A Momentous Journey

24 of the river which takes one to a place calledAmgoya; the Mouros use it to bring cloths and many other goods from Amgoya on a large number of canoes, the others bring them much gold and ivory. Amgoia Heading further up the coast and leaving the Cuama behind, one hundred and forty leagues along the coast from it one comes to a very large Mouros settlement called Amgoya. Many merchants live here who deal in gold and ivory in silks and cotton cloths and beads from Cambay, just as the merchants from Sofala used to. Mouros from Sofala; Mombasa; Malindi and Kilwa bring them merchandise in very small vessels hidden from our ships, meaning that they take a large amount of ivory and much gold from there. There are plenty of provisions of millet; rice and many meats in this place called Amgoya; some of the people are black, others brown, they go naked from the waist up, and from the waist down they cover themselves with cotton and silk cloths and wear other cloths over their shoulders like cloaks, some of them wear turbans on their heads, others wear hoods made from quarters of silk cloth; they speak the local language which is the gentiles’; some of them can speak Arabic. Sometimes, these Mouros obey our Lord and King, at other times they rebel because they are a long way away from our fortresses. Mozambique Heading further on towards India leaving Amgoya behind, there are three islands that lie just off the mainland including one inhabited by Mouros called Mozambique, which has an excellent harbour, where all the Mouros vessels sailing to Sofala and Cuama would stop off, in order to repair their ships and where they would take a lot of water; firewood, and provisions on board. There was a sheriff among the Mouros living

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