THE KINGDOM OF BENGALA

FURTHER on, leaving this River Ganges¹ and following the coast in a northerly direction, comes the Kingdom of Bengala wherein are many towns, as well inland as on the coast, the inhabitants whereof are Heathen. Those who dwell inland are independent but under the over-lordship of the King of Narsyngua. ² The Moors dwell in the seaports where there is great traffic in goods of many kinds and sailing of ships both great and small ³ to many countries; for this sea is a Gulf which runneth in between two lands, and going well into it there is to the north a right great city of the Moors, which they call Bengala,⁴ a very excellent sea-haven; it has its own independent Moorish King. The inhabitants thereof are white men, well-built; and there dwell there as well strangers from many lands, such as Arabs, Persians, Abexis and Indians. And this by reason that this land is large, fruitful and healthy. All of these are great merchants and they possess great ships after the fashion of Meca; others there are from China, which they call "juncos,"¹ which are of great size and carry great cargoes. With these they sail to Charamandel, Malaca, Çamatra, Peeguu, Cambaya and Ceilam,² and deal in goods of many sorts with this country and many others. In this city are many cotton-fields, patches of sugar-cane, of ginger and long pepper; in it are woven many kinds of very fine and coloured clothes for their own attire and other white sorts for sale in various countries. They are very precious, also some which they call estravantes,³ a certain sort, a very thin kind of cloth much esteemed among us for ladies' head-dresses, and by the Moors, Arabs and Persians for turbans. Of these great store is woven, so much so that many ships take cargoes thereof for abroad; others they make called mamonas, others duguazas, others chautares, others sinabafas, which latter are the best of all, and the Moors hold them the best for shirts. All these sorts of cloth are in pieces, each one whereof contains about three-and-twenty or four-and-twenty Portuguese yards. Here they are sold good cheap, they are spun on wheels by men, and woven by them. Much good white sugar is also made here from canes; but they know not how to compress it and make it into loaves; so they wrap it as a powder in parcels of untanned leather, well sewn. Great store of this is taken in cargoes and carried for sale to many lands, for it is a principal article of trade. When these merchants were wont to go freely and fearlessly to Malabar and Cambaya with their ships, a quintal of sugar would bring in one thousand three hundred reis in Malabar, a chautar of the best kind six hundred reis, a sinabafa two cruzados, and a piece of the best beatilha three hundred reis; and thus those who carried them thither made great profits by selling them. And in this city they make as well great store of ginger conserve, also of oranges, lemons and other fruits which grow in this land. And there are here horses, cows and sheep in great numbers, herds of many other kinds in plenty, and barndoor fowl great abundance.