_ 166 _ Item 37: The Turks have no other option than to prevent Your Highness from becoming Lord of India, for several reasons. The first and foremost is that the kingdom does not pass from father to son, and they all want a quiet life, as well as a royal right to daily sustenance, come what may. But if a situation arose in which the kingdom passed by right to the son, he would endeavour not to remove such a great opening and distinction like that of the spice trade in Cairo. For we see that it is the general rule throughout the world for men, even when they are old and in their declining years, to build houses and plant vineyards in honour of their children. Item 38: The second reason concerns the wood. There is none in Cairo or in the kingdom as a whole, because the land of Cairo is a sandy desert, without any forests. After Amir Hussain arrived with a small fleet, there was not a single piece of palm that was not used up, as was a small quantity that was brought with immense trouble from Turkey. It was the Venetians who persuaded the Sultan to take up arms, because they told him that Your Highness was sending only four caravels to India...... now that they can see Your Highnesses’ power…… fortresses that have been built in India, and that……them, and with the destroy-
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