CHAPTER XCVI

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Wherein the Author declareth how many souls were brought to this Kingdom from the beginning of this Conquest.

At the commencement of this book I assigned five reasons by which our high-souled Prince was moved to send his ships so often in the toil of this Conquest, and because me seemeth I have given you a plentiful understanding of the first four in the chapters wherein I spake of the different parts into which those Eastern lands may be divided, it remaineth for me to tell of the fifth reason, and to fix the certain number of the souls of infidels who have come from those lands to this, through the virtue and talents of our glorious Prince. And I counted these souls and found they were nine hundred twenty and seven, of whom, as I have said before, the greater part were turned into the true path of salvation.[N221] See now how numerous would be the generation that could issue from these, and what taking of a city or of a town could yield greater honour than that of which I have spoken up to now; for leaving out these first and those who have descended, and until the end of the world may descend, from them, many more came afterwards, as in the following book you will learn. For it was needful that we should here make an end at the deeds of this year 1448 from the birth of Christ; because at this time the King Don Affonso of Portugal, 5th of that name and 12th in the number of Kings, had the entire rule of his kingdoms, being then of the age of 17 years, and married to the very virtuous and illustrious princess, the Queen Donna Isabel, who was daughter to the Infant Don Pedro, Duke of Coimbra and Lord of Montemor, the same that in the past years had governed the Kingdom in the King's name, as in some parts of this history we have recorded, and as you will find much more perfectly in the general Chronicle of the Kingdom. So considering how that all other things, as it were, became new with the new ruler, it appeared to us fitting that all books of his acts and histories should here commence. And, moreover, as it seemeth to us that the volume we have already written is of reasonable size, we have here made an end, intending, as hath been said, to make another book that shall reach to the end of the Infant's deeds, although the matters that follow were not accomplished with such toil and bravery as in the past. For after this year, the affairs of these parts were henceforth treated more by trafficking and bargaining of merchants than by bravery and toil in arms.[N222]

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