_ 162 _ anymore; may God grant that the position does not change and that the matter is forgotten. As regards the fortress, it is almost finished on the landward side and is the most solid and handsome building you can imagine. It is the general opinion that a fortification which was built to the north, named Santiago, should also be sited on the sea, as should the one called Santo André, as the latter has at the foot of its walls a great expanse of land by which anyone can approach and it can only be defended by letting the people leave it or fight from the top of the rampart which causes a lot of work. And now, it is also essential to fortify it on the seaside so that it is a completely solid construction. We are hoping that there is truth in the rumours we hear that Your Highness is going to order a lot of booty to be deposited in it, and that the Governor of India and the Captain may be there at the time may making every effort to finish the fortress because there is the greatness of India. D. João de Castro, the deceased Viceroy, had forbidden anybody of any nationality to go to Baçora, under pain of heavy punishment and prison. That command has now been ratified by the Governor, Jorge Cabral, and it has been stipulated that nobody may leave or enter there, nor
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