AS an introduction to the following letters of P. della Valle, it may be useful to the reader to have a short account of the rise, progress and decline of the Portuguese power in India, extending over a period of about 270 years, from the arrival of Vasco da Gama at Kálíkót, in the year 1498, to the capture of Bassín by the Maráthas in 1765, a period which may be roughly divided into two halves, of which the first half comprises the rise, and the last half the decline, of Portuguese dominion in India. It was not long after the arrival of Vasco da Gama at Kálíkót—viz., in the year 1499—that the Portuguese obtained permission to build their first fort at Kúchi (Cochin), which was completed in 1503, and in the same year they commenced to build another at Kanamir, which was finished in 1505. In 1509 they built a third fort near Kálíkót, and in 1513 a fort was erected at that port.

The year 1508 had been marked by the arrival in India of the second Portuguese Viceroy (Don Francisco Dalmeida being the first), the renowned Don Afonso Dalboquerque (better known, perhaps, as Albuquerque), who arrived at Kananúr in the month of December 1508, though it was not until November 1509 that he actually obtained possession of the Viceroyalty from Don Francisco Dalmeida, who objected to be superseded by the Admiral. The next great event was the expedition on December 31st, 1509, against Kalikot, under the command of Dalboquerque, when the Portuguese destroyed and sacked the city and the King's palace, though they were ultimately compelled to retreat with severe loss.