ABSTRACT
Across the sea facing the greater part of this Land of Malabar at forty leagues distance lies an archipelago of islands,2 whereof the Moors report that they number twelve thousand. They begin in the sea of Mount Dely where are the shallows of Padua,3 and extend towards Malaca. The first are four little isles, extremely fiat, which are called Maldio; they are inhabited by Malabar Moors,l and they say that they belong to the King of Cananor ; nothing else grows here save palm groves, by which they live, as also on rice which goes thither from Malabar on ships which go to take in cargoes of cairo cord.
