_ 460 _ the ships which they have in the other strait would come to this one. If this happened, it would be a great loss, very detrimental to India and make matters extremely difficult. I inform Your Honour of these facts because they must be dealt with. We must see what should be done concerning this affair. May the Lord God enlighten the intelligence of the men who give good counsel and your father, our Lord, in order to take the right action in this and all other things. I have asked many Portuguese and Moors if there is a suitable place along the river which flows through Basra where a fortress could be built to defend the river mouth. I have found their opinions so varying and every day I hear others, so that I do not dare to take a decision on anything. Some say that there is a place to build a fortress which would defend the arrival and exit of our ships. Others say that there is no such place. I believe that there is a Moor called Nejadim in this city whom Rui Gonçalves de Caminha knows. He is a native of Basra. More detailed information can be learnt from him about this than from anyone else, given that one cannot believe anything the Moors say. What I have also learnt is that there is a sparsely populated small island, about one
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