ABSTRACT
T h e said Lord King of Aragon went about to put his Kingdom in order and had great satisfaction in what the noble, En Conrado Lansa, had done and accomplished, according to what he had commanded; and he had set up a King in Tunis, as you have heard. And after that the king set in order all his dockyards, as well in
Valencia as in Tortosa and in Barcelona, in order that the galleys should be in safety; and he built dockyards in every place in which he thought he ought to have galleys. And I should be greatly pleased if the Lord King of Aragon decided to do what I will say to him, namely, that he order four dockyards to be built on his sea-coast, which would be well-known dockyards; and that two should be for the regular service and the other two in case of need. The two in case of need to be one at Barcelona and the other at Valencia, for these are the two cities of any of his cities in which there is the greatest number of seamen. Of the two others, for the regular service, one should be at Tortosa, which is a noble and fair city and is on the frontier of Catalonia and Aragon, and twenty-five galleys could be equipped there without anyone noticing it until they were out of the river. And, similarly, at Cullera, where men from the Kingdoms of Murcia and Aragon and Castile would come in great numbers, and no one would know i t ; and when the galleys are fitted out and equipped, they could, thus ready, put out to sea. Indeed I know of no prince or king of the world who has two such fine and such secret dockyards as would be those of Tortosa and of Cullera. Why, Lord King of Aragon, do you not ask your seamen what they think of what I am saying ? I am certain those who are judicious will tell you that I speak the truth ; how, to the dockyard of Tortosa, all the men of Catalonia and of Aragon would come, and to the dockyard of Cullera, all the men of Valencia and of the Kingdom of Murcia and of the frontiers and places in the direction of Castile. In each of these places you could build a dockyard for five thousand libras, and in each of these dockyards you could have twenty-five galleys, and at Valencia, in the dockyard on the sea, another twenty-five, and then at Barcelona another twenty-five. And thus you would have a
hundred galleys ready whenever you want them against your enemies. But the twenty-five of Tortosa and the twenty-five of Cullera you could equip without the enemy knowing anything until they are outside the rivers. Wherefore, Lord, do what a good administrator does; there are, in your country, richs homens or knights who, with a small fortune, do more than others with a much greater. And why is this ? Through care and good management. Wherefore, Lord King of Aragon, see that you have good care and good manage ment, and thus you will accomplish all you set your mind to do, always remembering, however, God and His might, and then, when you need it, the dockyard of Barcelona and that of Valencia will assist you to accom plish your purpose. And if you order this, consider that with the help of God, you will subdue Saracens, and also Christians who wish to contest your royal sovereignty and that of your descendants. And if they do, you will be able to punish them at once. Your power is much greater than is thought in the world. And you can see this in the book of the conquests the Lord King, your father, made without the help of money or crusades, for the Church gave none. More than twenty thousand masses are said to-day and every day in the countries the Lord King En Jaime conquered without assistance or crusade of the Church. He conquered the Kingdom of Mallorca, and the Kingdom of Valencia, and the Kingdom of Murcia, without a crusade or aid of the Church, from which, to-day, she gets so much that it would be difficult to say that she has as many tithes and first-fruits from five other kingdoms as from these three. Wherefore the Holy Church of Rome, or those who govern it, should consider the increase they get from the House of Aragon and they should make their acknowledgement to the descendants of the House of Aragon. But, however, I comfort
