Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 3.14.9

3.14.9

Seva-Gi, the gentile leader lately spoken of, profiting by the distracted state of the kingdom, has seized upon many strongholds, situated for the most part in the mountains. This man is exercising all the powers of an independent sovereign; laughs at the threats both of the Mogol and of the King at Visapour; makes frequent incursions, and ravages the country on every side, from Sourate to the gates of Goa. Yet it cannot be doubted that, notwithstanding the deep wounds which from time to time he inflicts upon Visapour, the kingdom finds in this daring chieftain a seasonable and powerful coadjutor. He distracts the attention of Aureng-Zebe by his bold and never-ceasing enterprises, and affords so much employment to the Indian armies, that the Mogol cannot find the opportunity of achieving the conquest of Visapour. How to put down Seva-Gi is become the object of chief importance. We have seen his success at Sourate; he afterwards captured the Portuguese settlement of Bardes, an island contiguous to Goa.