History Homework (i'm Portuguese, please translate)?

I'll answer the best I can, and I hope AW will translate.

It seems to me this is an account of one of the very early Portuguese voyages to India. Vasco da Gama was the first, in 1498, and Pedro Cabral followed soon after. Both da Gama and Cabral reached Calicut on the Malabar Coast, south of Goa, in southwestern India. The Moors (Muslims) they encountered acted as translators. The Portuguese (I think, from the translation) said they came as Christians to trade.

The Moors were already established there as traders with the Indians. Moors are of Arab/Berber (North African Maghreb) descent who had lived in Spain for centuries. They spoke Castilian (because of the Spanish connection) and Genoese because Genoa and Venice were the two Italian city-states that controlled European distribution of the spice trade before the Portuguese arrived.

These Portuguese discoverer/traders therefore represented a threat to the Moors who had a monopoly in the spice trade as go-betweens (entrepots) between the Indians and the Italians.

After thinking about this a bit, my guess is that this is taken from a journal of da Gama's first voyage because the Portuguese are described as "discoverers." He would not have received a warm welcome from the Moors who were there first.

And then, what we so were placed, came from land to us four boats, which were coming to know which people we were and said to us and amostraram Calecute.

And to another day, that itself these boats came to our ships, and the captain - mor ordered one of desgredados* the Calecute; and that what with him were going took it where two Moors were of Idle, what could speak Castilian and genovês.

And they asked about him for what we were coming so far.

And he answered:

- We come for Christians and spices.

* Generally the ships of the Discoveries were getting a beating on board condemned to heavy feathers, to whom the most dangerous missions were attributed.

Álvaro Velho, Relation of the Travel of India

Questions:

1-what the Portugueses were intending to do in India?

2-how do you explain that two Moors should speak Castilian and genovês?

3-does It seem that all the Moors would be going to receive well the Portugueses? It justifies.

P.S: It is the third time that I wrote everything of new and I am trying postair...

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