Paulo de Seixas was a 16th-century Portuguese mercenary in the service of

Saw Binnya Saw Binnya (, ; 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 provinces of the Mon-s ...

, 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) 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 (; 1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in ''Pilgrimage'' (), his autobiographical memoir, which was published posthumously in 1614. The historical accura ...

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

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

(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

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s. The dealers, according to Pinto, resold the bracelets to the ruler of NarsingaThe ruler of Narsinga could have been

Achyuta Deva Raya Achyuta Deva Raya (r. 1529 - 1542 CE) was a emperor of Vijayanagara who succeeded his older brother, Krishnadevaraya, after the latter's death in 1529 CE. During his reign, Fernao Nuniz, a Portuguese-Jewish traveller, chronicler and horse ...

(r. 1529–1542),

Venkata I Venkata I (reigned 1542–1543), also known as Venkata Raya and Venkatadri Raya, was an Emperor of Vijayanagara from the Tuluva Dynasty. He was the son of Emperor Achyuta Deva Raya, whom he succeeded in 1542. Life An underage Venkata Raya suc ...

(1542) or

Sadasiva Raya Sadasiva Raya (reigned 1542–1570) was the last Emperor of Vijayanagara from the Tuluva dynasty, and reigned from 1542 until his death in 1570. During most of his reign, Rama Raya was the de facto ruler of the state and created strategic al ...

(r. 1542–1569). for 80,000 ducats.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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