_ 187 _ goods in the place. Domingos Barbudo wrote to me saying that no more goods should be sent there, and I realised from this that he is not writing about half of what is going through there. What the Turks greatly desire, and what they are always asking about, is iron and steel coming through Cairo. Whether it is purchased or seized by force, they manage to obtain it, but I am being very vigilant about these matters. All the terradas going to Basra are searched while they are tied up here to the fortress. When they have been searched, I order them to leave immediately. There was an order on this in the past, that after they had been searched, they should move from one port to another, where they stayed for two days. The greatest need is for Your Lordship to send good soldiers to stay in this fortress. Your Lordship should send someone with them to provide them with food or some way of their being here willingly, for this place is very expensive. The people here are swindlers and very much against war unless they can conduct it to their own advantage. There are many opportunities to flee, which is only a matter of purchasing a terrada and going in her to Muscat. For this reason, Your Lordship should command that anyone who leaves here without my permission be severely punished.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy