The Captainmajor Ordered That We Should

This passage from the Roteiro illustrates the practical challenges of resupplying a fleet in unfamiliar waters along the East African coast, where Vasco da Gama's fleet stopped at several ports — including Mozambique, Mombasa, and Malindi — before crossing the Indian Ocean. The expedition's interactions with East African and Arab traders were frequently tense: da Gama's crews were viewed with suspicion, and he resorted to hostage-taking and forced pilotage to secure guides for the Indian Ocean crossing. It was at Malindi that da Gama finally obtained the services of a pilot — probably the Arab navigator Ahmad ibn Majid — who guided the fleet to Calicut.