The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c27.193

v1.c27.193

This dealt a death blow to Portuguese commercial enterprise. Dutch commerce got the ascendancy again; it flourished now just as it did prior to the expulsion of the Dutch from Pulicat. The Dutch made a roaring trade with the famous Pulicat cloth and amassed enormous profits ⁵. This excited the jealousy of the Spanish sovereign who ordered his Viceroy to try the re-capture of Pulicat, a thing which at this time appeared easy and would not brook delay—for delay meant that the Portuguese would have to encounter a formidable enemy after the lapse of even a few years. "By all means", says the King, "cause this second fortress built by the Dutch at Paleacate to be destroyed, for attaining which you may accept the overtures made by Bishop Frey Sebastiao de Sao Pedro" ¹. The Bishop's desire was none other than to sieze again the Dutch factory as he had done previously. All he needed to give effect to his plan was some money and a number of soldiers, "Let this be done as soon as possible", adds the King. "Do not allow the Dutch to fortify it (the fortress) more, for if they do so, their expulsion from there will be extremely difficult" ². In fact the Bishop himself had also urged the Viceroy to send a governor to St. Thome who could take charge, among other things, of the capture of "the fortress the Dutch have made at Paleacate" ³. The Viceroy's purpose was obvious. One of the reasons why he had wished to send Dom Bernardo de Noronha as captain of St. Thome was that "he might be able to attack Paleacate" ⁴. The re-capture of Pulicat was beyond doubt the fervent wish of Dom Jeronymo d'Azevedo. In one of his letters he says: "I trust in God that the fortress of Paleacate will be soon captured by the fleet I have decided to send there" ⁵.