had commanded a squadron of lend-lease landing craft in the
Bay of Bengal, along the Arakan coast of Burma, at the landing
in Rangoon and the rehabilitation of Singapore. I had thus had
some opportunity to examine the ships of India, Arabia, and Ma-
laya at first hand.

I had also been interested in the history and the geography of
the Indian Ocean for many years, and had the opportunity to read
voluminously on the subject, particularly in Lisbon. I must ex-
press my thanks especially to Dr. Joaquim Bensaude, of that city,
for his help in putting me on the right track among the Portuguese
records, and to Dr. Pedro Theotonio Pereira, the former Ambas-
sador of Portugal in the United States of America, who opened
many doors.

Some of the information which I gleaned among the Arabs has
been drawn upon already in my Sons of Sindbad, published by
Charles Scribner's Sons in 1940, and I am grateful to them for
permission to use some of this material again. Books which I have
found useful are listed in the Bibliography.

ALAN VILLIERS

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