A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c16.s1.41

c16.s1.41

It appears² that in 1514 A.D. Krishna Deva offered Albuquerque £20,000 for the exclusive right to trade in horses, but the Portuguese governor, with a keen eye to business, refused. A little later the Hindu king renewed his proposal, declaring his intention of making war against the Âdil Shâh; and the Âdil Shâh, hearing of this message, himself sent an embassy to Goa. Albuquerque was now placed in a position of some political importance, and he wrote first to Vijayanagar saying that he would give the Râya the refusal of all his horses if he would pay him 30,000 cruzados per annum for the supply, and send his own servants to Goa to fetch away the animals, and also that he would aid the king in his war if he was paid the expense of the troops; and he wrote afterwards to Bījapûr promising the Sultan the refusal of all horses that came to Goa if he would surrender to the king of Portugal a certain portion of the mainland opposite the island. Before this matter was settled, however, Albuquerque died.