[Footnote 8: Albuquerque's _Commentaries_, vol. ii. p. 33.] Matters remained in this state for two months, and the native princes on the Malabar coast, especially the Rájá of Cochin, were at a loss to understand the causes of these quarrels, for it had been a proud boast of the Portuguese that they would obey even a cabin boy who held the King's commission. The hopes of the Zamorin of Calicut began to revive, and it was fortunate for the Portuguese that, in October 1509, a fresh fleet arrived at Cannanore, under the command of Dom Fernão de Coutinho, Marshal of Portugal. This powerful nobleman was a relative of Albuquerque, and at once released him from custody. With Albuquerque on board, the Marshal sailed to Cochin, and he insisted that, in compliance with the royal mandate, Albuquerque should be immediately recognised as Governor of India. Dom Francisco de Almeida saw that it was necessary for him to yield. He handed over the government on November 5 to Albuquerque, and on November 10, 1509, he left Cochin. His murder {63} by savages at Saldanha Bay has been already noticed, and it is sad to have to narrate that he died without having been reconciled to his successor in the government of India. The _Commentaries_ of Albuquerque imply that it was Albuquerque's fault that a reconciliation was not made, but, considering his conduct towards his greatest enemy, João da Nova, this does not seem to be probable; for it is written:-- 'João da Nova died at Cochin in July 1509, so reduced in circumstances that he had no one to care for him; but Affonso de Albuquerque forgot all that he had been guilty of towards himself, and only held in memory that this man had been his companion in arms, and had helped him in all the troubles connected with the conquest of the kingdom of Ormuz like a gallant knight, and he ordered him to be buried at his own expense, with the usual display of torches, and himself accompanied the body to the grave, clad all in mourning, a thing the Viceroy would not have done.'[9] [Footnote 9: Albuquerque's _Commentaries_, vol. ii. p. 49.] {64} CHAPTER III THE RULE OF ALBUQUERQUE _The Conquest of Goa_