_ 42 _ the revenues of the State would not fall short by much and the King of Ormuz should not involve himself further in debt, he called a Council meeting to deal with this matter. For the better understanding of this story, I shall explain once more the reason for the tribute paid by the Kings of Ormuz. The first contract made between Afonso de Albuquerque and King Saif al-Din imposed an annual tribute of fifteen thousand gold xerafins. When António de Saldanha went to the Straits as Commander, he wintered on the island, where Turun Shah, the son brother of Saif al-Din, was ruling, and he increased this tribute by ten thousand xerafins. Governor D. Duarte de Noronha went there in 1523 to deal with revolt against the Portuguese in the island, and as King Turun Shah died at that time, the Governor placed his son Muhammad Shah on the throne and made a new contract with him, drawn up by Sebastião de Vargas, Secretary of the State. The principal clauses of this were: that he had received the Kingdom of Ormuz from D. Manuel, King of Portugal, (who was then still living); he and his successors would freely return the kingdom to any person sent by the Kings of Portugal; he would pay an additional
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy