The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09: Asia, Part IIHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09: Asia, Part II
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
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. And in this occupation there are
spent euery yeere many thousands of crownes: the reason whereof is this,
that when there dieth any whatsoeuer of their kindred, then in signe and
token of mourning and sorrow, they breake all their bracelets from their
armes, and presently they go and buy new againe, because that they had
rather be without their meat then without their bracelets.
Daman. Basan. Tana.
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