Don Francisco de Almeyda was the seventh son of Don Lope de Almeyda, Count of Abrantes, and was a knight of the order of St Jago.  He was graceful in his person, ripe in council, continent in his actions, an enemy to avarice, liberal and grateful for services, and obliging in his carriage.  In his ordinary dress, he wore a black coat, instead of the cloak now used, a doublet of crimson satin of which the sleeves were seen, and black breeches reaching from the waist to the feet.  He is represented in his portrait as carrying a truncheon in his right hand, while the left rests on the guard of his sword, which hangs almost directly before him[109].

[Footnote 109:  De Faria uniformly gives some description, as here, of the persons and dress of the successive viceroys and governors of Portuguese India; which however has been generally omitted in the sequel.—­E.]

Among the ships which were dispatched from Lisbon for India in 1508, were two squadrons under the command of Duarte de Lemos and Diego Lopez de Sequeira, which were sent upon separate services, and which could not be conveniently taken notice of in their proper place.  After encountering a storm, Lemos arrived at a place called Medones de Oro, whence he went to Madagascar, and thence to Mozambique, where he was rejoined by the rest of the squadron, except one ship commanded by George de Aguilar, which was lost.  He now assumed the government of the coasts of Ethiopia and Arabia, according to his commission from the king.  From Mozambique he sailed for Melinda, whence he proceeded to visit the several islands and towns along the eastern coast of Africa to compel payment of the tribute they had been in use to pay to Quiloa, and which was now considered as belonging of right to the crown of Portugal by the conquest of that place.  Monfia submitted.  Zanzibar resisted, but the inhabitants were driven to the mountains and the town plundered.  Pemba acted in a similar manner, the inhabitants taking refuge in Mombaza, and leaving their houses empty; but some plunder was taken in a small fort in which the sheikh had left such things as he had not been able to remove.  Returning to Melinda, he gave the necessary orders for conducting the trade of Sofala.

Lemos departed from Melinda for the coast of Arabia with seven ships, one of which was separated from the rest in the night on the coast of Magadoxa, and carried by the current to the port of Zeyla near the mouth of the Red Sea, and there taken by the Moors.  In his progress along the Arabian coast, Lemos managed the towns more by cunning than force.  Using the same conduct at Ormuz, he was well treated by the king and Khojah Attar, and received from them the stipulated tribute of 15,000 xerephines.  From this place he dispatched Vasco de Sylveyra to India, who was afterwards killed at Calicut.  He then went to Socotora, of which he gave the command to Pedro Ferreira, sending Don Antonio Noronha to India, who fell in