We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2023
When these words had been spoken and the discussion was over as has been described, Pedro Fernández de Velasco stood up, went to kneel before the king, and spoke in this manner:
‘Sire, you have taken advice and decided to fight against the Portuguese fleet here on the river rather than beyond the river mouth, contrary to the wishes of the admiral and the galley commanders who came with him. It seems to me that it does not make much difference whether you attack it in one place or the other, since both sides put forward very good reasons which, as they understand it, support their opinion. Therefore, wherever it is your wish that it is to be done, it is right that it should be done, without discussing the matter further. However, as to whether we should fight against the Portuguese fleet at all, then speaking by your leave and with all due respect to yourself and to all here, I have to say that this does not seem to me to be so sound a project that no better plan might be devised – and this for the following reasons.
‘It seems to me, sire, that you think that by fighting and defeating this fleet, you will thereby defeat and seize the whole kingdom. But things are not like that, because in the fleet there are many of Portugal's noblemen, as well as squires and citizens, and also many men of lowly estate, all of whom have many close relationships in this city and throughout the kingdom, whether relatives, criados or intimate friends. If those men die here, you will forever have the enmity of their blood relatives, as they may well be holding a good number of the castles in the kingdom. When they see that you have slain their sons, brothers and other relatives, and the lords on whom they depended, they will have no wish to obey you and will always give you as much trouble and do you wrong in whatever ways they can. Even if you rule over their bodies you will never win their hearts and their love, which is the best thing that a king can have when he wants to take possession of a country for the first time.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
