many Christians of saint Thomas order: the king of Cochin is also a king of the Gentiles and a great faithfull friend to the king of Portugale, and to those Portugales which are married, and are Citizens in the Citie Cochin of the Portugales. And by this name of Portugales throughout all the Indies, they call all the Christians that come out of the West, whether they bee Italians, Frenchmen, or Almaines, and all they that marrie in Cochin do get an office according to the trade he is of: [Sidenote: Great priuiledges that the citizens of Cochin haue.] this they haue by the great priuileges which the Citizens haue of that city, because there are two principal commodities that they deale withal in that place, which are these. The great store of Silke that commeth from China, and the great store of Sugar which commeth from Bengala: the married Citizens pay not any custome for these two commodities: for they pay 4. per cento custome to the king of Cochin, rating their goods at their owne pleasure. Those which are not married and strangers, pay in Cochin to the king of Portugale eight per cento of all maner of merchandise. I was in Cochin when the Viceroy of the king of Portugale wrought what hee coulde to breake the priuilege of the Citizens, and to make them to pay custome as other did: at which time the Citizens were glad to waigh their Pepper in the night that they laded the ships withall that went to Portugale and stole the custome in the night. The king of Cochin hauing vnderstanding of this, would not suffer any more Pepper to bee weighed. Then presently after this, the marchants were licensed to doe as they did before, and there was no more speach of this matter, nor any wrong done. This king of Cochin is of a small power in respect of the other kings of the Indies, for hee can make but seuentie thousand men of armes in his campe: hee hath a great number of Gentlemen which hee calleth Amochi, and some are called Nairi: these two sorts of men esteeme not their liues any thing, so that it may be for the honour of their king, they will thrust themselues forward in euery danger, although they know they shall die. These men goe naked from the girdle vpwardes, with a clothe rolled about their thighs, going barefooted, and hauing their haire very long and rolled vp together on the toppe of their heads, and alwayes they carrie their Bucklers or Targets with them and their swordes naked, these Nairi haue their wiues common amongst themselues, and when any of them goe into the house of any of these women, hee leaueth his sworde and target at the doore, and the time that hee is there, there dare not any bee so hardie as to come into that house. The kings children shall not inherite the kingdome after their father, because they hold this opinion, that perchance they were not begotten of the king their father, but of some other man, therfore they accept for their king, one of the sonnes of the