The Portuguese in the Sea of Oman

_ 580 _ was in great disorder. Although the fortress is the one most full of provisions in all India, where the price of one candil of rice was one pardao, during all this time it was worth ten pardaos, and I am sure that Your Highness lost much of the revenues of Bassein, probably because of the disturbances there were there. This is not the fault of António de Lemos whom he left here as Captain. Your Highness may remember that I wrote to you last year and predicted that all this was going to happen, and Your Highness should not forget that because I realized all this I offered the Governor last year to go and serve Your Highness in that fortress, and for this I would try to borrow five thousand cruzados to spend on things most necessary for the service. I wrote all this to Your Highness last year, about these things and many others which were of interest. I said all this to the Governor in the presence of Francisco de Sousa Távares,(A) who is now in one of the most senior fidalgos in India. 'He is of the time of Afonso de Albuquerque', writes D. Estévão, 'and at that time he began as captain of galleys'. ('Information for the King concerning persons who were serving him in that State', already cited). In fact we find the name of António de Lemos in documents relating to India as early as 1511 (Cartas de Afonso de Albuquerque, vols.V and VII). (A) Francisco de Sousa Távares had arrived from Portugal in August 1540 as commander of four carracks (Lendas IV, p. 141). He was the nephew of Cristóvão de Sousa and had already been in India

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