Attar; who
immediately sent Khojah Beyram with a message to Albuquerque, excusing
them for not having sent to inquire what the Portuguese wanted in their
port, and promising that the governor should wait upon him next day.
Attar however did not perform this promise, but endeavoured to spin out
the time by a repetition of messages, in order to strengthen the
fortifications of the city, and to receive farther supplies. Albuquerque
immediately perceived the purport of these messages, and told Beyram
that he would listen only to the acceptation of peace on the terms
proposed, or an immediate declaration of war. To this insolent demand,
Beyram brought back for answer, that Ormuz was accustomed to receive,
and not to pay tribute.

During the night, the noise of warlike instruments, and the shouts of
the troops collected in Ormuz were heard from all parts of the city; and
when morning came, the whole walls, the shore, and the vessels in the
harbour were seen crowded with armed men, while the windows and flat
tops of all the houses were filled with people of both sexes and all
ages, anxious to behold the expected events. Albuquerque immediately
began to cannonade the city and the large Moorish ships, and was
spiritedly answered by the enemy, who took advantage of the obscurity
occasioned by the smoke to send a large party of armed men in 130 boats
to attack the ships, and did some damage among the Portuguese by
incessant and prodigious discharges of arrows and stones. But as many of
the boats were sunk by the Portuguese artillery, and numbers of the men
slain and drowned, they were forced to retire. They returned again to
the charge with fresh numbers; but after a severe conflict were again
obliged to retreat with prodigious loss, the sea being dyed with blood,
and great numbers of them slain. By this time, Albuquerque had sunk two
of the largest ships in the port and taken a third, not without
considerable opposition on the part of the enemy, forcing the surviving
Moors to leap into the sea; and the other captains of his squadron had
captured three ships, and had set above thirty more on fire. The crews
of these cut their cables and drifted over to the Persian shore to
enable themselves to escape; but by this means communicated the
conflagration to other vessels that were lying aground. These disasters
struck such terror into the people of Ormuz that they all fled in dismay
within their walls, and Khojah Attar sent a message