A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c19.209

c19.209

Tirumala took up his abode at Penukonda, and shortly afterwards sent word to the Portuguese traders at Goa that he was in need of horses. A large number were accordingly delivered, when the despotic ruler dismissed the men to return to Goa as best they could without payment. “He licensed the Merchants to depart,” writes Federici, “without giving them anything for their Horses, which when the poore Men saw, they were desperate, and, as it were, mad with sorrow and griefe.” There was no authority left in the land, and the traveller had to stay in Vijayanagar seven months, “for it was necessarie to rest there until the wayes were clear of Theeves, which at that time ranged up and downe.” He had the greatest difficulty in making his way to Goa at all, for he and his companions were constantly seized by sets of marauders and made to pay heavy ransom for their liberty, and on one occasion they were attacked by dacoits and robbed.