Spanish and Portuguese Conflict in the Spice Islands: The Loaysa Expedition to the Moluccas 1525-1535 by Glen Frank Dille

Author:Glen Frank Dille [Dille, Glen Frank]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781000367133
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2021-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

Captain Martín Iñiguez was very pleased to have learned the truth, and the anger he felt at Captain Urdaneta and the other Castilians disappeared. He embraced the captain and said that he had done well and that, if God gave him the means, he would reward his service to the best of his abilities and would petition his Caesarean Majesty to do so as well. The general sent a gracious reply to the king of Gilolo and ordered Urdaneta to return to the king with Quichiltidore, whom he also embraced and thanked for his advice. But, in truth, the advice was late in coming because, at that time, Martín Iñiguez was very ill, suffering the effects of the poison that the Portuguese factor, Fernando de Valdaya, had given him. It was thought that Don Jorge de Meneses ordered Valdaya to do so as Don Jorge was at the centre of the truces and dealings with the Spanish.

The poison was administered in a glass of wine by Fernando de Valdaya in the following manner: When the Portuguese was dining with the captain general he had the poison on his thumbnail. He said to the captain: ‘I drink to you’, in the manner of the French and Flemish in their banquets and feasts. The one who says this drinks that cup or glass in front of the person toasted, After which the other person is obliged to drink as much as the person who initiated the toast. So, After the Portuguese drank with gusto, he refilled the cup and handed it to the general but, on so doing, put his thumb in the glass and introduced the venom into the wine. The captain, believing he was dining with a trustworthy Christian man, took the cup and drank the wine and the poison. After the dinner, the Portuguese left for Ternate, and later that very day the evil trick was perpetrated the captain fell ill and died in a few days.1 Oh, Lord and Redeemer of the world! Who could possibly guard himself from men’s evil, the devil’s tricks and the dangers of this life without Your protection? As the psalmist well says: Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frusta vigilat [f. 47r] qui custodit eam: which is to say: If the Lord does not guard the city, in vain watches he who is on guard.1

1 Navarrete, Colección de los Viajes, vol. V, p. 83. He died on 11 July 1527.

1 [1557 marginal note: Psal. CXXV] Psalm CXXV in the Vulgate; CXXVII in the King James Bible.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.