and of Rodrigo Rebello, the
Captain, marched out to attack Fulad Khan. But they had underrated
the strength of their opponents. They were defeated, and among the
slain were Rebello himself and the young Manoel da Cunha, son of
Tristao da Cunha, whom Albuquerque had knighted for his gallantry at
the capture of Goa.

According to Albuquerque's express commands, Francisco Pantoja should
have succeeded to the governorship of Goa, but the captains resolved
to pass him over, and elected instead Diogo Mendes de Vasconcellos.
The new governor at once ordered Manoel de Lacerda to abandon the
blockade of {112} Calicut, on which he was engaged, and to come to
the assistance of the besieged inhabitants of Goa. Diogo Mendes soon
proved his unfitness for supreme command. The Court of Bijapur sent
its most famous general, Rasul Khan, with a strong army to the coast,
but Fulad Khan refused to acknowledge his supremacy. Rasul Khan then
appealed for the help of the Portuguese against the insubordinate
officer, and Diogo Mendes was foolish enough to comply. With the help
of the Portuguese themselves, Rasul Khan drove Fulad Khan out of
Benastarim, and, once safely within the island of Goa, he demanded
the surrender of the city.

This was too much even for Diogo Mendes, who now showed himself to be
a brave commander. The city held out during the winter, but the
inhabitants were much reduced by famine, and their power of defence
was injured by the fall of part of the new wall, owing to the
severity of the winter. Albuquerque, on hearing of the situation of
affairs, sent a warrant for Manoel de Lacerda to be Captain of the
city, and promised to arrive soon and destroy the besiegers. This
news was received, in the words of the _Commentaries_, 'with a great
ringing of bells and firing of salutes, for every one looked upon
himself as redeemed from death.'[3]

[Footnote 3: Albuquerque's _Commentaries_, vol. iii. p. 206.]

But eagerly as Albuquerque desired to bring help to Goa, he sadly
felt how inadequate were the forces that remained to him. The
conquest of Malacca, and {113} the necessity for leaving a garrison
there, had much reduced his fighting strength, and he found that the
officers he had left behind at Cochin were unwilling to lend him
their aid. In fact, the agents or factors at Cochin, Quilon, and
Cannanore looked with alarm at the establishment of the Portuguese in
Goa. Their fears were shared by the native Rajas, who expected t