_ 206 _ he entrusted the latter with the task of looking after the maintenance of the fortress at Socotra, so that the people of the island would know who was master there. Afonso de Albuquerque found out how many palm-groves there were in the island and took them for himself, for they belonged to the Arabs. He then rented them to the natives, so that they could pay him in dates and corn, which constitute the main produce of the land. Those Arabs who had escaped our attack and scattered through the land, as I described, were not pleased with the amicable relations between the islanders and the Portuguese. They wished us ill and tried to turn some of the people who lived in villages which lay at a greater distance from the fortress against us. They succeeded in persuading them to rise against us and made them believe that we had only gone there to take their land from them and to carry them away with their wives and children as prisoners. If they rose against the Portuguese and failed to give them the provisions they required they wouldn't be able to endure it and would depart. The local inhabitants took their advice and began to make trouble, as a result of which there were some conflicts between us and them. These were frequent, although they didn't last long. They occurred while Tristan da Cunha remained in the island,
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