 The king of Portugal responded to Afonso's concerns, writing that because the Kongo purchases their slaves from outside of the kingdom and converts them to Christianity and then intermarries them, the kingdom probably maintains a high population and must not even notice the missing subjects.To lessen Afonso's concerns, the king suggested sending two men to a designated point in the city to monitor who is being traded and who could object to any sale involving a subject of Afonso's kingdom.The king of Portugal then wrote that if he were to cease the slave trade from the inside of the Kongo, he would still require provisions from Afonso, such as wheat and wine.