[Footnote 426:  It is highly probable, though not mentioned by De Faria, that this Portuguese was in the service of the king of Aracan, under whom he had held these offices.  Sundiva or Sundeep is a considerable island to the south-east of the mouth of the Burrampooter, near the coast of Chittagong, and to the east of the Sunderbunds or Delta of the Ganges.—­E.]

Gonzalez having now a considerable revenue at his command, raised a respectable military force of 1000 Portuguese, 2000 well armed natives, and 200 horse, with above 80 sail of small vessels well provided with cannon.  He erected a custom-house, and encouraged the resort of merchants to his dominions, and became so formidable that the neighbouring princes courted his alliance.  Insolent and ungrateful in the progress of his power, he not only refused to give half the revenue of the island to the king of Bacala according to agreement, but made war upon his benefactor, from whom he conquered the islands of Xavaspur[427] and Patelabanga, and other lands from other neighbouring princes; so that he became suddenly possessed of vast riches and great power, and acted as an independent sovereign, having many brave men at his command.  But such monsters are like comets that threaten extensive ruin, yet last only for a short time, or like the lightning, which no sooner expends its flash but it is gone for ever.

[Footnote 427:  Shabapour is an island to the west of Sundeep, at the principal mouth of the Barrampooter.—­E.]

Soon after the elevation of Gonzalez to the sovereignty of Sundiva, a civil war broke out between the king of Aracan and his brother Anaporam, because the latter refused to resign a remarkable elephant, to which all the other elephants of the country were said to allow a kind of superiority.  Being unsuccessful in the contest, Anaporam fled to Gonzalez for assistance and protection, who demanded his sister as an hostage.  Gonzalez and Anaporam endeavoured, in conjunction, to fight the king of Aracan, who had an army of 80,000 men, and 700 war elephants; but being unsuccessful, were obliged to retreat to Sundiva, into which Anaporam brought his wife and family, with all his treasure, and became a subject of Gonzalez, who soon afterwards had the sister of Anaporam baptized, and took her to wife.  Anaporam soon died, not without suspicion of poison; and Gonzalez immediately seized all his treasures and effects, though he had left a wife and son.  To stop the mouths of the people on this violent and unjust procedure, he wished to have married the widow of Anaporam to his brother Antonio Tibao, who was admiral of his fleet, but she refused to become a Christian.  Sebastian continued the war against the king of Aracan with considerable success; insomuch that on one occasion his brother Antonio, with only five sail, defeated and captured 100 sail belonging to Aracan.  At length the king of Aracan concluded peace, and procured the restoration of his brother’s widow, whom he married to the rajah of Chittigong.