was the establishment of a Portuguese factory at Hūgli, at the mouth of the Ganges, in the dominions of the King of Bengal, which for the first time tapped the trade of that most wealthy province. These great services during his long rule of twelve years did not protect Nuno da Cunha from malicious accusations being brought against him at Lisbon; exaggerated accounts of his cruelty and of the corruption of his government were reported against him, and in 1538 he was superseded by a viceroy, Dom Garcia de Noronha. Nuno da Cunha died on his way back to Portugal, and the absence of his strong hand was soon felt in India. Garcia de Noronha, a former officer of Alboquerque, died almost immediately after his arrival, and his successors, as governors, Estevão da Gama and Martim Affonso de Sousa distinguished their governments by an expedition to the Red Sea, during which Da Gama was defeated by the Turks at Suez, and by the defeat of De Sousa at Tebelicavi. These checks greatly affected the profits of the Indian trade, and John III. determined to make a fresh departure by despatching to India Dom João de Castro, a hero of the old Portuguese type, and the intimate friend of his uncle, Dom Luis, Duke of Beja. In summing up thus briefly the history of the Portuguese in India, weight has been laid only upon its political and commercial aspect. It was for purely commercial reasons that Prince Henry “the Navigator” had striven to find a direct sea route to India, and Vasco da Gama’s success had at first been looked upon merely as opening up the Indian trade; the idea of dominion had not then occurred to the minds of the Portuguese, and it was not until it became obvious that the commercial stations or factories would have to be guarded and defended, that troops were despatched as well as factors. The successful defence of Duarte Pacheco against the army of the Zamorin of Calicut, showed how easy it would be for the Portuguese to do more than just defend their factories, if attacked, and Francisco de Almeida commenced a war of offence by attacking native potentates, who refused to allow factories to be established in their dominions. Affonso de Alboquerque originated the idea of playing off the Hindu princes against the aggressive Mohammedans, but none of his successors followed out his policy in this respect. It must not, however, be thought that the Portuguese had any idea of establishing such an empire in India as the English have built up during the last century. Their great system was to occupy, by force if necessary, all important centres of trade along the coasts, and there to erect powerful cities and fortresses, whither the native merchants could bring down their commodities to be purchased and placed on board Portuguese ships for passage to Lisbon. They made no attempt to force their way into the interior, and only sent envoys to native princes to secure protection for the native traders coming to their ports. They