_ 176 _ In the same year (1547) Dom Duarte de Sa sent a letter to the Viceroy, dated 1547, and he justified his refusal with previous incidents and matters:(44) In answer to Your Lordship concerning shipping to Basra, I say that it appears to be most detrimental to the interests of Our Lord the King, and this for many reasons. One is because sailing there the Turks will help themselves to the many ships going there, as they do in the Strait of Mecca where they convert those of the Malabari [...] that go there, with little difficulty, into fighting ships. Also, a lot of iron and steel and other war materials that the country does not have will go to them in the same ships and without our being able to prevent them. In loaded ships it is not easy to see what underneath is and (44) Document no. and reference.
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