_ 365 _ he, together with four hundred men in twenty caturs, went to Basra and captured an island called Murgis, where there was a fortress which the Turks evacuated as soon as they heard that he was going there. When this was done, he returned to Ormuz. When he was back, I received very reliable intelligence that, if he had gone with the whole fleet to Basra, he would have done a great feat, and driven them out, because all the Arabs were in revolt against the Turks, believing that our fleet was going there to capture Basra. Even the Turks were terrified and in despair [...]. I shall not write further news about Basra, because I think that D Antão will write about this at length, but I hope in Our Lord that very shortly we shall expel these very evil people from Basra, because it is very necessary. For the good of this kingdom and the whole of India Your Highness should command that they be driven out because they cannot do us any harm anywhere except through this base. The news from this Kingdom of Ormuz is that all the neighbours on our borders are leaving us in peace. Since I have been back here, there has been no action on my part which has caused us any trouble, and I am making great efforts so that we shall be at peace with everyone.
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