Paulo de Seixas was a 16th-century

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

mercenary in the service of

Saw Binnya Saw Binnya ( my, စောဗညား, ; died 1541) was viceroy of Martaban (Mottama) from c. 1510s to 1539, and the self-proclaimed king of the rump Hanthawaddy Kingdom from 1539 to 1541. First appointed viceroy of Martaban, one of the three ...

, the viceroy of Martaban (Mottama). He is known for his leadership of Martaban's musket and artillery corps at the

battle of Martaban (1540–41) A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

against Toungoo Burma.Ryley 1899: 140–142

Background

Though Seixas' land and naval troops, primarily made up of Portuguese and other foreign mercenaries, kept the besiegers at bay for seven months, Toungoo forces eventually broke through and the city was sacked.Harvey 1925: 155–157 According to the contemporary Portuguese explorer

Fernão Mendes Pinto Fernão Mendes Pinto (; c.1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in ''Pilgrimage'' ( pt, Peregrinação) (1614), his autobiographical memoir. The historical accuracy of the work is debatable due t ...

, Seixas had managed to escape with "a native woman", and the couple made it to the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...

(Southeastern India) where they were married. He had brought with him two valuable bracelets, which he said were awarded to him by Saw Binnya in recognition of his faithful service. He sold the bracelets for 36,000 ducats. The dealers, according to Pinto, resold the bracelets to the ruler of

Narsinga The ransingha or ransinga is a type of primitive trumpet made of copper or copper alloys, used in both India and Nepal. The instrument is made of two metal curves, joined together to form an "S" shape. It may also be reassembled to form a cresce ...

The ruler of Narsinga could have been

Achyuta Deva Raya Achyuta Deva Raya (died 1542 CE) was a ruler of a Vijayanagara Empire of South India. He was the younger brother of Krishna Deva Raya, whom he succeeded in 1529. During his reign, Fernao Nuniz a Portuguese traveller, chronicler and horse t ...

(r. 1529–1542), Venkata I (1542) or

Sadasiva Raya Sadasiva Raya (1542–1570) was a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, a powerful Southern Indian empire based in the Deccan region in the 16th century India. When the Vijayanagara ruler Achyuta Raya, who was the younger brother of Krishnadevar ...

(r. 1542–1569). for 80,000 ducats.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seixas 16th-century Portuguese people Hanthawaddy dynasty First Toungoo Empire People from Leiria District