Storia do Mogor 65.36.7

65.36.7

Shah Shuja' had time [235] to get close to Dhakkah city, and there he entrenched himself on a broad river, and Mir Jumlah was obliged to go into quarters for the rainy season at Rajmahal, for, owing to the rain, the mire, and the full streams, there was no possibility of marching. He occupied the city, and was there four months, from June to September (? 1659). These are the months in which heavy rain falls throughout India, above all in the region of Bengal, and armies cannot march. Thus Shah Shuja' had time to entrench himself anew, making use of the Portuguese, who live in Bengal since they lost their strong places in different parts of India, taken from them by the Dutch, such as the Island of Ceilao (Ceylon) and the Island of Japhonapatao (Jafnapatnam), on the coast of Choramandal. He offered high pay to these men and promised to make them all wealthy, to give full liberty for their religious orders to raise up churches throughout his realm. It is certain that if fortune had favoured Shah Shuja' he would not have broken his promises, for he was naturally liberal and generous. There were at that period in the whole province of Bengal about eight thousand families of Portuguese, European and Asiatic, the latter popularly called Mestizos (mongrel, or half-castes). Meanwhile Shah Shuja' entrenched himself near Dhakkah.