and to clear the sea of those tyrannies and robberies, and take from them their land and their harbor, which will be much to his Majesty's purpose for great designs. The said witness declares that the king has a great deal of artillery, which he has seen, moreover, with his own eyes. The other things he has heard said by captives. This is all that he knows, and it is true, according to the oath which he swore. His age is thirty-seven.
Signed, Gregorio de Vargas
Before me:
Jhoan de Cuellar
Testimony: Then, on this said day, the oath was received, regarding the aforesaid, in due legal form from Diego Belosso, at present in this city, who swore in the name of God and by the sign of the cross, under which charge he promised to tell the truth. Being questioned regarding the matter, this witness said that he knows it must have been ten years ago that a junk belonging to Don Jhoan de la Gama was lost on La Barela, which is an island lying near Chanpan, where there were many Portuguese Christians and those of other nations, and a cleric who was going in the said junk from Macan to Malaca. The said people disembarked, where this same king of Chanpan captured them all, distributed them as slaves, and otherwise ill-treated them, even forcing them to carry timber. Captain Roque de Melo sent an embassy to the said king of Chanpan, asking him to return the people whom he was holding in captivity for ransom, or in any other way. The king ransomed some, but refused to ransom others, so that more than half of them remained there. He also said that those who
