Answers to the Strategist quiz 575

Answers to the Strategist quiz 575

1 When the Portuguese ruled over Oman in the late 1640s, they depended on an Indian merchant agent from Kutch for their supplies. The Portuguese commander Pereira coveted this merchant's beautiful daughter and that did not go down well with him. In order to rebuff the proposal, this merchant helped the then Yarriba ruler expel the Portuguese from Muscat. The Omani ruler returned the merchant's favour by exempting Indian merchants from payment of taxes on exports. It is said that this incident set the tone for the continued warmth businessmen of Oman have with Indian merchants even today.