_ 153 _ provides resistance against the Turk. He has a pasha and galleys in the city of Basra, two hundred and twenty leagues from the island of Ormuz (where the Persian Sea ends), with which he is attempting to control the strait. Many Turks, Persians, Arabs and Khorasans pass through it on the way to India, and other valorous nations of white people drawn by the great and profitable payments which the kings of India are accustomed to give those who go to those parts to serve them in warfare. This is very dangerous for the Portuguese, because these fighting-men from Turkey, Arabia and Persia are the principal shield and protection of the Moorish Kings of India against us. For these reasons the maintenance of this fortress of Ormuz, with which we control the strait and resist the attacks of the Turk in that region, is of great importance. Because this fortress is of such importance the kings of Portugal always appoint responsible noblemen of the highest rank, of proved service and merits, to be captains of it. The captaincy carries a salary of six hundred thousand reis a year, and to a captain who serves with a clear conscience over a period of three years will amount to between fifty and sixty thousand cruzados free of tax. If he wishes to broaden his conscience, he has many good
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