_ 149 _ captains could not oblige them, either by force or persuasion to stay inside”, the fortress was guarded at night only by the captains’ servants. Little by little, by increasing their payments, the new Captain succeeded in making the soldiers stay inside the fortress(A). Being informed that the niquilús had broken the peace they had made with D. Jerónimo de Mascarenhas and were attacking with their terradas those on their way from Basra to Ormuz, Matias de Albuquerque had a galleot placed on their coast, which bombarded their town by day and always returned to the same place at night. This came to be known by the niquelús, who made a surprise attack on it, killed its crew and captured the vessel. Matias de Albuquerque immediately commissioned another, but in time it was lost. When he discovered that the inhabitants of the island of Lar, who were vassals of the King of Ormuz, were passing information about us to the niquilús, he commissioned six ships and sent them against Lar, and their crews put to the sword every living thing they found. Four of these ships went back to attack the niquilús’ port, but a storm caused them to go aground, and only (A) Barros, Década X, part II, pp. 65-68.
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