_ 245 _ Further news dates from eight months later, in the form of a letter written on 18 July 1528 by D.António de Silveira de Meneses, Governor of Sofala. A large vessel had arrived that day at the Mozambique port in a poor condition. The crew comprised twelve Frenchmen. They had been part of a fleet which had been prepared at Hon fleur by Myser Joam de Veramsano' and had sailed in June 1526. The vessels were of 60 to 70 tons only (in this the Portuguese letter confirms the Norman contracts) and had been bound for the Moluccas. But as they had not been able to pass through the Dragon's Mouth, they had then set sail for the Cape (of Good Hope), which they doubled after a sea journey of three hundred leagues. Their aim was to go to Mauritius to take on board a cargo of pepper and to take some prizes in order to get pay for the crew. However, their route was too southerly, and they found themselves at Sumatra, where several men, including the pilot, were killed in a skirmish. After Sumatra, they reached the Maldives and then Madagascar, where they were shipwrecked. From there, still in the same ship, they reached Mozambique. Through all this they had managed to keep a "very good, well-drawn map" and some Portuguese standing orders ("regimento")(A). 1944), pp. 296-9. (A) Torre da Tombo, Cartas dos Vice Reis de Indias, no.13, analyzed
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