_ 158 _ and captains usually appoint someone for the duration of their office. I am informed that it would be in the king’s interest to appoint someone permanently rather than temporarily, and then it could be given to a poor soldier who could live on it. Chief horse-broker of Ormuz The office of Corretor mor [Chief horse-broker] was formerly held by Moors appointed by the kings of Ormuz. It was held by one person until the King of Ormuz appointed a Portuguese as well, since when two persons have held the office together, sometimes Portuguese, one of them appointed by the King of Ormuz himself and then by the viceroys and governors. Finally it went back to a single Moor, Kwaja Xabo, to whom the late King Dom Sebastião awarded it for life, and who then died. In the Despacho da India of the present year, 1582, His Majesty appointed for life one Francisco Velho, a resident in Ormuz, an man of great experience in India who has given much service. This office does not have any salary from the royal treasury, but it brings in over a thousand cruzados annually. The Corretor môr de fazendas [chief property-broker] and customshouse valuer are offices which used to be held together by one person, and are at present held by one
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