_ 75 _ predicament. The local Christians took ship to Magastan(A), which is on the mainland. More than 300 went because there was not enough water in the fort for so many(B). Brother Alvaro Mendes is going with them to give them religious instruction and sustain them in the faith of Christ and where there will be plenty to do. He is taking 200 xerafins(C) to distribute to the poor. They are going to a Moorish fortress, six or seven leagues from Ormuz, which is subject to the Kingdom of Ormuz. It is a very unhealthy country going by the name of Minão(D), or Moghistan. May Our Lord protect them, Amen. I shall inform you of what happens most in these parts. I entreat you, dearly beloved Brothers, that in your prayers and sacrifices you do not forget me. The last day of August 1552. Gonçalo Rodrigues (A) Manojan, in Moghistan, a fortified place in Persia situated to the northeast of Ormuz, where the military leader was (cf, Schurhammer, Q 2005, COREA II 410). (B) Water had to be transported to the town of Ormuz from neighbouring regions. (C) A type of coin: The Arab Persian xerafin…was of gold. It had the same value as an equal amount of gold (DELGADO II 424 f), that is 5 tangas or 300 reals. (D) Nowadays the town of Minãb.
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