_ 94 _ become a Christian and I am called Francisco d' Albuquerque, and as such I write to Your Highness. Item: When we reached Malacca, we found there Rui de Araujo and many other Christians who had been captives for two years, and they were so inexperienced in the customs and speech of the country that it was scarcely to be believed. Before a month had passed, I know the customs of the country, and the weights and measures and languages and the incomings and outgoings; so that everyone was amazed, and they could not believe that I had never been to the city of Malacca before. Item: When the Captain-in-Chief ordered that a fortress should be built in the said city of Malacca I saw that the Portuguese were weak and could not carry the stone and might die because of the hard work. So, I proposed to the Captain-in-Chief that I should go to the mainland to find workmen to help build the fortress, seeing that it was not possible for the Portuguese to do it. Because time was short either the Captain-in-Chief would have to stop building it, or else winter in Malacca and not return to India for as long as he could while retaining India. And when he returned to India, he found many people had been seriously offended, in Cannanore and in
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