Firishta's History (Gulshan-i Ibrāhīmī) 141: CHRONOLOGICAL EPITOME OF THE WARS OF THE PORTUGUESE IN INDIA, AS CONNECTED WITH THE HISTORY OF THE DECCAN.

141

The history of the Portuguese in India is so intimately connected with the narrative contained in this volume, that it has been thought desirable, instead of recapitulating the chronological events of Europe during the sixteenth century, already annexed to the preceding volume, to append a short abstract of the proceedings of the Portuguese, derived from their contemporary historian, Faria-e-Souza. This appendix, while it affords a partial insight into the proceedings of the first European nation that invaded India, is not intended to exhibit all the exploits of those enterprising adventurers in the East. Care has been taken not to overload this epitome with details altogether unconnected with Ferishta's history, although occasional allusion is made to such general circumstances as tend to exhibit the nature of the Portuguese dominion; the leading features of its government; the nature of the obstacles it encountered on the western coast of India, and the great efforts it made to surmount them; and, lastly, to point out the effects which seem to have been produced every where against the rule of the Portuguese in India.
To the European reader who peruses Ferishta, and who may not have consulted the Portuguese historian, this epitome will, probably, be acceptable, as displaying, in a narrow compass, some of those leading points of the Portuguese administration which may bear comparison with our own; and it will tend to afford a better criterion of the condition of the native powers in India than any account we can receive even from their own historians. The numbers of the Portuguese engaged in each of the several wars are not likely to be overrated, whatever may be the case as to their enemies, nor their want of success to be mis-stated. These facts, therefore, may, I think, be relied on; and they alone furnish us with valuable data to confirm or reject the authority of the Indian historian.