_ 170 _ The King has appropriated all the red stone and no one is allowed to trade in it except him. He buys it at six xerafins a load weighing five hundred arratels and sells it for twenty. The total turnover each year is 120,000 xerafins for 20,000 loads, paid for in cotton and canvas, which works out at less than four xerafins a load. Thus, he ends up with a profit of 280,000 xerafins in the buying and selling of the red stone that they call sua. The port fees and the officials of the city, namely, the inspector of weights and measures, the bailiff, and other officers, generate 70,000 xerafins a year, which in total works out at 350,000 xerafins. So, I repeat that by impeding navigation, he will lose the said amount. For this reason, I believe that he must come to an agreement with Your Highness. Summary of pp. 372-376 Item 43: The possessions of Prester John are in the main: Cambay cloth, coarse burnouses made in Bugia, Moorish tunics from Mostaganem, black burnouses from Tremecem, brocades, velvets, satins, damasks, scarlet and other kinds of coloured cloth, wax, coral, camphor and all sorts of Moorish brass. Item 44: The goods from the land of Prester John are: gold, ivory, wheat, butter, honey, wax, meat and slaves.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy