By the side of these two chronicles the writings of the great European
historians seem cold and lifeless.

* * *

I have mentioned the publication of Senhor Lopes. It is to that
distinguished Arabic scholar that we owe the knowledge of the existence
of these precious documents. He it was who brought them to light
in the first instance, and to him personally I owe the fact of my
being able to translate and publish them. His introduction to the DOS
REIS DE BISNAGA is full of valuable matter. India owes him a debt of
gratitude for his services; and for myself I desire to record here
my sincere thanks for the disinterested and generous help he has so
constantly accorded to me during the last two years.

My thanks are also due to Mr. Donald Ferguson for his careful revision
of the whole of my translations.

I desire further to express my appreciation of a particular kindness
done to me by Colonel R. C. Temple, C.I.E., and lastly to acknowledge
gratefully the liberality of H.E. the Governor of Madras and the
Members of his Council, who by subsidising this work have rendered
its publication possible.

I trust that my remarks regarding the causes of the downfall of
Portuguese trade in the sixteenth century will not be misunderstood. It
is not in any spirit of criticism or comparison that I have written
those passages. History, however, is history; and it is a fact that
while the main cause of the small success which attended the efforts
of the Portuguese to establish a great and lasting commerce with India