to which he gave battle off Mount Dely, and sank six paraos, after which he returned to Cochin.  In the same year 1530, Antonio de Sylveira commanded on the coast of Cambaya with fifty-one sail of vessels, three of which were gallies and two galliots, in which were 900 Portuguese soldiers.  With this force he went up the river Taptee where he burnt Surat and Reyner, the chiefest towns in that part of India.  Surat on one side of the river contained 10,000 families, mostly Banians[183] and handicrafts of no courage; while Reyner on the other side of the river had six thousand houses inhabited by a warlike race, and was well fortified.  On sounding, the river was found too shallow for the larger vessels, which were left off the bar under the command of Francisco de Vasconcelles; while with the smaller, Sylveira went up the river about four miles to Surat.  He there found 300 horse and nearly 10,000 foot drawn up to oppose his landing, all well armed with bows and firelocks; but after one discharge this vast multitude fled in dismay without waiting an attack.  The city of Surat was then entered without farther resistance, and being plundered of every thing worth carrying off was set on fire with some ships that were in its arsenal.  The city of Reyner stood a little higher up on the other side, and was inhabited by the Nayteas Moors, a race of more courage and policy than the Banians; yet they fled almost at the first fire, leaving all their property to the Portuguese, who had all been enriched if they had been able to carry away the whole plunder.  Having removed all that their ships could carry, the town was set on fire, together with twenty ships and many small vessels.  In both actions Emanuel de Sousa was conspicuously valiant, being the first to land with much danger, especially in the latter, where he was opposed by a numerous artillery.  On returning to the mouth of the river, Sylveira found, that Vasconcelles had taken six vessels bound with provisions for Diu.  After this, Antonio de Sylveira destroyed the towns of Daman and Agazem on the coast, at the latter of which places 300 vessels belonging to the enemy were burnt.

[Footnote 183:  Called Bancanes in the text of De Faria; perhaps an error of the press for Banianes or Banzanes.—­E.]

On the 21st of January 1530, Hector de Sylveira sailed from Goa for the Red Sea with ten ships and 600 men.  Spreading his fleet across the mouth of that sea, that no enemy might escape, several rich ships were captured.  Appearing afterwards before Aden, Hector induced the sheikh of that place to submit to the crown of Portugal, and to an yearly tribute of 12,000 Xerephines.  The sheikh of Zael, who had only a short time before accompanied Mustapha, a Turkish captain, with 20,000 men to make war upon Aden, submitted to similar terms.