The zamorin was much displeased at the successes of our people against his confederates, and by the loss of many of his paraws in these several actions, and was even afraid lest the Portuguese might eventually dispossess him of his dominions.  He used every exertion therefore to prevent us from procuring pepper, being in hopes, if our ships were constrained to return to Portugal without loading, that they would come no more back to India.  He used his influence therefore even with the merchants of Cochin to refuse supplying pepper to our ships, which they did so effectually, under pretence of the war, that, in spite of the influence of the rajah, and notwithstanding high offers of reward from Francisco de Albuquerque, the factory had only been able to procure 1200 quintals or 4000 bahars[9] of pepper; and even that was got with hard fighting, some hurt to our own men, and infinite loss of lives to the enemy.  Unable to procure any more pepper in Cochin, Alonso de Albuquerque went to Coulan in search of that commodity, accompanied by Pedro de Tayde and Antonio del Campo, knowing that the government of that state was desirous of having one of our factories established in their city, and had solicited both Pedro Alvares Cabral and the lord admiral De Gama to that effect; and Alonso was determined to go to war with the people of Coulan unless they gave him loading for his ships.

Coulan is twelve leagues from Cochin, and twenty-four from Cape Comorin.  Before the building of Calicut, Coulan was the principal city of Malabar, and the port of greatest trade on that coast.  Its buildings, more especially the temples and shrines of their idols, are larger and more splendid than those of Cochin.  The haven is excellent, the country is well stored with provisions, and the condition of the people resembles in all things what has been formerly said of the inhabitants of Calicut.  The inhabitants are idolatrous Malabars, having among them many rich Moorish merchants, more especially since the war broke out between us and the zamorin, as many of these merchants had left Calicut to reside at Coulan.  They trade with Coromandel, Ceylon, the Maldive islands, Bengal, Pegu, Camatia, and Malava.  The rajah or king of this state rules over an extensive kingdom, in which there are many rich cities and several good harbours; by which means he has a large revenue, and is able to maintain a great military force, but the men are mostly of a low stature:  He entertains in his palace a guard of three hundred women, armed with bows and arrows, who are very expert archers, and they bind up their breasts very tight with bandages of silk and linen, that they may not stand in the way of using their bows.  This rajah usually resides in a city named Calle, and is generally at war with the king of Narsinga[10].