The Rise Of Portuguese Power In India 1497-1550 [Hardcover]

About the Book:-The author knows of no English book which quite covers the ground that he has attempted to explore. The nearest approach to the subject was made in "The History of the Portuguese [in India," published a few years since, but he has been unable to avail himself of the undoubted erudition of the author as he has not connected his narrative in any way with the general history of India. He has endeavoured to give a history of the rise of the Portuguese power in India derived from the best available sources, and to give, not merely a record of military expeditions and of the change of governors, but also the details which throw light on the social life and on the idiosyncrasies of the chief men of the time. He hopes he may have succeeded. The Portuguese connection with Ceylon has been so fully dealt with by Sir Emerson Tennant, and its connection with the Malay States by Crawfurd, that only a summary has been added to give completeness to this book. If the subject prove of sufficient interest the work will be concluded with a volume on the decline of the Portuguese power in India. In the first four chapters authorities have been freely quoted; in the remaining ones they are only given where the narrative is not based on the following historians: Castanheda to 1538 Correa to 1550 Barros to 1526 Couto from 1526 to 1550.