_ 183 _ large quantities of supplies come there from the land of Vijayanagar. Therefore, Sir, it is futile to continue in this enterprise. We will take rice through Cochin to sell there, should the necessity arise. As for the shipping of their spices and the guarding of Calicut, I tell you, Sir, that was something I promised to attend to the year I began to govern India. In January, I sailed with twenty-two naus bound for the Straits, and left all their ships in flames. Since sailing and passage through the Straits is in the months of February and March, there was no sailing this year and our Lord was pleased to change course towards the enterprise of Goa. Afterwards, the fleet of Gonçalo de Siqueira and Lourenço Moreno arrived and I left Goa when we abandoned it to the Turks. During the month (sic) of August, September, and October the nous of Simão Martins, Francisco Marecos and García de Sousa attacked Goa and they captured a ship from Mecca. At that time, in the month of October, I attacked Goa while Simão Afonso remained in his caravel and Jorge Botelho in the square-sailed caravel. When Goa was taken, the Samorim summoned me to negotiate peace. I sent Simão Ranjel in a fusta from Goa to Calicut. He boarded the caravel from Calicut that was
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy