_ 201 _ vessels, in which almost 400 Portuguese sailed, of whom 100 were fidalgos and gentlemen of the King’s household; some of the other men were musketeers and bowmen, and the rest had swords and lances. Captain António Correia departed, and after facing the fury of a storm which separated the ships he arrived at the port of Bahrein and confronted King [Mucrim], who was not unprepared. For some time he had been waiting for him with twelve thousand men including 300 Arab horsemen, four hundred Persian bowmen and 20 Turkish musketeers, with other local fighting men whom he had ordered to be instructed in the use of the musket. In the port of the city of Bahrein, from which the island took its name, and which was the only place where it was possible to go ashore, he had built a wall of rubble between palm trees ten spans high, so tall and strong that it was superior to a fine wall of stone and lime. In this were openings to the shore, which he ordered to be well blocked as soon as our fleet was sighted, and he distributed along the top of the wall at the most vulnerable points all the artillery he had available, and he disposed everything in a manner which equaled the skill and courage which Captain Antonio Correia himself displayed.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy