As for the captives you have taken, they belong to several places,
and are not all my subjects; and what I do is out of charity, as
they are Muhamedans, being forced to go to sea for want of
maintenance. As for those that are my soldiers, they go to sea to
388 fight and to die in my quarrels; but, those _Moors_ that _you_ have
taken, are inconsiderable and of no account.
Henceforward I shall have ships as big as yours, if not bigger,
hoping to take some of your ships and captains, and cruise for you
in your English seas, as you do for us in these.
I have written letters to the King of England, in which are kind
expressions: And when you had Tangier, all things were given to you
as you wanted, and all done out of kindness; and now that you have
left Tangier for the Moors, whatever His Majesty of Great Britain
wants, either by sea or by land, it shall be granted, so that there
be a peace betwixt the two crowns; for which I pass my word and
faith.
Now, _I have written several letters to his Majesty of Great
Britain, to which I have received as yet no answer_; but, when it
(the answer) reaches my hands, I hope there will be a good
accommodation between us.
You have taken several of our ships and destroyed others, and you
are cruising on our coast, which is not the way to make a good
peace, neither the actions of honesty in you.
God be praised that you have quitted Tangier and left it to us, to
whom it did belong: from henceforward we shall keep it well
supplied with stores, for it is the best port of our dominions.
As for the captives you have taken, you may do as you please with
389 them, heaving them into the sea, or otherwise destroying them. The
English merchants that are here resident, shall satisfy all their
debts, which being done, none of them shall remain in my country.