_ 406 _ the seamen had mutinied, and placed themselves in the forecastle. They said that they were not obliged to belong to an armada, as it was a ship for the trade route in spices, and they did not want to go to the bottom but to sail the seas. If the captains wanted to save the pepper in it to go to Portugal it could be unloaded into the nao that Antonio da Saldanha had brought. But they also wanted to save their lives, and furthermore they had not the arms to row the boats all day and to man the pumps continuously to stop the nao from sinking, their weapons at their sides, suffering from hunger and thirst. Afonso de Albuquerque was so confused with these and other words they spoke (in many of which they were right) that he directed the reply to Joao da Nova, blaming him for the situation. Finally after an exchange of words he put his hands on Joao da Nova with less respect than is merited by a captain of the king, not withstanding that Joao da Novahad no more nobility in his blood than the qualities listed earlier. He was taken to the nao of Afonso de Albuquerque,who did not delay long before suspending Francisco de Tavora also on the presumption of his wanting to go to India.
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