_ 215 _ in the city(A). But the circuitous routes having been disorganised by the war, the reserves of pepper were shown to be insufficient to fill the holds of a fleet that had greater capacity than the previous fleets(B). These difficulties in obtaining cargoes are confirmed for us in the account of an Italian who embarked on board "Setubal's ship"(C), which was commanded by Diogo Fernandes Peteira. This ship which had become separated from António de Saldanha's squdron off the coast of Africa, had arrived at Cochin some weeks before Lopo Soares. Jealous to reserve for himself the whole of local production, the commander-in- (A) BM Anonymous, p. 121. This confirms the statements of Alvaro Vas who wrote that the spices had been haggled over -not without difficulty-with these two traders before the arrival of Lopo Soares, and that the Portuguese had not obtained satisfaction until after the intervention of the King of Cochin (Alvaro Vaz to D. Manuel, from Cochin, 24.XII.1504, CA, III, p. 257. On the activities of these two people, cf. G. Bouchon, Les Musulmans du Kerala a l'epoque de la decouverte portugaise, in Mare II, p. 52-53. (B) The superior tonnage of the ships on this expedition is underlined by Barros, I/7-9, p. 289. We know from G. F. Affaitato, who does not make allowances for the squadron of Antonio de Saldanha, that Lopo Soares' fleet comprised, on its departure from Lisbon, a ship of 300 tons, four of 200 to 250 tons, the rest being of 100 to 150 tons (in Sanuto, VI, p. 26). (C) Anonymous acount from Florence in A. Teixeira da Mota, quoted above, no. 6.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy