alez could say to detain him. Soon after
the departure of the Portuguese ships, the king of Aracan invaded and
conquered the island of Sundiva, by which Sebastian Gonzalez was reduced
to his original poverty, his sovereignty passing away like a dream, his
pride humbled in the dust, and his villainous conduct deservedly
punished.

In 1616, Don Nunno Alvarez Pereyra succeeded Emanuel Mascarennas Homem
as general of the Portuguese in Ceylon, and made several successful
inroads into the kingdom of _Candy_, whence he brought off many
prisoners and great numbers of cattle. From the commencement of the
Portuguese dominion in that island, they had been engaged in almost
perpetual wars with the different petty sovereigns who ruled over its
various small maritime divisions, and with the central kingdom of Canea,
most of which have been omitted in this work as not possessing
sufficient interest. At this time a dangerous commotion took place in
the island, occasioned by a circumstance which, though not new in the
world, is still admired though often repeated. Some years before,
_Nicapeti_ the converted king of Ceylon died without issue, and left the
king of Portugal heir to his dominions. A poor fellow of the same name
got admittance to one of the queens of _Valgameme_ from whom he learnt
several particulars respecting the deceased king, taking advantage of
which he determined to assume the character of the late sovereign, and
to endeavour to persuade the people that he was their prince who had
come again-to-life. For this purpose he feigned himself a _jogue_,
similar to a hermit among the christians; and making his appearance in
the neighbourhood of Maregnepora, he gave out that he came to free his
country from the tyranny of the Portuguese. Finding credit among the
people, many of whom flocked to him, he entered the _seven corlas_
during the absence of the _Dissava_ Philip de Oliveyra, and being
assisted by 2000 men sent to him by the king of Candy, he was
acknowledged as king by most of the country. Hearing of this commotion,
Pereyra sent a force under Emanuel Cesar to suppress the insurrection.
Cesar encountered the false _Nicapeti_ at _Gandola_, a village on the
river _Laoa_, where the insurgents had collected a force of 6000 men. In
the heat of the battle, 1000 Chingalese troops who served under Luis
Gomez Pinto deserted to the enemy; but Don Constantine, a native
Christian of the blood royal who served the Portuguese, called