ca.

The one remarkable event of his governorship was his expedition to
the Red Sea. The repulse of Sulaiman Pasha had been followed by his
death in Arabia, but Sulaiman the Magnificent did not intend to
abandon his projects, and directed the equipment of a new fleet at
Suez. In 1541 Dom Estevao da Gama entered the Red Sea. He was
repulsed in an attack on Suez, but made a landing in the
neighbourhood and a pilgrimage to the monastery of Mount Sinai, where
he knighted some of his officers, including Dom Alvaro de Castro, the
son of his most distinguished captain, Dom Joao de Castro. Before
returning to India the Governor sent his brother, Dom Christovao da
Gama, to escort a prelate, {184} whom the Pope had nominated as
primate of Abyssinia. But the Christian dynasty in that country was
at this time hotly beset by the Muhammadans, and Dom Christovao was
killed with his companions.

In the year 1542 Dom Estevao da Gama was succeeded as Governor by
Martim Affonso de Sousa, who had shown ability in the exploration and
settlement of the colony of Brazil. De Sousa's government of India
was not very successful. His most notable achievement was a treaty
with Ibrahim Adil Shah, King of Bijapur, who promised to cede to the
Portuguese the provinces of Bardes and Salsette adjoining the island
of Goa in exchange for the surrender of a Muhammadan prince, Mir Ali
Khan (Mealecan). But Martim Affonso de Sousa had neither the ability
nor the authority to maintain his influence over his own captains,
and King John III resolved to send to India a nobleman of military
experience, who by his rank and his character should restore harmony
in his Asiatic possessions.

The nobleman selected was Dom Joao de Castro, who was the intimate
friend of the King's brother Dom Luis. With that prince he had served
in the expedition against Tunis, where his conspicuous valour had won
the admiration of the Emperor Charles V. He displayed courage, tact,
and self-reliance, both in the relief of Diu and in the campaign of
1541 in the Red Sea. But it was for the purity of his personal
character, the integrity of his life, and his absolute honesty that
he was specially selected.

{185} Enormous fortunes were being made in the East, and the usual
abuses accompanied the rapid acquisition of wealth. Bribery and
corruption in public life, gambling and immorality in private life
had reached an alarming height, and though the Portuguese still
exhibited the same va