, Lopo Soares with
his great armament approached Aden, the Arab ruler, feeling it
impossible to resist, owing to the breaches in the fortifications
made by the Egyptians, offered to surrender his city to the
Portuguese commander. It seems hardly conceivable that Albuquerque's
successor rejected the offer, but so it was. Lopo Soares thought he
would be doing better service by keeping his forces together and
sailing to the attack of one or both of the Muhammadan admirals. But
the fates fought against him. Storms scattered his fleet; famine and
disease decimated his men; and the captains, now that the strong hand
of Albuquerque was removed, were utterly insubordinate.

When the Portuguese Governor got back to Aden he found that the
defences had been repaired, and that the Arabs were not inclined to
repeat their former offer. With his diminished and dispirited force
he dared not attack, and he sailed away to India. On his arrival Lopo
Soares found that a high civil official had been sent out from
Portugal to take charge of judicial and administrative duties, who
was to hold a position independent to the governor. Lopo Soares
declined to recognise the new authority, and its first tenant was
sent back to Portugal. Though Albuquerque's immediate successor had
failed in the Red Sea, he took one important step for the furtherance
of Portuguese commerce and dominion. He sailed to the island of
Ceylon in 1518 and constructed a fortress in the neighbourhood of
Colombo. This was the first {173} step towards the conquest of
Ceylon, which was afterwards to be one of the most wealthy and
important possessions of the Portuguese in the East.

Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, the discoverer of Malacca, who succeeded
Lopo Soares in 1518, and Dom Duarte de Menezes, who held office from
1521 to 1524, did not leave much mark on the history of the
Portuguese in the East. The most important event which occurred
during their rule in India was the death of King Emmanuel in 1521.
The sagacity of this monarch had done much to develop the Asiatic
empire of Portugal. He had chosen his men wisely, and had perceived
quickly the most important obstacles in the way; he had not spared
money, ships or forces to develop his new dominions; and he had had
the wisdom, for some years at any rate, to leave Albuquerque
untrammelled, though he had made the mistake of superseding him at
the last. Yet Emmanuel does not deserve very great credit. It was his
predecessor, J