to flee into the woods, laying aside his regal ornaments for better concealment. The rest of the insurgent army immediately fled on seeing their chief defeated, and the morning after the battle 500 of the Chingalese deserted from the enemy and joined the victors.
At this time a native Chingalese of low birth, named Antonio Barreto, who had been a Christian and in the service of the Portuguese, but had gone over to the king of Candy, who appointed him general of his forces with the title of prince and governor of the kingdom of Uva, took advantage of the revolt of Nicapeti to seize upon the Portuguese fort of Safragan, which he got possession of by treachery and slew the Portuguese garrison. This was a severe but just retribution upon the Portuguese, as they had slain an ambassador sent by the king of Candy to treat of an accommodation, that they might jointly carry on the war against Nicapeti. After this the king of Candy marched against the Portuguese fort of Balane, which he reduced; yet immediately sent a message to the general Pereyra, offering to treat of peace.
In 1617, the Portuguese affairs were in a dangerous situation in Ceylon, having at the same time to make war on the king of Candy, Antonio Barreto, and Nicapeti, who was still in considerable strength notwithstanding his late defeat. Pereyra divided his forces with considerable hazard, and put all to the sword in the revolted districts, sparing neither age nor sex; but neither will mercy and kind usage conciliate the Chingalese, nor cruelty terrify them into submission. Part of the forces pursued Nicapeti from Pelandu to Catugambala, Devamede and Coraagal, taking several forts, killing many of the enemy, and making 600 prisoners. The usurper retired to Talampeti his usual refuge, and the Portuguese advanced to Polpeti where they came in sight of the enemys camp, and forcing their works passed on to Balapane of Religiam, whence they sent away the prisoners and wounded men. At this time the Portuguese force was divided, one part marching against Barreto while the other continued to follow Nicapeti, but were able to effect very little, and after being quite spent with fatigue went into quarters at Botale.
Having received reinforcements, Pereyra marched in person with a considerable force to drive Barreto from Sofragam and Matura, leaving Gomez Pinto with his regiment to-secure Alicur and oppose Nicapeti, while Cesar stayed to defend Botale with 100 men. The Portuguese were successful on all sides, driving the enemy from their works and slaughtering great numbers of them in the woods. In May the army advanced against Nicapeti, who was strongly entrenched at Moratena, yet fled towards Candy with such speed that he could not be got up with. He was at length overtaken in the desert of Anorajapure, when after losing 60 men his troops dispersed and fled into the woods. On this occasion the wives of the usurper, a grandson of Raju, and the nephew of Madune were all made prisoners. The fame of this victory induced the inhabitants of the Corlas to submit, and they plentifully supplied the army then at Malvana with rice. The news of this victory induced the king of Candy[433] to sue for peace, sending by his ambassadors 32 Portuguese who had been made prisoners during the war. The terms agreed upon were, that he was to repair and restore the fort at Balane, and permit another to be constructed at Candy, and was to deliver yearly as tribute to the crown of Portugal four elephants and a certain stipulated quantity of cinnamon. Finding afterwards that the Portuguese affairs in Ceylon were less prosperous, he receded from these conditions and would only agree to give two elephants as the yearly tribute, but the peace was concluded.
[Footnote 433: In the translation of the Portuguese Asia, this sovereign is here named Anaras Pandar king of Pandar; but from every circumstance in the context it appears that we ought to read Anaras Pandar king of Candy.--E.]