372 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. ( CEYLON). [VOL. XIX. 



the great king holds him for such." And he says that he, by his 

 letters and words, opened up the way from Malabar, until he 

 caused you to be obeyed from Cambaya and Coulam and Dabull 

 and Ceilam. 



1 Printed in Cartas iii. 336-37. The writer is referred to in Com. of 

 Af. Dalb. ii. 226 as " a Moor of Cananor, named Porcassem " (spelt 

 " Pocaracem " at 241), which name the editor explains as " for Abu'l- 

 Casim, softened into Bul-Rasim." This seems improbable : I think it 

 likely that the man's name was Abu Bakr 'All Hasan. He figures in 

 Albuquerque's time as an interpreter and go-between ; and Bar. 

 (II. vn. vi.) calls him and another Moor " great friends of ours." At 

 the end of 1544 or beginning of 1545, when he was governor of Cananor, 

 he was treacherously murdered by command of Martim Affonso de 

 Sousa, governor of India (see Couto V. x. viii., Cor. iv. 425-27, D. Lopes's 

 Hist, dos Port, no Malabar 65, Whiteway's Rise of Port. Power in 

 India 288-89). 



2 " De grande oratorya." The statement in the last sentence is a 

 characteristic piece of bombast. 



C 12. 



Letter from Antonio Real to King Manuel. 1 

 [15 December 1512.] 

 ******* 

 Sire, — I have already on a former occasion written to your 

 highness that you should always keep well-fitted ships on this 

 coast, to wit: that they may go to the islands 2 and Qeilam, 

 when it is the season, which will thereby be of much service and 

 profit to you, since everything is near at hand to Cochim ; for from 

 the islands comes much coir, which is very necessary, 3 and 

 ambergris and silk cloths and other wares, and from Ceilao much 

 cinnamon, rubies, sapphires, elephants, which is the chief trade 

 there is here ; and this is more necessary to you than the trash of 

 Goa and Mallaca, and this brings profit, and the others, loss and 

 death of men. And the cinnamon that goes there, the Moors 

 bring hither what they want ; and the good they sell where it 

 seems good to them. On this account I advise you, sire, to send 

 regularly to this fortress ships intended for this, so that the captain- 

 major cannot take them to any other part, and that they may 

 also engage in the Cambaya trade, which is much to your service, 

 with your goods. 



1 This is printed in Cartas iii. 337-55. It is written from Cochin, 

 where the writer was chief alcaide. He was an enemy of Albuquerque's, 

 and makes various accusations against the latter in this letter. 



2 Maldives. 



3 Cf. B 9. 



