_ 255 _ continent, nevertheless one must wonder whether the French did not have an idea that it did exist. Cdt Labrousse I should like to draw Mollat's attention to the possibility that the first Frenchmen to sail the Indian Ocean were actually Crusaders, in 1183. In 1182, Renaud de Châtillon built a fleet of seven galleys at Eilat on the gulf of Akaba. He sailed down the Red Sea and captured Aden in February 1183. The Arab chroniclers say that Renaud de Châtillon took Aden in order to secure domination over the Indies spice trade. According to them, five of the galleys went to capture Jiddah whereas the two others, which were piloted by Arabs, were given the task of sailing on to the Indies. Unfortunately, the chroniclers do not say whether these vessels actually got there.
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