_ 12 _ governs the Island of Socotra by force, against all reason and justice, without having any right but that of might. He has greatly offended the Christians by taking what was theirs and turning their daughters into Moors, apart from many other evils. You should request His Highness, in God’s service and in the salving of his conscience, to instruct that the Moors be expelled from that island. This can be done without any extra cost, by ordering those who are sailing to the Straits with the fleet, when they return from there, to drive out the Moors who are stationed near the beach in Socotra. They cannot be more than thirty Moors in a small house in the form of a fort. They do not allow the local people to bear arms, so they are completely enslaved. For the love of Our Lord, arrange for these miserable, wretched Christians to escape their captivity, as they are cruelly held in bondage by the Moors. These can be driven from the land when the fleet returns from the Straits and takes on water in the island. It is heartbreaking to hear the tales of woe of the Christians of Socotra. Six years ago, I passed by Socotra and was greatly saddened to see the persecution they suffer at the hands of the Moors of the Arabian coast. And all this depends on the will of the King and would cost nothing.
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