To this prosperity at Miyako a strong contrast was, however, presented by the state of things at Yamaguchi, whence the missionaries were expelled by the king of Nagato, though the church there was still kept alive by the zeal and constancy of some of the converts. In the island of Shimo the new religion continued to spread. Indeed, the baptized prince of Ōmura, not content with hacking idols to pieces, and refusing to join in the old national festivals, wished also to prohibit all the old ceremonies, and to compel his subjects to adopt the new ones,—an excess of zeal which, by displaying the intolerant spirit of the new sect, fostered a union of all the old ones against it, such as at last occasioned its destruction. This prince had allowed certain Portuguese merchants to establish themselves at Nagasaki, then a mere fishing village, but having a capacious harbor, the port of Japan nearest to China and the Indies, at the head of a deep bay, opening to the west. Presently he built a church there, and, A. D. 1568, invited the missionaries to make it their headquarters, with a promise that no religion but theirs should be allowed. This invitation was accepted; many converts flocked thither, and Nagasaki soon became a considerable city. Fathers de Torres and Vilela both died in 1570,[43] worn out with years and labors, the latter being succeeded as head of the mission by Father Cabral, sent out from Goa as vice-provincial of the order, and accompanied by Father Gnecchi, who soon became an efficient laborer.