The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543/Chapter XI

by Miguel de Castanhoso

Of how the Portuguese attacked this Hill and captured it, with the Death of some.

At dawn, on the following day, we all commended ourselves to Our Lady, and made a general confession before a crucifix, held in his hands by a Mass priest, and received absolution from the patriarch; when this was done we fell into our ranks, and marched to the hill, each to his own pass, as had been before arranged. At D. Christovão's [35] signal we all attacked together, and our artillery helped us greatly, for it all fired high, and caused the Moors great fear, so that they dared not approach close to the edge of the hill, whence they could have wrought us much damage with a vast store of rocks; had it not been, as I say, for the artillery and matchlocks, which searched every place, they had killed many from the top, this helped us greatly. All the same, they treated us very badly, and killed two men of ours before we began to climb the hill. D. Christovão, seeing the evil treatment they gave us, attacked the ascent very briskly, and we all followed him with our lives in our hands; when we got under shelter of the hill the stone-throwing did us less harm, and then we began to ascend the pass. D. Christovão headed the climb by the help of his pike, and of fissures in the rocks; here many were wounded, and all twice beaten back, but our matchlocks kept off the Moors from approaching the pass. With this help we forced our way in, D. Christovão being among the first, and he certainly gave this day proof of his great courage, and it was his valour that rendered the capture of the pass easy. The Moors were so hard pressed that the commander had not time to mount his horse; when he saw the Portuguese on the summit, he prepared, with his five hundred companions, to defend themselves, animating and urging them to advance; but with all they could not await the impetuosity of the Portuguese. At the time these Moors gave way, Manuel da Cunha and Francisco Velho were already on the top with their following, the forcing costing them much labour. They suffered a good deal, and many Portuguese were wounded before they [36] entered the outer gate; between the two gates the Moors slew two Portuguese. The Moors would not close the last gate, thinking they could take better vengeance inside. When our men did get in, they found them formed up in one body, with the commander and three others on horseback. Our men, seeing them collected together, attacked with the shout of "St. James!" falling on with lance-thrusts and sword-cuts, and the battle raged. The commander at this pass fought like a very valiant man. He ran a Portuguese through with a javelin he carried, transfixing him through his armour; then he drew his sword, and delivered such a blow on another's head that he dashed his helmet into his skull and felled him to the ground senseless. Seeing then the destruction that Moor wrought, three attacked him at once, threw him down, and he died the death he deserved. While this was in progress, the third pass of Joao da Fonseca and Francisco de Abreu was entered, with the same opposition as the others; and in the forcing they slew two of their men. When the Moors saw the passes were occupied they retreated, the one body on the other, neither knowing of the other's defeat; thus they all collected under our swords and pikes, and remained in a trap whence none escaped. Those who had fled early hid in the houses, and were all killed by the Abyssinians, who delighted in doing it. Some Moors preferred to throw themselves from the summit, hoping they might escape; but they were all dashed to pieces. After the capture of the hill, we searched the houses, where we found many captive Christian women and many other Moor women. We also captured nine horses and ten [37] very handsome mules, besides many others, perhaps seventy or eighty. When we mustered, we found a loss of eight Portuguese, who had been killed in the attack, and over forty wounded. D. Christovão went straight to the mosque after the victory, and directed the patriarch and the padres who had followed to consecrate it, in order that Mass might be said the next day. They gave it the name of Our Lady of Victory, and we buried there the eight Portuguese. D. Christovão next sent to ask the Queen if she wished to see the hill in the condition in which the Moors had held it. She was astonished at the ease with which we had carried it; she considered that all the Moors who were on the summit could not possibly be killed. When she was told by her people that it was true, she said that indeed we were men sent of God, and she thought all things were possible to us, but that she did not wish to ascend the hill, as the road was so full of dead bodies that it would pain her. When everything had been arranged, D. Christovão came to the Queen, leaving on the summit those wounded who could not be moved, as they were weary and their wounds cold. The Queen gave the hill to one of her Captains, whose ancestors had held it. The name of the hill is Baçanete. We spent the whole month here resting, in order to cure the wounded. As the news spread over the country, the inhabitants came to us with ample supplies, and with all that we needed. At the end of February, before we left here, there joined us two Portuguese with six Abyssinians to guide them, sent by Manuel de Vasconcellos, who was in Massowa in command of five ships, sent by D. Estevão from India, to learn what had happened to us; whether we needed any help or anything, as we should be provided with all. [38] D. Christovão, in particular, and we all were much pleased at this news; and Francisco Velho was at once ordered to get ready with forty men, to go to Manuel de Vasconcellos and give him letters for the Governor, his brother; and in the same bundle were enclosed letters for the King, our lord, in which he reported to him the country he had reduced to obedience to the Queen, that is, about forty leagues, and this merely through dread of the Portuguese name. They also went to the fleet, to bring back the powder and the munitions necessary for the war. When Francisco Velho had started, the Queen and D. Christovão determined to shift their camp to eight leagues away: to some plain country where supplies were very abundant, as the lord there was a Christian, and had become subject to the Moors against his will. He wrote to the Queen to invite her, as she would be better supplied there, for he was and always had been hers. He explained his obedience to the Moor as extracted from him by force, and asked her pardon. We marched there to await the Portuguese, who should not take more than fifteen days in [39] coming and going, as they travelled on very free-going mules, and only carried their arms, and there was no reason for longer delay.