_ 384 _ him to Cochin to despatch the spices, so that everything should be ready when the ships arrived from Portugal. Afonso de Albuquerque gave him all the authority he possibly could to carry out the despatch of the spices in the best manner. On the day that Dom Garcia left, at the behest of the King of Ormuz, Afonso de Albuquerque ordered him to place in his ship, the "Belem", all the King's blind relatives and their wives, children and servants. These were the causes of much unrest in the territory. Afonso de Albuquerque wrote to the officials in Goa, telling them to give them houses and all the other things they might need at the cost of the King's exchequer. The Kings of Ormuz costumarily blinded all those of their lineage, brothers and kin, who might inherit the Kingdom. They all lived on the island, which was too small a homeland to support so many princes. In order to prevent them from making trouble, and to avoid rebellions, which many of them had caused, the Kings found no better means of taming then than to deprive them of their sight by placing a vessel of burning wire in front of their eyes. Once Dom Garcia had left, et the end of August, Afonso de Albuquerque spent his time putting the finishing touches to the security of the fortress. He made provisions to stay
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