[sidenote: at the castle of corna the riuer euphrates and tygris do meet.] a dayes iourney before you come to basora, you shall haue a little castle or fort, which is set on that point of the land where the riuers of euphrates and tygris meet together, and the castle is called corna: at this point, the two riuers make a monstrous great riuer, that runneth into the sea, which is called the gulfe of persia, which is towards the south: basora is distant from the sea fifteene miles, and it is a city of great trade of spices and drugges which come from ormus. also there is a great store of corne, rice, and dates, which the countrey doth yeeld. [sidenote: ormus is the barrenest iland in all the world.] i shipped my selfe in basora to go for ormus, and so we sailed, thorow the persian sea six hundred miles, which is the distance from basora to ormus, and we sailed in small ships made of boards, bound together with small cords or ropes, and in stead of calking they lay betweene euery board certaine straw which they haue, and so they sowe board and board together, with the straw betweene, wherethorow there commeth much water, and they are very dangerous. [sidenote: carichij an iland in the gulfe of persia.] departing from basora we passed 200 miles with the sea on our right hand, along the gulfe, vntil at length we arriued at an iland called carichij, fro whence we sailed to ormus in sight of the persian shore on the left side, and on the right side towards arabia we discouered infinite ilands. ormus. ormus [footnote: ormus is alwayes replenished with abundance of victuall, and yet there is none that groweth in the iland.] is an iland in circuit fiue and twenty or thirty miles, and it is the barrenest and most drie iland in all the world, because that in it there is nothing to be had, but salt water, and wood, all other things necessary for mans life are brought out of persia twelue miles off, and out of other ilands neere thereunto adioyning, in such abundance and quantity, that the city is alwayes replenished with all maner of store: there is standing neere vnto the waters side a very faire castell, in the which the captaine of the king of portugall is alwayes resident with a good band of portugalles, and before this castell is a very faire prospect: in the city dwell the maried men, souldiers and marchants of euery nation, amongst whom there are moores and gentiles. [sidenote: great trade of merchandise in ormus.] in this city there is very great trade for all sorts of spices, drugges, silke, cloth of silke, brocardo, and diuers other sorts of marchandise come out of persia: and amongst all other trades of marchandise, the trade of horses is very great there, which they carry from thence into the indies. this iland hath a moore king of the race of the persians, who is created and made king by the captaine of the castle, in the name of the king of portugall. at the creation of this king i was there, and saw the ceremonies that they vse in it, which are as followeth. the olde king being dead, the captaine of the portugals chuseth another of the blood royall, and maketh this election in the castle with great ceremonies, and when hee is elected, the captaine sweareth him to be true and faithfull to the king of portugall, as his lord and gouernour, and then he giueth him the scepter regall. after this with great feasting and pompe, and with great company, he is brought into the royall palace in the city. this king keepeth a good traine, and hath sufficient reuenues to maintaine himselfe without troubling of any, because the captaine of the castle doth mainteine and defend his right, and when that the captaine and he ride together, he is honoured as a king, yet be cannot ride abroad with his traine, without the consent of the captaine first had: it behooueth them to doe this, and it is necessary, because of the great trade that is in the city: their proper language is the persian tongue. there i shipped my selfe to goe for goa, a city in the indies, in a shippe that had fourescore horses in her. [sidenote: a priuilege for marchants.] this is to aduertise those marchants that go from ormus to goa to shippe themselues in those shippes that carry horses, because euery shippe that carrieth twenty horses and vpwards is priuileged, that all the marchandise whatsoeuer they carry shall pay no custome, whereas the shippes that carry no horses are bound to pay eight per cento of all goods they bring. goa, diu, and cambaia. goa is the principall city that the portugals haue in the indies, where is resident the viceroy with his court and ministers of the king of portugall. from ormus to goa is nine hundred foure score and ten miles distance, in which passage the first city that you come to in the indies, is called diu, [footnote: off south extremity of kathiawar peninsula, bombay presidency.] and is situate in a little iland in the kingdome of cambaia, which is the greatest strength that the portugals haue in all the indies, yet a small city, but of great trade, because there they lade very many great ships for the straights of mecca and ormus with merchandise, and these shippes belong to the moores and christians, but the moores can not trade neither saile into those seas without the licence of the viceroy of the king of portugall, otherwise they are taken and made good prises. the marchandise that they lade these ships withall commeth from cambaietta a port in the kingdome of cambaia, which they bring from thence in small barks, because there can no great shippes come thither, by reason of the sholdnesse of the water thereabouts, and these sholds are an hundred or fourescore miles about in a straight or gulfe, which they call macareo, which is as much as to say, as a race of a tide, because the waters there run out of that place without measure, so that there is no place like to it, vnlesse it be in the kingdome of pegu, where there is another macareo, where the waters run out with more force than these doe. the principall city in cambaia is called amadauar, it is a dayes iourney and an halfe from cambaietta, it is a very great city and very populous, and for a city of the gentiles it is very well made and builded with faire houses and large streets, with a faire place in it with many shippes, and in shew like to cairo, but not so great: also cambaietta is situate on the seas side, and is a very faire city. the time that i was there, the city was in great calamity and scarsenesse, so that i haue seene the men of the countrey that were gentiles take their children, their sonnes and their daughters, and haue desired the portugals to buy them, and i haue seene them sold for eight or ten larines a piece, which may be of our money x.s. or xiii.s. iiii.d. for all this if i had not seene it, i could not haue beleeued that there should be such a trade at cambaietta as there is: for in the time of euery new moone and euery full moone, the small barks (innumerable) come in and out, for at those times of the moone the tides and waters are higher then at other times they be. these barkes be laden with all sorts of spices, with silke of china, with sandols, with elephants teeth, veluets of vercini, great quantity of pannina, which commeth from mecca, chickinos which be pieces of golde woorth seuen shillings a piece sterling, with money, and with diuers sorts of other marchandize. also these barks lade out, as it were, an infinite quantity of cloth made of bumbast of all sorts, as white stamped and painted, with great quantity of indico, dried ginger and conserued, myrabolans drie and condite, boraso in paste, great store of sugar, great quantity of cotton, abundance of opium, assa fetida, puchio, with many other sorts of drugges, turbants made in diu, great stones like to corneolaes, granats, agats, diaspry, calcidonij, hematists, and some kinde of naturall diamonds. there is in the city of cambaietta an order, but no man is bound to keepe it, but they that will; but all the portugall marchants keepe it, the which is this. there are in this city certain brokers which are gentiles and of great authority, and haue euery one of them fifteene or twenty seruants, and the marchants that vse that countrey haue their brokers, with which they be serued: and they that haue not bene there are informed by their friends of the order, and of what broker they shall be serued. [sidenote: marchants that trauell to the indies must cary their prouision of houshold with them.] now euery fifteene dayes (as abouesayd) that the fleet of small shippes entreth into the port, the brokers come to the water side, and these marchants assoone as they are come on land, do giue the cargason of all their goods to that broker that they will haue to do their businesse for them, with the marks of all the fardles and packs they haue; and the marchant hauing taken on land all his furniture for his house, because it is needful that the marchants that trade to the indies carry prouision of housholde with them, because that in euery place where they come they must haue a new house, the broker that hath receiued his cargason, commandeth his seruants to carry the marchants furniture for his house home, and load it on some cart, and carry it into the city, where the brokers haue diuers empty houses meet for the lodging of marchants, furnished onely with bedsteads, tables, chaires, and empty iarres for water: then the broker sayth to the marchant, goe and repose your selfe, and take your rest in the city. the broker tarrieth at the water side with the cargason, and causeth all his goods to be discharged out of the ship, and payeth the custome, and causeth it to be brought into the house where the marchant lieth, the marchant not knowing any thing thereof, neither custome, nor charges. these goods being brought to this passe into the house of the marchant, the broker demandeth of the marchant if he haue any desire to sell his goods or marchandise, at the prises that such wares are worth at that present time? and if he hath a desire to sell his goods presently, then at that instant the broker selleth them away. after this the broker sayth to the marchant, you haue so much of euery sort of marchandise neat and cleare of euery charge, and so much ready money. and if the marchant will employ his money in other commodities, then the broker telleth him that such and such commodities will cost so much, put aboord without any maner of charges. the marchant vnderstanding the effect, maketh his account; and if he thinke to buy or sell at the prices currant, he giueth order to make his marchandise away: and if he hath commodity for 20000 dukets, all shalbe bartred or solde away in fifteene dayes without any care or trouble: and when as the marchant thinketh that he cannot sell his goods at the prise currant, he may tary as long as he will, but they cannot be solde by any man but by that broker that hath taken them on land and payed the custome: and purchance tarying sometimes for sale of their commodity, they make good profit, and sometimes losse: but those marchandise that come not ordinarily euery fifteene dayes, in tarying for the sale of them, there is great profit. [sidenote: great store of men of warre and rouers on the coast of cambaia.] the barks that lade in cambaietta go for diu to lade the ships that go from thence for the streights of mecca and ormus, and some go to chaul and goa: and these ships be very well appointed, or els are guarded by the armada of the portugals, for that there are many corsaires or pyrats which goe coursing alongst that coast, robbing and spoiling: and for feare of these theeues there is no safe sailing in those seas, but with ships very well appointed and armed, or els with the fleet of the portugals, as is aforesayd. in fine the kingdome of cambaia is a place of great trade, and hath much doings and traffique with all men, although hitherto it hath bene in the hands of tyrants, because that at 75 yeeres of age the true king being at the assault of diu, was there slaine: whose name sultan badu. at that time foure or fiue captaines of the army diuided the kingdome amongst themselues, and euery one of them shewed in his countrey what tyranny he could: but twelue yeeres ago the great mogul a moore king of agra and delly, forty dayes iourny within the land of amadauar, became the gouernour of all the kingdome of cambaia without any resistance, because he being of great power and force, deuising which way to enter the land with his people, there was not any man that would make him any resistance, although they were tyrants and a beastly people, they were soone brought vnder obedience. [sidenote: a maruellous fond delight in women.] during the time i dwelt in cambaietta i saw very maruellous things: there were an infinite number of artificers that made bracelets called mannij, or bracelets of elephants teeth, of diuers colours, for the women of the gentiles, which haue their armes full decked with them