_ 192 _ I asked some of them how they dared trade with Calicut, guarded as it is by our fleet and two of our forts. They replied that the profits were so great that they were willing to take any risk. For every cruzado in Calicut, they made twelve or thirteen in Jidda or Aden. In Jidda, pepper was priced at twenty-five cruzados and in Cairo both ginger and pepper cost a fortune. I try my best to delay the departure of their ships, but there is hardly a handful of men here who can be relied upon and it is impossible to muster three thousand men because apart from those who die, as many leave here sick as arrive to replace them. As I mentioned in earlier letters, not everyone who sets sail from Lisbon arrives here, nor are they reliable people. So, Sir, do not expect me to accomplish what could be done if I had five thousand men. If I did have such a number, I would, with God’s help, subdue India and acquire all her wealth. Your Highness wrote to me on many occasions ordering me to destroy Calicut, and I did exactly what you commanded. With Calicut destroyed, you could do whatever you wished, yet for some fifteen years you have caused it very little inconvenience by waging war and your fleets have scarcely
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