Dr. Colaco: [a] It is unlikely that Vasco da Gama would have traveled all the way to Kenya - without having made some arrangements for the onward route
[f] This resulted in many many residents of the subcontinent NOT being forcibly circumcised (The horrible Inquisition having been noted), Hundreds of thousands of living women not being sent to the funeral pyre of their husbands, education being brought to the poor and the disadvantaged by that Apartheid Caste system, and some being able to re-obtain Portuguese nationality and be gainfully employed in Lisbon COMMENT: 1. [a] Is debatable. There being no means of communication other than by courier in those days, it is just possible that VDG entered Lamu / Mombasa and hoped to find a pilot there among the many Indian sailors and traders there. He might have heard of them in Cape Town/ Durban, which lie further down South or wherever he stopped to victual his ships. 2 [f] I am surprised, Doc, that as a reputable Medic you should shun circumcision. I am informed by usually reliable medical sources that it is a time honoured method of combating Socially Transmitted Diseases (which is a genteel name for plain ole fashioned Gonorrhea and Syphilis) ;-) As for some being gainfully employed in Lisbon, don't forget to mention the hordes of them in Swindon and other places in Europe thanks to the open border policy of the European Union. -- Tony de Sa. tonydesa at gmail dot com ^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
