_The Author’s Voyage to Europe.--Short Account of the Isles of
France and Bourbon, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Island of
Ascension._
On the 20th of April, 1789, the Calypso frigate, after a pleasant and
agreeable passage, arrived in the harbour of the Isle of France. The
entrance into this harbour is exceedingly narrow and dangerous; but
when vessels have once got in they lie at anchor in great safety,
as they are sheltered from the wind on all sides, and the landing
is remarkably easy. On this island there are a great many high
mountains, and among these a volcano, which sometimes darkens the
atmosphere by its eruptions, and renders it so hot and thick that
asthmatic people can scarcely breathe. Tempests, therefore, are here
very frequent and terrible; as is the case in all countries where
there are volcanoes, for they attract the vapours and inflammable
matter with which the clouds are loaded. Fire always has a tendency
to fire. In other respects the air is tolerably pure and healthful,
though a little moist in general towards the evening; but in certain
months a far more violent heat prevails than on the coast of
Malabar, where the atmosphere is at least cooled by the evaporation
that proceeds from the rivers and lakes, by which the country is
every-where surrounded and intersected. This island lies under the
20th degree of south latitude, whereas Cochin lies under the 10th of
north latitude. This makes a difference of 10 degrees, and serves as
a proof that the greater or less heat to which people are exposed in
different climates does not depend so much on the sun, as on local
circumstances that arise from the situation of the country.
The Isle of France is about fifty miles in circumference. The soil
is argillaceous, of a reddish colour, here and there volcanic, and
full of stones except in the low valleys. It produces corn, millet,
rice, pulse, tamarinds, lemons, sugar canes, coffee, mustard, honey,
manioc, salt, and palm-oil; the last of which, however, is only fit
for burning in lamps. According to the estimation of M. Charpentier
de Cossigny, an officer of engineers in the French service, who
resided in this island, it delivered in the year 1782, into the
king’s storehouses, 811,288 pounds of rye, 662,942 pounds of maize,
85,668 pounds of rice, and 210,096 pounds of dried pease and beans.
These articles are entirely consumed in the country; and it thence
appears that the Isle of France is exceedingly well cultivated, and
supplied in abundance with every thing necessary for the inhabitants.
The timber which grows on this island is excellent, and consists of
the following kinds: _Sanayu_, iron-wood, black ebony, stink-wood,
_Oata_, the olive-tree, apple-tree, colophonium-wood (_Legno
colofane_), _Takamuka_, dark-grey cinnamon tree, white cinnamon-tree,
pine-tree, and European oak.
All these kinds of wood are here indigenous; but there are a great
many others which have been transplanted from India, such as the
_Mava_ or _Mangueira_ tree, the tamarind-tree, the _Agati_, and a
sort of Acacia without prickles, which came originally from Malabar.
All these trees, and a variety of others the names of which I do not
remember, thrive exceedingly well in the Isle of France. The case is
the same with the cinnamon-tree from Ceylon, the nutmeg and the clove
trees from the Moluccas, and the _Raven-Sára_ from Madagascar[250].
All these productions are found here in the king’s garden, where they
thrive remarkably well; but it cannot be denied that they have lost
somewhat of their original vigour, which may perhaps be owing to the
volcanic nature of the soil in which they are planted. The French,
however, procure such a quantity of these spices, that they have no
occasion to purchase any of them from the Dutch. The inspector of the
king’s garden, and the before-mentioned M. Charpentier de Cossigny,
have, by their botanical knowledge and unwearied industry, been the
chief cause of these foreign productions being cultivated in the
island. In a certain district of it called _Pampelmousse_, I observed
that private individuals cultivated these spices in their gardens,
from which they already derive some profit. When I paid a visit to
Messrs. Boucher and Istace, who were established as clergymen in the
district of _Pampelmousse_, I saw with real pleasure that they were
both, busily employed in the cultivation of these exotics; and that
they were well rewarded, by their thriving condition, for the trouble
they had taken to rear them.
There are here also a great many singular birds of prey, some cattle,
and great abundance of fish; but in particular numerous herds of
goats, which belong to the proprietors of the land. Private persons
purchase small spots of ground from the king, live as planters, and
construct for themselves habitations which they call _Reduits_. The
European planters and merchants on this island maintain about 30,000
slaves, who cultivate the lands, and who are obliged to perform the
principal labour in the towns and villages. These slaves consist
of Caffres, Indians, and natives of Madagascar. Were it possible
for them to be unanimous, they would not find it difficult, as they
far exceed the Europeans in number, to expel them entirely from
the island; but as they belong to different tribes, they never can
unite in one general plan; and to this circumstance the planters
are indebted for their safety and the peaceable possession of their
property. The laws of morality are violated here in the most flagrant
manner: the various nations who are intermixed with each other,
the state of licentiousness in which the colonists live, and the
immodest conduct of the women, which sets all decency and restraint
at defiance, might give travellers very just reason for calling the
Isle of France _New Cythera_, or the Island of Venus. Besides, it is
the seat of knavery and infidelity, with which almost all the French
settled here are infected; for they acknowledge themselves, that,
as soon as they pass the Cape of Good Hope, they renounce religion
altogether, and employ their whole thoughts and attention on the
acquirement of riches.
Port-Louis, the chief town on the island, has several well
constructed manufactories, a very beautiful cathedral, and an
elegant hospital. From the surrounding smaller islands a great
number of tortoises are brought to the Isle of France; so that
patients afflicted with the scurvy and syphilis, two diseases which
are exceedingly prevalent in these climates, are soon restored to
strength by means of the nourishing soups prepared from the flesh of
these animals, mixed with all kinds of herbs. The advantage of this
place, where sick soldiers and sailors can be so soon recovered;
the natural liveliness of the French; the facility of procuring
fresh provisions; the number of young men of French extraction who
are found here, and who, on the sea, are as it were on their proper
element; a numerous squadron which is always lying here ready to
proceed on a cruise when necessary, and the small distance between
this island and India, render it very easy for the French, in the
time of war, to send relief to their colonies on the first notice; to
annoy the enemy in these seas by their privateers; and, in the time
of peace, to support and extend their commerce. Bailli de Suffrein,
and several other French admirals, well knew how to profit, during
the wars in India, by the advantages which this island affords to the
French fleets.
It was taken possession of by the Dutch in the year 1598, and called
the Mauritius. Before that period it was called _Cernè_, that is,
Swan Island; because the sailors by whom it was first discovered
observed on it a great number of white fowls without tails, which, on
that account, they took to be swans. As the Dutch pay no attention
to any possessions but those which bring them considerable revenues,
they abandoned this island in the year 1708. It was afterwards taken
possession of by a French naval captain named Du Fresne, who in
1715 founded in it a French colony: but it was not till 1723 that
it acquired a governor and council. The first governor was M. De
la Bourdonnais. It is to the great exertions of this man that the
increase of the colony is chiefly to be ascribed; and since that
period it has always remained subject to France.
After staying twenty days at this island, we left it on the 20th of
May, and in twenty-four hours arrived at St. Denis, in the Island of
Bourbon, which is only at a very small distance. Like the former,
it is full of mountains; only with this difference, that they are
not so high and peaked as those of the Isle of France. The latter
is much more frequented by navigators, because it has an excellent
harbour, an advantage which is totally wanting in the other. Ships
here must lie at anchor in the open road of St. Denis or St. Paul,
where they are exposed to great danger, and where mariners can never
be sufficiently on their guard to prevent their vessels from being
driven from their anchors and carried out to sea. Besides, at both
the above places, it is exceedingly difficult to land; and even in
calm weather it is almost impossible to go on shore without being
completely drenched by the surf. M. De Cossigny, the governor of
the island, resided at St. Denis, which was furnished with a strong
garrison. It is the principal town of the island, and is situated
upon an eminence which commands the whole road. Here I found M. Du
Rocher, a celebrated missionary from the convent of St. Lazarus at
Paris, who had the superintendance of the missionary affairs at the
Isles of France and Bourbon.
From the road of St. Denis our frigate proceeded to St. Paul, which
is likewise a town of considerable size, where I had some very
interesting conversation with two distinguished missionaries, Messrs.
D’Avelu and Halmat; the principal subject of which was, the extending
and improving the missionary establishments in Malabar, Madagascar,
and the Isles of France and Bourbon: but unfortunately all our plans
were deranged by the French revolution.
The island of Bourbon is sixty French miles in circumference, and is
exposed to the effects of a volcano, which from time to time throws
up a bituminous, fluid, vitrified sort of substance, which, when
cooled, has a spongy and reddish appearance. It extends already a
quarter of a mile into the sea, like a broad causeway, which by the
heat of the sun and the sea-water acquires daily more solidity, so
that the French flatter themselves with the hope that it will one
day form a haven. Both here, and at the Isle of France, the sea
throws up a great many kinds of beautiful shells as well as marine
petrifactions. It produces also abundance of well-tasted fish.
The island of Bourbon yields large quantities of coffee, which, when
the beans have been well picked, is of the best quality. It contains
a great many oily particles, and is attended with this advantage to
the purchasers, that they have no occasion to use so much of it as
of any other kind; for it is much stronger than that of Moka, though
it has not such an agreeable flavour. The English purchase whole
ship-loads of it, and set a much greater value on it than on that
of the West Indies. When well toasted and burnt it will retain its
virtue a whole year, provided it be properly preserved. Almost all
the inhabitants of Bourbon cultivate coffee of this kind in their
gardens. At the time I was on the island, a bag of it, weighing a
hundred and twenty pounds, cost twelve scudi. The inhabitants of this
island are diligent, industrious, decent, and well-behaved people.
As they reside chiefly in the country, and employ themselves in
agriculture, they have preserved their morals uncorrupted, and know
little or nothing of the vices which prevail in the towns. The ass
is the principal animal used for labour in these two islands; as
horses and oxen cannot long hold out in a country so full of hills,
therefore asses are employed in their stead. The French sea-captains
bring from Arabia whole cargoes of these animals, and sell them to
the inhabitants.
The island of Bourbon is divided into seven different districts, viz.
_St. Denis_, _St. Paul_, _Repos de Laleu_, _D’Abord_, _St. Susannah_,
_St. Bennet_, and _La Possession_. These seven districts, in the
year 1783, delivered into the king’s magazines 8,136,245 pounds of
corn, 6,704,296 pounds of maize and millet, 84,921 pounds of rice,
261,687 pounds of pease, 461,402 pounds of beans, and 300,000 pounds
of barley. Were I obliged to make a choice between the Isle of
France and that of Bourbon, I should prefer the latter, on account
of its fertility, the purity and salubrity of its air, the industry
and uncorrupted morals of its inhabitants, who have not yet debased
themselves by illicit commerce with contemptible slaves, and of many
other advantages; though M. Charpentier de Cossigny asserts the
contrary in his letter to M. Sonnerat, printed at the Isle of France
in 1784, and which, in general, displays great partiality.
The inhabitants of both these islands carry on trade with
_Madagascar_, _Goa_, and _Surat_; to the _Persian Gulph_ and the
_Red-sea_; and also to _Mascate_, _Monbaza_, _Zanzibar_, and
_Quiloa_. They send thither sugar, coffee, different kinds of wood,
Indian stuffs, and European glass wares. In return for these articles
they obtain from Madagascar beautiful cattle, a great number of
slaves, and certain kinds of cloth made from the fibres of plants
and called _Pagne_. Mascate sends them asses, and from the southern
parts of the African coast they procure slaves and gold dust. All
the natives of these islands, born of European fathers and Indian
or African mothers, are called Creoles, and of this kind are the
greater part of the inhabitants of Bourbon. As these people, both
by nature and the laws, are perfectly free, they are fond of their
native country, and apply to agriculture from inclination; whereas
the slaves in the Isle of France must be kept to this labour by
force, and cultivate the lands of their unthankful masters with the
greatest reluctance. Five of these free people are of more value than
ten slaves of the Isle of France, who are compelled to gratify the
avarice, lewdness, and licentiousness of their tyrants. The marriages
of the free people are far more fruitful, and their children are
far better nourished and educated than those of the slaves, and are
consequently much healthier. This is the cause why the Island of
Bourbon contains a much greater number of inhabitants than the Isle
of France. When the smallpox breaks out, which occasions the greatest
devastation here as well as on the coast of Malabar, a multitude
of slaves are swept off in the Isle of France, whose places must
then be supplied by others; and such large sums are required for
this purpose, that the coffers of the inhabitants become entirely
exhausted. In the Island of Bourbon, on the other hand, the number
of slaves is so small, the air is always so pure and healthful, and
the houses are so well constructed, that the above horrid disease,
which rages with so much fury in the Isle of France, seldom makes its
appearance in the former, and occasions much less ravage than in the
latter.
On the 30th of May we left the Isle of Bourbon, and, having passed
the Island of Madagascar, encountered a violent storm, which obliged
us to put into the Bay of Lagoa, on the southern coast of Africa. As
the wind was contrary, we were under the necessity of keeping close
in with the land; so that we had continually before our eyes the
horrid mountains with which this part of the world is covered. Never
did I behold any land, the situation of which is so high, and which
at the same time has so wild and dreary an appearance. During the
whole day we beheld nothing but immense wastes of sand, or mountains,
the summits of which were lost in the clouds, and which, in the
night time, threw up smoke and flames. I should have considered
these immense patches of sand as fields covered with snow, had I not
been undeceived when we entered the before-mentioned bay[251]. These
horrid and totally barren districts, where it is rare to see a single
blade of grass, except a few melancholy ones here and there on the
margin of some small stream which flows into the ocean, appeared to
me like the entrance of the infernal regions. We experienced, at
the same time, a most penetrating cold. Our apes, parrots and other
Indian birds, which were not accustomed to such severe weather, began
to be sick, and the most beautiful animals died of the cramp or
convulsions.
On the 30th of June we passed the Bay of Formosa.
On the fifth of August we were off the Bay of St. Sebastian; and on
the 10th came to anchor in False Bay at the Cape of Good Hope. This
bay is very capacious, and the water in it is strongly impregnated
with whale oil, or rather whale-spawn. When it is, therefore, put
into a state of violent agitation by the motion of ships, or repeated
rowing, these oily particles, by the friction thence occasioned,
emit, to the great astonishment of those who are not acquainted with
the phenomenon, a dark-blue and yellow light[252].
The Dutch East India Company have here a government-house, which at
this time was inhabited by Governor Brand; together with various
magazines, a large hospital, two taverns, a few private houses, and a
botanical garden. A bottle of the best Cape wine cost a Dutch ducat.
The neighbouring seas abound not only with whales, but with various
other sorts of fish. The shore was covered with a multitude of the
most beautiful shells, which enabled me to make a valuable addition
to my collection. At the Cape there are oxen, sheep, goats, and other
quadrupeds; but in particular all kinds of excellent vegetables. As I
had made myself sufficiently well acquainted with the Cape during my
first stay here, in the year 1776, I resolved on the present occasion
to visit the neighbouring mountains; to explore the interior parts,
and to procure what information I could respecting the Hottentots.
I ascended, therefore, in the company of several French officers,
one of the highest mountains, where, as far as the eye could reach,
we beheld the most beautiful pastures. The Hottentots live after
the manner of the Patriarchs, by breeding cattle, and have no fixed
habitation. When they remove from one place to another, they put
their wives and children into large waggons; dispatch these before,
and follow them with their herds. Their whole clothing consists of a
sheep’s skin, which, without any preparation, they throw over their
shoulders. They cover the parts of sex with a small piece of cloth,
and leave the rest of the body quite naked. Some even do not wear
the above piece of cloth; and, with their shaggy sheep’s skins,
their ragged hair, which is never combed, their dark brown visages,
and small black eyes, have rather the appearance of monsters than
of men. How different is that of the fortunate inhabitants of the
coast of Malabar! The Hottentot women have a nose somewhat flat, or
which seems to have been squeezed out in breadth by compression, and
exceedingly thick lips. Those who have brought forth children bind a
piece of skin around their middle, to hide that which modesty bids
them conceal. On this subject I refer the reader to the letter of M.
Beysser, surgeon, to M. de Cossigny, which is added as a postscript
to that of the latter to M. Sonnerat. There are Hottentots who have
only one testicle, because the other has been bruised by their
mother, between two stones, at the time of their birth. The reason of
this is, that these ignorant people believe that the males will, by
these means, be prevented from getting twins. It contributes also,
in their opinion, to the production of more females. The Hottentots
are exceedingly active, swift-footed, and of strong constitutions.
Those who have once gained their affection may safely depend on their
fidelity. All those, however, which I had an opportunity of seeing,
were so shy that they carefully avoided the Europeans, and neither
entered into conversation with them, nor answered any questions they
were asked.
There are some mountains in the neighbourhood of the Cape, which
contain copper and tin. In the interior parts there is a kind of
wild Hottentots, called Boshmen. They are of a colour somewhat
like an orange yellow, but darker. Beysser and Vaurien, two French
travellers, who penetrated nearly 300 miles into the country,
describe these Boshmen as eaters of human flesh, who devour all
the Europeans and Hottentots who have the misfortune to fall into
their hands. Apples, pears, cherries, plums, apricots, figs, nuts,
strawberries, and all the other fruits of Europe, grow wild in the
interior districts[253]. The Hottentots live together in hordes;
but apply neither to agriculture nor the arts, and have little or
no religion. It is supposed that they worship the moon as a deity.
They are entirely employed in tending cattle. Their common food
is the flesh of their oxen or sheep, and a kind of mealy bulbous
roots, which grow without any culture in the districts where they
settle. The Dutch, who have extended their possessions 200 miles
up the country, have taken every pains possible to encourage these
people to apply to agriculture, but without the smallest success.
The single settlements, which the Dutch have formed here and there
in the country of the Hottentots, are at a great distance from each
other; for as they are at liberty to choose whatever spot they think
proper to reside on, they generally fix upon those where the soil
is fruitful, and where they have no occasion to go far in search of
water. According to the information I received, they have nearly
40,000 slaves, who are obliged to cultivate their lands; but the
districts which I saw did not appear to be very fruitful. They
consisted of immense forests and plains, surrounded by mountains, and
intersected by marshes; and, therefore, much fitter for pasturage
than for producing corn. The farmers are chiefly Germans, and for
the most part have settled in valleys, where they found the soil
fruitful; where they were sheltered from the wind, and had in the
neighbourhood a sufficiency of wood and water. The land here, taken
in general, is exceedingly fertile. The grapes, which yield the
noble Constantia wine, the best of all the kinds produced at the
Cape, are brought forwards by artificial manure. For that purpose
deep trenches are dug, which are filled with dung, and again covered
with earth. When dung fails, which is however seldom the case, the
farmers mix with it leaves of trees and twigs, and suffer them both
to rot. This manure communicates to the soil, and consequently to the
vine plants, an extraordinary strength. In India the same process
is employed to manure the rice-fields. In June and July the vines
are pruned, and in January or February the grapes are collected; but
the vintage must never begin till they are perfectly ripe. By these
means the Constantia wine, which is produced from the best kind of
grapes, acquires such excellence that it surpasses all the other
kinds made in the country. Those, however, who wish to be acquainted
with its real virtue and properties, must drink it at the Cape, where
it is perfectly pure and unadulterated. It is much heavier than the
European wines; and this, in all probability, is owing to the oily
balsamic and saccharine particles it contains. The red muscadine is
produced from the large vineyard at Constantia, and the white wine
from the smaller. I had often before tasted both kinds on the coast
of Malabar, at the table of Governor Van Angelbeck, whom I have
several times mentioned already.
The Cape town is exceedingly well built, and contains a considerable
number of low houses and very broad streets. Every thing here is
established in the Dutch taste. Provisions are of the best kind.
During my stay, board and lodging cost a dollar a-day; and boarders
were at liberty to bring a friend with them occasionally to dinner.
We had excellent meat, particularly mutton and veal; as well as
vegetables, and abundance of European, African, and Indian fruits:
and our meals were always seasoned with a few glasses of Constantia
wine.
The gardens of the Dutch East India Company are exceedingly well laid
out, and contain a great number of foreign animals; but the king’s
garden in the Isle of France is much more beautiful and useful. In
the latter there are a great many trees, which produce fruits and
different kinds of spices; whereas the former is filled with such
as are either entirely barren, or not very useful, and which serve
merely for ornament.
On the 19th of July we left the Cape, and proceeded on our voyage.
On the 22d we encountered a most violent storm, accompanied with a
heavy rain, which shattered our topmast and bow-sprit. By the violent
straining of our frigate, which was sheathed with copper, some of
the nails gave way, so that the vessel became leaky, and the water
forced itself in through the planks. This accident threw the sailors
into great confusion; for the wind raged with such fury that the ship
became unmanageable. Had it continued ten minutes longer we should
have infallibly found a grave at the bottom of the ocean. But the
providence of that Eternal Being, who assists the distressed, and
preserves the lives of sinners as well as of the righteous, saved us
from the impending danger. The wind moderated, and we found means to
secure the loose copper with ropes, to stop the leak, and so continue
our course, though with some danger, and not without apprehension.
On the 7th of August we descried St. Helena, and on the 11th came to
anchor in a bay of the Island of Ascension, where we lay eight days
in order to repair our vessel.
This island is about nine miles in length, and seven breadth; and is
nothing but an extinguished volcano, which seems formerly to have
occasioned here the most horrid devastation. It contains no water,
has no inhabitants, and does not produce a single blade of grass.
Wherever the eye extends, nothing is seen but large accumulations of
calcined stones, and black pyramidal masses of rock, which strike the
traveller with astonishment, whether beheld near or at a distance,
and fill his mind with an awful idea of the power of the volcano,
as well as of the force of nature in general, which seems as if she
had intended to annihilate herself in this horrid desert[254]. This
island is continually buffeted by the waves of the ocean, which throw
an immense number of shells on the shore, where they are so long beat
till they at last become dust, and are converted into the whitest
and most beautiful sand that can any where be seen. At the same time
the sea often casts on shore large tortoises, which, if they fall on
their backs, cannot recover their natural position, and therefore rot
amidst the sand. The neighbouring seas teem with fish; and for that
reason the island is inhabited by a great number of men-of-war birds,
and other sea-fowl, which feed on these fish, and construct their
nests in the clefts of the rocks. These men-of-war birds, though
they seldom see a human being, are so tame, or rather so stupid,
that they suffer themselves to be caught with the hand[255]. I caught
five or six of them, which did not make the least resistance. In
the course of three days 1000 at least of these birds were caught
and carried on board our frigate. As they were more than the crew
could immediately consume, they began to spoil, and occasioned such
a stench that we were apprehensive it might produce some infectious
disease. But our commander called the whole crew upon deck, and gave
public orders that all these fowls, without the least favour of
exception, should be thrown overboard.
As this island contains no springs, nor the least trace of
vegetation, it is, as already said, entirely uninhabited; but in
order that mariners may know the proper landing-place, a cross has
been erected on a high rock, which serves them as a land-mark. I
found here several pieces of petrified wood, which clearly exhibited
the form they had when converted into stone by the volcanic eruption
that laid waste the island. They are a great curiosity to the
naturalist.
The fish caught in the adjacent seas are remarkably fat, and for that
reason unwholesome. The air here is so mild, so pure, and so clear,
that people may pass the night under the bare heavens without the
least danger. Tortoises are found of so monstrous a size as to be
capable of bearing four men on their backs. They begin however to be
rather scarce, on account of their being too much sought after by
navigators, who rob the ocean of its inhabitants.
Having had occasion to mention the effects produced by volcanoes,
I shall here insert, in compliance with the wish of a respectable
friend, some observations on those of India and Africa. Though
water has the superiority in _Malayala_, and the whole land is in
a manner inundated, traces may be found amidst it of earthquakes;
and also, though seldom, of the effects produced by electric fire.
In the month of December 1784 a general agitation of the earth was
perceived there in the night-time, which continued about two seconds.
Such a phenomenon is called in the Malabar language _Bhumikulacam_,
and in the Samscred _Bhucialana_. The mountains of _Barcale_ and
_Kidàculam_, which contain a great deal of iron and other highly
inflammable substances, are, in all probability, the principal
reservoirs which give rise to such concussions in the earth. I never
had an opportunity myself, during my residence in India, of observing
a volcano; but we are told by Father Tiefenthaler, Anquetil du
Perron, and Thevenot, that, in the province of _Nagaracotta_, the
capital of which, having the same name, lies, according to Rennel,
in the latitude of 32° 20′, and the longitude of 73°, (properly
72° 47′,) there is a hole below some rocks which throws out flames
from time to time with a loud noise, and for that reason is called
_Givàlamukha_ or _Shvàlamucha_, that is, the fiery mouth or fiery
nostrils. The Indian worshippers of fire make frequent pilgrimages to
this place.
Another volcano is situated on the river _Sarayuva_, in the latitude
of 3° 25′, and the longitude of 77° 27′, in the territories of
king _Doulou Bassanaar_. This volcano throws up, at the same time,
fire, air and water, and occasions frequent earthquakes, which are
felt all over the province[256]. The circumstance of fire, air and
water thrown up at once, induces me to adopt the opinion of those
who believe that all volcanoes are connected with the sea, or at
least some river, and that they never disengage electric matter,
in a violent manner, except when it is concentrated and pressed
together by water. My grounds for this opinion are as follows:
all the volcanoes I ever had an opportunity of seeing, lie either
close to the sea, or to some large river. Thus the before-mentioned
volcano, in the territories of _Doulou Bassandar_, is situated,
according to the account of Father Tiefenthaler, not far from the
river _Sarayuvà_, called by others the _Sardjou_. The volcano in the
Isle of France, which has thrown up flames for several centuries, has
left on the island a grey, porous, ferruginous kind of lava, traces
of which may be discovered in every part of it[257]. On various
mountains of the island, which lie at a distance from the sea, there
are found a great many calcareous substances, and different kinds of
petrified muscles and shell-fish, which have nearly their natural
form, so that they can be clearly distinguished from each other. To
imagine that after the general flood a second inundation took place,
and rose to such an amazing height as to deposit these calcareous
substances and these shells on the tops of the mountains, is contrary
to all probability. Their present situation can, therefore, be no
otherwise accounted for than by supposing that they were either
deposited at the time when these mountains were covered by the flood,
or that they were carried thither by the united efforts of water
and volcanic fire. In the granite, zeolites, chrysolites, and flint
containing iron, copper, sulphur, and other things of the like kind,
which are thrown up by Vesuvius, there are found also alum, alkali,
marine salt, sal-ammoniac, and the so-called neutral salts. In the
Dialogues on Vesuvius, printed at Naples in 1794, it is remarked,
therefore, on very good grounds, that Vesuvius, and all volcanoes in
general, give the lie to the chemists, and make them ashamed of their
art. Condamine conjectured that the chemical laboratory of Vesuvius
may extend to a considerable distance below the sea. Vesuvius, even
in the year 1731, threw up such abundance of water that it inundated
the fields, swept away the strongest trees, and buried more than
five hundred people in its waves. Ought not these phenomena to serve
as a proof that the water, at the time of an earthquake, rises
very unexpectedly to a great height, and falls again with the same
velocity? Does not this indicate the action of electric fire; and
may not the latter, combined with water in the bowels of the earth,
enter into a contest with it, and occasion the before-mentioned
movement? The volcano in the Isle of Bourbon lies also near the sea,
and the latter no doubt contributes to its throwing up abundance of
lava, which is perfectly similar to that thrown up by Vesuvius. The
volcanoes on the southern side of Africa, beyond the Cape of Good
Hope, are also at no great distance from the sea; and I saw them
throw up, in the night-time, dark red flames, and a thick smoke which
covered the whole summits of the mountains.
The volcano in the Island of Ascension, which has been totally
extinct for several centuries, has, as already observed, covered
the whole rock with a grey, porous, and ferruginous stone, which
Spilberg, in his _India Orientalis_, calls _Lapides carbones fabrorum
exustos referentes_; stones which have the appearance of smiths’
coals. It is hardly to be supposed that this island could have been
laid so entirely waste by volcanic fire, had not the sea water, with
which it is surrounded on all sides, contributed to produce that
effect. The fish found in the neighbouring seas are exceedingly
unwholesome, and emit a volcanic smell. A single drop of water is
not to be found in the whole island; and the reason of this, in
all probability, is, that the two elements, fire and water, have
here formerly entered into a dreadful contest, in which the former
obtained the superiority.
I shall leave naturalists to examine these conjectures, and to prove
the truth of them; but I can with justice assert, that the hypothesis
respecting the effect of electric fire on water is very well known to
the Brahmans, and other Indian philosophers; and by its means they
are able to account for many phenomena, the nature of which would
otherwise be inexplicable. According to their doctrine, the _Oruma_,
that is, union or peaceful combination of the elements, particularly
of water and fire, preserves the equilibrium and tranquillity of all
created things. The _Arima_, on the other hand, that is, discord and
enmity of the elements, particularly of water and fire, occasions
contention, convulsions, and explosions, by which the earth, the
atmosphere, and the sea, are thrown into the most violent agitation.
As long as the _Oruma_ takes place between the elements, they
remain peaceful and quiet; but when fire obtains the superiority,
the _Arima_ instantly begins, and occasions earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, thunder and lightning; in a word, every thing that the
Brahmans comprehend under the words _Givàlana_ and _Shvàlana_, which
signify inflammation, combustion, and the other effects of fire.
Senebier is of opinion, that the proper focus of volcanoes is at
the bottom of the sea, and that such mountains, as well as volcanic
islands, have been thrown up by submarine fire.
* * * * *
After this digression I shall resume the journal of my voyage.
* * * * *
On the 14th of September we passed the Azores. The periodical wind,
which at this time blew constantly from the African coast, was of
great service to us, as it served to waft us past the Line and the
Tropic before the stormy weather came on. Not far from the Line we
saw a great many water-spouts. In the neighbourhood of the Tropic we
were surrounded by multitudes of flying-fish; and when we reached
the Azores, we twice or thrice observed the northern lights[258]. We
spent whole evenings in admiring this noble phenomenon, as well as in
contemplating the sublime field of the heavens, which almost every
evening, the farther we advanced towards the north, presented to our
sight new stars. All this rendered our passage very agreeable; but
unfortunately, for a month past, we had been short of provisions. We
were in want of bread, beef, wine, flour, and pease. Four weeks we
had been reduced to the necessity of contenting ourselves with putrid
biscuit, and a small portion of rancid bacon, which had been smoked
four years before, and which now had a greenish and blue appearance.
This was all we could obtain for breakfast. Our dinner and supper
consisted of a plateful of beans, with a piece of biscuit, and a
little brandy, which we drank mixed with our stinking water. Under
these circumstances it needs excite no surprise that many of the
sailors were ill of the scurvy, and I myself was not entirely free
from that loathsome disease.
On the 29th of September 1789 we at length entered the harbour of
Brest, where we expected to find all our troubles at an end; but
unfortunately we learnt that the whole kingdom was in the utmost
confusion. As it was impossible for me to return to India, I was
obliged to submit to my fate, and to accommodate myself to the times,
while force had usurped the place of justice. It may readily be
comprehended, that, in the course of my journey home through France,
where the delirium of liberty had risen to the highest pitch, I had
too many opportunities of making comparisons between other nations
and my dear countrymen the Europeans, which were not much to the
honour of the latter.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
A.
_Adirampushe_, a place on the coast of Malabar where the ginger
grows. 163.
_Agra_, one of the places of residence formerly of the Great Mogul,
or emperor of India. 38.
_Alangatta_, a river and city with a very large church. By the
Portuguese it is called very improperly _Mangalte_. The river
discharges itself into the sea near _Aycotta_, or _Tschuvocad_.
104, 137.
_Allahabad_, a considerable city at the confluence of the _Yamuna_
and the _Ganges_. (See _Palibothra_.) It is in the possession
of the English. 37, 39.
_Alapushe_, a place on the coast of Malabar, where a canal has been
dug for the convenience of conveying goods on board ships lying
on the sea-coast. Excellent pepper, in particular, may be
procured here. 81, 120, 136.
_Allakandara_, a river in the northern part of India, on which
lies Sirinagur, formerly called _Nischadapuri_, _Nisa_,
or _Dionysiopolis_. It is named also _Allaknanda_, or
_Allaknandara_. 37.
_Ambàdi._ See _Modhura_. 37.
_Ambalacòtta_, a village on the coast of Malabar, where the Jesuits
formerly had a convent and seminary. At present it is in a
state of decline. 138.
_Ambelapusha_, a celebrated temple dedicated to _Shiva_. 119.
_Andipatti_, a city in the interior part of the province of _Madura_,
which formerly sent, and still sends, various articles of
merchandise to the coast of Malabar. 56.
_Angamàli_, an old city on the coast of Malabar, in which there are
three Christian congregations, and where the bishop of the
Christians of St. Thomas formerly resided. It was burnt and
plundered by Tippoo Saib. 116, 138.
_Angenga_, a city on the coast of Malabar, in the kingdom of
Travancor, in possession of the English. It is called also
_Angiutenga_. The river _Modelaposcha_ discharges itself there
into the sea. 103.
_Angicaimal_, a place in the neighbourhood of Cochin, on the coast of
Malabar, which the river _Feira d’Alva_ flows past. 104.
_Angiutenga._ See _Angenga_. 114.
_Aragoshe_, a place with a Christian church at the bottom of the
Gauts, in the forests, near which are found wild elephants,
buffaloes, tygers, deer, apes, and parrots. 125.
_Arampalli_, said to be the _Argyropolis_ of the ancients, from which
the Bay of _Manar_ is called _Sinus Argaricus_. It lies at the
distance of three leagues from Cape _Comari_, and as far up the
country from _Covalam_. 56, 110.
_Arcate_, or _Arcati_, but properly _Arrucati_, a fortified city in
the kingdom of _Carnàta_, or _Carnate_, the nabob of which is
frequently called the nabob of _Arcate_, or _Arcot_. It lies on
the river _Palur_. 28, 64.
_Ariancopan_, a place to the south of _Pondicheri_, where the bishop
of the Catholic Christians in that district resides, and where
there is also a seminary. 25, 65.
_Arrucate_, _Arrucati_. See _Arcate_. 28, 60, 64, 89.
_Arshtamiciare_, a place belonging to the king of _Cochin_. 135.
_Artunkel_, a place on the sea-coast to the south of Cochin. 121.
_Atur_ (_Attur_), a fortified place in the territories of the nabob
of _Carnate_, lying on the river _Gudalam_. This river falls
into the _Valaru_, which discharges itself into the sea at
_Porto-Nuovo_. 28, 63.
_Attinga_, a city called also _Attancal_, which is the residence of
the queen, that is to say, of the eldest sister of the king of
Travancor, as the king’s consort can never become queen. 114.
_Aur_, a place in the kingdom of _Madura_, where the Jesuits had
formerly a congregation. 64.
_Aurungabad_, a city in the south-west part of the _Soubah_ of the
_Deccan_. Near it lies _Ellur_, or _Dauletabad_, where there is
a temple, which has been described by Thevenot. 38.
_Ayambel_, a place in the kingdom of Madura, where the Jesuits had
formerly a congregation. 64.
_Aybica_, a village where the river, on which merchandise is
transported from the _Gauts_ to _Culam_ or _Collam_, discharges
itself into the sea. 117.
_Aycotta_, called also _Tschuvocat_, a place in Malabar near which
the river _Alangatta_ falls into the sea. 104, 137.
_Ayodhya_, a very old Indian city on the river _Deva_, or _Gagra_,
the residence of the first conquerors of India. _Faizabad_
is situated on the spot where _Ayodhya_, or _Audh_, stood
formerly. 37.
B.
_Badagare._ There are two places of this name: the first lies in
_Madura_, and sends merchandise to the coast of Malabar. It has
a Christian church, and is situated close to the large forests
at the foot of the _Gauts_, where wild elephants are found in
great abundance. The second is called also _Vaypin_, and lies
on the sea-coast to the north of _Cochin_. 56, 125, 137.
_Badeati_, lies eastward from _Diamper_ and _Cochin_, and was
formerly the residence of the court of _Travancor_. It is
called also in the English maps, by Rennel and by La Rochette,
_Barrate_. 123.
_Balancada_, a fortress in the kingdom of _Carnate_, which, like a
great many others, is of a square form. 63.
_Baliapatnam_, one of the rivers in the district of _Calicut_, on the
Malabar coast, which take their rise in the _Gauts_, and form
an innumerable multitude of islands. A city also near Mount
_Illy_, on the above river, has the same name. 104.
_Barcale_, a village, mountain, and celebrated spring, together with
a temple, to the south of _Culam_ or _Collam_. 115.
_Benares_, called also _Venares_ and _Kasi_, the _Cassidia_ of the
ancients, has a celebrated temple, a Brahmanic academy or
school, and an observatory. 37.
_Bengalùr_, formerly the residence of the Sultan Hayder Ali Khan. It
is strongly fortified, and its name signifies the white land.
32.
_Bisnagari_, a city which had formerly a prince of its own, but
became subject to the Great Mogul, and belonged to the district
of _Sanor_. It was afterwards conquered by Hayder Ali. It was
called also _Narasinha_. 63.
_Bombay_, an English colony in an island to the north of Goa. It has
an excellent harbour, and is the seat of a presidency. 107, 114.
_Budhapadi_, a city in the territories of Tippoo Sultan in _Maissur_.
On the maps it is called _Budhapari_. Its name signifies the
town of _Budha_. 32.
C.
_Cabul._ See _Kabul_. 35.
_Cadaturuti_, a place on the coast of Malabar which produces
abundance of ginger. 123, 163.
_Cagnarapalli_, a town celebrated for its trade with the province
of _Madura_. In the neighbouring districts of the _Gauts_,
mountain-snakes thirty or forty feet in length are found. 55,
118, 248.
_Calapada_, a place between _Pondichery_ and _Sadras_. 71.
_Calianatur_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. Its name
signifies the town of joy. 28, 63.
_Calianapuri_, a maritime city on the coast of Malabar near Mount
_Illy_. Foreign ships obtained here cargoes of the productions
of the country. 56.
_Calicurici_, a fortified city in _Carnate_. 63.
_Calicut_, a maritime city on the coast of Malabar, destroyed by
Tippoo Sultan. 8, 103, 140.
_Calcutta_, the capital of the province of Bengal, where the English
have established the seat of their chief presidency. 39.
_Calini_ (_Caliny_), a river, at the influx of which into the Ganges
lies the city of _Canoaschi_, in lat. 27°. 38.
_Callare_, a city which the river _Collam_ flows past. 117.
_Callupare_, a place on the coast of Malabar inhabited by Jacobite
Christians. 118.
_Catturiàda_, a place on the coast of Malabar, where, on account of
its wet situation, a great deal of rice is cultivated. It is
therefore called the storehouse of Malabar. 118, 186.
_Camanaichenpalti_, one of the places in the kingdom of _Madura_
where the Jesuits formerly established considerable
congregations. 65.
_Cambam_, a city in the interior part of _Madura_, which, like
many other cities, sent merchandise formerly to the coast of
Malabar. 56.
_Canarà_, a principality on the coast of Malabar, which, towards the
south, borders on Mount _Illy_, 103.
_Canantora_, a town in the kingdom of _Travancor_. 113.
_Cannanùr_, a maritime city in Malabar, which exports merchandise
sent thither from the interior parts. It has a fortress
belonging to queen _Collatiri_, called by the Europeans
_Collastri_. 56, 144.
_Canatur_, a place in the _Jaghire_ of the British on the coast of
Coromandel, or what the English possess in the neighbourhood of
Madras. 73.
_Candenàda_, a place which belongs to the king of _Cochin_, a petty
prince on the coast of Malabar. It is called also _Candanale_.
135.
_Cangimaram_ (_Congimaram_), a place called in the English maps
_Congimer_, lying on the sea-coast between Pondichery and
Sadias. 71.
_Cangipuri_, or _Congipuram_, a place in _Carnate_; called also
_Cangivaron_, which signifies the city of gold. 28.
_Caniarata_, a place on the coast of Malabar, not far from _Angenga_.
114.
_Canigia_, the seat of the governor of _Coahin_. 192.
_Canudi._ See _Calini_. 38.
_Cariapatnam_, one of the many rivers by which the coast of Malabar
is intersected. 103.
_Caricattur_, a city in the interior part of _Madura_, which formerly
sent merchandise to the coast of Malabar. 56.
_Carimbanàda_, a place in the kingdom of _Travancor_, which is
inhabited by Pagans and Christians, and carries on a great
trade in pepper and cardamoms. 117.
_Carnada_ (_Carnate_), a kingdom or province on the coast of Malabar,
which is under the government of a nabob. 8, 59.
_Carpuncolam_, a place between _Pondichery_ and _Sadras_. 71.
_Caschemir._ See _Kaschemir_. 35.
_Cattur_, a fishing village on the coast of Malabar, near Cochin.
119, 121.
_Caveri_, one of the most considerable rivers on the coast of
_Coromandel_, which, by a number of mouths, discharges itself
into the sea, in the kingdom of Tanjaur. 48, 54, 231.
_Caveripac_, a fortified town in _Carnate_, 63.
_Cayamcollam_ (_Cayancollam_), a city on the coast of Malabar. 8.
_Celicotam_, a place in the kingdom of _Tanjaur_, called by the
Europeans _Celicolon_. 30.
_Cencotta_, a city in _Madura_, which formerly sent merchandise to
the coast of Malabar. 56.
_Cennòtta_, a place on the river _Alangatta_, which belongs to the
king of _Cochin_. 104, 135.
_Cerenga_, a place on the coast of Malabar, which the river
_Modelaposcha_ flows past. 103.
_Certele_, a town on the coast of Malabar, with a celebrated temple
of _Bhagavadi_, the spouse of _Shiva_. 121.
_Ceruvatti_, a city in _Madura_, which formerly sent merchandise to
the coast of Malabar. 56.
_Cettiyatti_, a place on the coast of Malabar with a Christian
church. 129.
_Cettupeli_, a fortified place in _Carnate_, 63.
_Cettur_, a fortified place in the interior part of _Madura_. 56.
_Cettuva_, one of the numerous rivers which flow from the _Gauts_
through Malabar into the sea. 104, 138.
_Ceylon_, one of the largest islands in the Indian ocean, the coasts
of which were formerly in the possession of the Dutch; at
present they are in the hands of the British. 57.
_Chidàcolam_, a place on the coast of Malabar, which the river _Paru_
flows past. 103.
_Chonenbar_ (_Chonanbar_), the name of a river called properly
_Chiovanàru_, on the coast of Coromandel, which flows to the
south of Pondichery. 26.
_Ciacrapuri_ (_Ciacrapuram_), a city in _Carnate_, the name of which
has been corrupted into _Cacrapur_. 28.
_Cialembron_, _Cilamburam_, _Cillumlaram_, _Cilumbrum_, a celebrated
pagoda between _Porto-nuovo_ and _Devycotta_. 61.
_Ciandrapati_, a place in the kingdom of _Maïssur_. 33.
_Ciangaceri_, the residence of a petty prince, who, in 1746, was
defeated and taken prisoner by _Vira Martanda_ the king of
_Travancor_, and several other petty sovereigns. 115.
_Cianganacèri_, a village surrounded by rice fields on the coast of
Malabar. 120.
_Ciangracoil_, a temple in the kingdom of _Madura_. 31.
_Ciangucotta_, a city in the province of _Marava_, on the coast of
Coromandel. 45.
_Ciavacàda_, a maritime place on the coast of Malabar. 138.
_Cinnabellapuram_, a city in the kingdom of _Maïssur_. 33.
_Cinnapatnam_, a small city on the coast of Coromandel, which the
English, in the year 1645, obtained from king _Narsinha_, or
_Bisnagari_, and on the spot where it stood built Fort St.
George at Madras. 77.
_Ciòlaburam_, a city in the province of _Marava_. 45.
_Ciòlamandala_ (_Coromandel_), signifies the land of millet; because
that grain (_Holcus sorghum_, and _Durra_), are cultivated
there in abundance. 3.
_Ciovanàru._ See _Chonenbar_. 26.
_Ciovare_, a place on the coast of Malabar, which the _Feira D’Alva_
runs past. 104, 134, 135.
_Cirangam_ (_Cheringam_), in the kingdom of _Tanjaur_, not far from
_Tricinnapali_. 29, 61.
_Cirangapatnam_ (_Seringapatam_), the capital of the kingdom of
_Maïssur_, where Tippoo Saib resided. 32, 114.
_Cirumuttu_, a very fruitful district, which belonged to the old
kingdom of _Cottaracare_, and is situated near Cape _Comari_,
not far from _Collam_. 117.
_Ciuncam_, a place between _Maïssur_ and _Cochin_, which carries on
trade with both. 125.
_Ciundrapandi_, a city in the interior part of the kingdom of
_Madura_, which formerly sent merchandise to the coast of
Malabar. 56.
_Cocci_, a city on the coast of Malabar, which exports merchandise
obtained from the inland parts. Not far from this city there is
a river of the same name. 56.
_Cochin_, a place with a citadel on the coast of Malabar, lying
nearly under 10 degrees of north latitude. It belonged to the
Dutch; but is now in the possession of the British. 103, 104,
121, 126, 130.
_Cochinchina_, a kingdom on the eastern side of India, beyond the
Ganges, towards China. 21.
_Codamalur_, a place on the coast of Malabar, where ginger grows.
_Codamangalam_, one of the Malabar cities which still carry on trade,
as formerly, with Madura. 56, 220.
_Codolur_ lies in the large forests of the Gauts. 220.
_Codungalur_ (_Cudungalur_, _Cranganor_), a fortress on the river
_Allangatte_, which was demolished, in 1790, by Lally, Tippoo
Saib’s general. 56, 104, 120, 136.
_Cognur_, a place not far from _Cochin_, which is washed by the river
_Feira D’Ava_. 104.
_Colarru_ (_Colaru_), that is the river of swine; it is commonly
written _Coleroon_. It flows through the kingdom of _Tanjaur_.
See _Caveri_. 48, 231.
_Collam_ (_Collamedu_), a place where the merchandise of the coast of
Malabar is shipped. 56, 147.
_Còlanàda_, the capital of the kingdom of _Cannanur_, in 11° 50′ N.
Lat. 144.
_Coleci_, a place not far from Cape _Comari_, or _Comorin_, with a
small but safe harbour, which by Strabo is called _Colias_. 56,
103, 112.
_Colicòtta_, a place not far from Cape _Comari_, which sends on board
foreign ships the merchandise of the country. 56.
_Comari_ (_Canyamuri_), the extreme point of India, on this side the
Ganges, where the ridge of mountains called the _Gauts_ ends.
3, 103, 110, 111.
_Concao_, a kingdom in the neighbourhood of Bombay, on the eastern
bank of the Ganges, called properly _Concan_. 8.
_Congimaram._ See _Cangimaram_.
_Conoam_, a place in the neighbourhood of the kingdom of _Travancor_.
139.
_Corolongatta_, a town in _Travancor_, where a bishop of the
Jacobites has his residence. 121, 123.
_Còttàracare_, formerly a principality conquered by the king of
_Tranquelar_. 115, 117.
_Cottàram_ (_Cottàte_), a place in _Travancor_, which in the time of
the Greeks and the Romans was called _Cottana_, or _Cottiara_.
8, 112.
_Covalam_, called also _Coulam_, was the _Colis_ or _Colias_ of the
ancients. 56, 57, 74, 94, 110.
_Coytòtta_, a place lying east from _Cochin_, which carries on a
considerable trade. 117.
_Cudnegalur_ (_Crangalor_, _Cranganor_), a place on the sea-coast, to
the north of _Cochin_. 46.
_Cudur_, one of the places in Madura which formerly sent merchandise
to Malabar. 56.
_Curiapalli_, the magazine and arsenal of the king of _Travancor_.
137.
_Curumpana_, a place on the sea-coast, nearly in the latitude of 8°
North. 112.
D.
_Dakshima_, or _Dekam_, a kingdom situated in the southern part of
Indostan. 42.
_Dely_ (_Delhi_), formerly the residence of the emperor of India. 38,
42, 43.
_Dèva_ (_Devi_), a river formerly called also _Gagra_. It is known
likewise by the names _Vipascha_ and _Vipal_. 37, 39, 232.
_Dharàburam_ (_Dharapuram_), a city in the kingdom of _Maïssur_, at
the bottom of the _Gauts_, and in the district of _Coimbetur_.
32.
_Dhermapuri_, a city in _Maïssur_, called also _Dhermapura_. 32, 60.
_Divicotta_ (_Divyacotta_), a castle at the mouth of the _Coleroon_
or _Colaru_. 29, 48.
_Douletabad._ See _Aurungabad_. 38.
E.
_Edapalli_, a place in the kingdom of _Travancor_, called also
_Rambali_ and _Rapolim_. There is a temple and palace here of
the king of the Brahmans. 124, 137.
_Elagnïl_, a place in the Gauts, with a Christian church. 125.
_Elephantis_ (_Elephanta_), an island near Bombay, which contains one
of the oldest Indian temples. 22.
_Eloura (Ellur)._ See _Aurungabad_. 38.
_Elluvancotta_, a city in the province of _Marava_. 45.
_Ettumanur_, a celebrated temple of _Vishnu_, on the coast of
Malabar. 121.
F.
_Faizabad._ See _Ayedhya_. 37.
_Feira D’Alva_, a stream on the coast of Malabar, which falls into
the sea near _Cochin_. 104.
G.
_Ganga_ (the _Ganges_). 39.
_Gauts_, a ridge of mountains which divides the peninsula of India
from north to south. 3, 12.
_George_ (St.). See _Cinnapasnam_. 77.
_Gingi_, a fortified city in the territories of the nabob of
_Carnate_, lying on a river of the same name north-west from
Pondichery. 10, 64.
_Golconda_, formerly a kingdom in India, conquered by _Shah Geban_.
42, 60.
_Gocula._ See _Modhura_. 38.
_Goculator_, a place in the kingdom of _Maïssur_. 32.
_Govalam_, called also _Covalam_, the _Colis_ or _Colias_ of the
ancients. 28, 32.
_Gudelùr_, or _Kudalor_, a place on the coast of _Coromandel_,
between _Porto-nuovo_ and _Pondichery_. 60.
H.
_Harani_, a fortified city in _Carnate_. 63.
_Hastinapuri_, in the Samscred _Hastinagari_, called at present
_Aschnagur_, one of the oldest cities of India, lying under the
latitude of 32°. 35.
_Hima_ (_Himala_), the name of a mountain where the river
_Sarayouva_, which is probably the _Imaus_ of the ancients, has
its source. 232, 233.
I.
_Jamunà_, a river called also the _Jumma_. It has several other
names; and, in all probability, is the _Jomanes_ of the
ancients. 231.
_Illi_, a mountain which separates the kingdom of _Canara_ from
Malabar. 103, 145.
_Illoura._ See _Elloura_. 38.
_Ilpiur_, a place in the kingdom of _Madura_, where the Jesuits
established formerly a Christian congregation. 64.
_Iratuge_ (_Iratùshe_), a city in Malabar, at the bottom of the
_Gauts_, which carries on trade with _Madura_. 55, 121.
K.
_Kabul_, the capital of a province on the eastern boundaries of
Persia, near the river _Behat_ or _Sirbin_. 35.
_Karincalla_, called also _Carical_, a place which the French
obtained from the king of Tanjaur in 1638, but which at present
is in the hands of the English. 49.
_Kaschemir_ (_Cachemir_), a province surrounded by mountains, which
was formerly subdued by the Mogul conquerors, and taken from
its own princes. The capital is called also _Kaschemir_. At
present it is named _Sirinegur_ or _Sirinagar_. 35.
_Kasi._ See _Benares_. 37.
_Kavaricotta_, a city in _Marava_. 45.
_Kidacolam_, a place on the coast of Malabar. 222.
_Koledimalà_, a mountain in the neighbourhood of the _Gauts_. 141.
_Kottàracare_, the name of a very ancient small kingdom on the coast
of Malabar. 117.
_Krishnapuram_, a town on the coast of Malabar, which carries on a
great trade. 117.
_Krishnavaram_, a town in _Carnate_, which on the maps is called
_Quichenavaron_. 28.
L.
_Lahor_, a province in the north-west extremity of India, with a
capital of the same name. 43.
M.
_Mabalicarè_ (_Mavelicarè_), a populous city in the kingdom of
_Travancor_. 118.
_Màdèvipatnam_, a considerable city in the kingdom of _Travancor_. 47.
_Madraspatnam_, the present seat of the British government on the
eastern coast of India. 5, 12, 27, 60, 76.
_Madura_, an ancient kingdom, with a capital of the same name, called
formerly _Methora_. 25, 31, 44, 46, 65, 103.
_Magnapre_, a place in the _Gauts_, where the author saw wild
elephants tamed. 213.
_Mahe_ (_Mahi_), the name of a river, and of a fortress not far from
_Calicut_, in Malabar, which formerly belonged to the French,
but is now in the hands of the English. 104, 143.
_Mailacomba_, a place in the forests at the bottom of the _Gauts_.
125.
_Mailapuram_ (_Maïlapuri_), called also _Mailiapur_, or St. Thomas,
near Madras. 27, 60, 65, 75.
_Mainàda_, a town on the coast of Malabar which the river _Paru_
flows past. 103.
_Maïssur_, the name of a kingdom, with its capital, lying between the
coast of _Malabar_, _Carnate_, and _Madura_. 8, 32, 64.
_Malabar_, called properly _Malayalam_, the land of mountains. 102.
_Malanàda_, _Malangàra_, other appellations for Malabar. 102.
_Maleatur_, a place in Malabar which the _Feira D’Alva_ flows past.
104.
_Maleyalam (Malayala)._ See _Malabar_. 3, 102.
_Mampulli_, a town on the coast of Malabar, not far from _Angenga_.
114.
_Mannacòri_, a place on the coast of Malabar. 121.
_Mannacodam_, the same. 121.
_Mannacudi_, a place on the coast of Malabar, where there are still
to be seen the ruins of a palace belonging to the king of
_Travancor_. 112.
_Mannapara_, a place on the coast of _Pescaria_, not far from
_Tutucurim_. 31.
_Manclùr_, a town in the kingdom of _Madura_. 31.
_Mangalur_, a city in _Carnate_. 28.
_Manimàla_, one of the places in _Madura_ which formerly sent
merchandise to the coast of Malabar. 56.
_Mantòpo_ (_Mantòpu_), a town in _Madura_. 31.
_Marava_, a province on the coast of Coromandel. 44.
_Mattanceri_ (_Mattincèra_), not far from _Cochin_, belongs to a
small kingdom of the same name. 130, 134.
_Modelacodata_, a province in the forests of the Gauts, where wild
elephants are found. 212.
_Modelaposha_, a river in Malabar, which flows past _Angenga_. 103.
_Modhura_ (_Moturapuri_), on the river _Yaume_, the _Modura Deorum_
of Pliny, called also _Moturapuri_. On the map by La Rochette
and Mannert it is called _Mathra_, and on that of Rennel
_Matura_. It lies in the latitude of 27°, and is known by the
names likewise of _Gocùla_ and _Ambàdi_. 37, 54, 55.
_Mohatugè_ (_Mohatushe_), one of the places in the interior part of
Malabar which still continue to carry on trade with _Madura_
and _Maïssur_. 55, 126.
_Molicolam_, a Christian congregation in the interior part of the
_Gauts_. 201.
_Monguiri_ (_Monghir_), a place in the possession of the English, on
the Ganges, in the province of _Bahar_. 39.
_Mont-Grand_, a fortified garden belonging to the East-India
Company’s government at Madras, not far from St. Thomas. 49.
_Mullaventurutti_, one of the places which the Dutch suffered to
remain in the hands of the king of _Cochin_. 135.
_Multan_ (_Moltan_), one of the eastern provinces of the ancient
kingdom of _Hindostan_, on both sides of the _Sind_ or
_Hindus_, the capital of which is called _Multan_ also. 43.
_Muttam_, one of the places on the coast of Malabar which procured
the productions of the inland parts for foreign ships. 56.
_Muttiera_, a place in the kingdom of Cochin, where there is a church
belonging to the Christians of St. Thomas. 123.
N.
_Nàgapatnam_ (_Nagapatana_, _Nègapatnam_), called by the Greeks
_Nigamos_ and _Nigama Metropolis_, a city in the kingdom of
_Tanjaur_, at the mouth of an arm of the _Coleroon_; belonged
formerly to the Dutch, but is now in the possession of the
English. 29, 48, 49.
_Naidshadabur._ See _Allakandara_. 36.
_Narasinha._ See _Bisnagari_. 60, 63.
_Naur_, _Nàvur_, and _Nagur_, a place between _Negapatnam_ and
_Carical_, at the mouth of an arm of the _Coleroon_. 29, 53.
_Nerenam_, a considerable town in the kingdom of _Cochin_, where the
bishop of the Jacobites resides. 120.
_Nharakel_, a place in the kingdom of _Cochin_, with a Christian
congregation. 127.
_Nhàrica_, one of the places which the Dutch have left in the
hands of the king of _Cochin_. On the maps it is called also
_Gnàrica_. 135.
_Nishadabury._ See _Naishadabur_. 36.
O.
_Odeaguiri_, a fortified place and arsenal of the king of
_Travancor_. 113.
_Orixa_ (_Orissa_), a large province to the south-west of Bengal. 54.
_Ottocutta_, that is, the solitary city. It is situated in _Carnate_.
47.
P.
_Padmanàburam_, a castle not far from _Travancor_ or _Tiruvancoda_,
where the king resides and keeps his treasure. 8, 113.
_Palacaticieri_, a celebrated city and fortress on the river
_Paniani_ in the _Gauts_, called also _Policat_. 139, 175.
_Palancotta_, a fortified place in _Tanjaur_. 30, 63.
_Palarru_ (_Paler_), a river which flows through _Carnate_ from the
_Gauts_, and falls into the sea near _Sadras_. 60, 89, 97.
_Paliacata._ See _Valiacadà_. 60.
_Paliamcotta_, a strong fortified place in the kingdom of _Madura_,
near _Tinivelly_, and on the river _Tunmerbury_. 58.
_Palipuram_, a place with a Christian congregation, not far from
_Cochin_. 137.
_Pallibothra_, a place known to the Greeks and Romans; at present a
town called _Palipatur_, at the confluence of the _Ganges_ and
the _Jamuna_, near _Allahabad_. 37.
_Pallicaré_, a place which the Dutch left in the hands of the king of
_Cochin_. 135.
_Palur_, a fortified Town in _Carnate_, on the sea-coast. 63, 138.
_Pandi_, one of the names formerly given to the kingdom of _Madura_;
and for this reason it was called also _Pandimandala_, from
king _Pandi_, (in Pliny, _Pandion_.) 45.
_Paniani_, one of the small streams which fall down from the
mountains. 104, 138.
_Paravur_, a considerable town not far from _Cochin_, which was
destroyed by the troops of Tippoo Sultan. 137.
_Paru_, a river, and a place situated on it, not far from Cochin.
103, 115.
_Patna_ (_Patnam_), a celebrated city on the Ganges, in the province
of _Bahar_. 39.
_Pattucòtta_, a city in _Tanjaur_. 47.
_Pegu_, a kingdom on the coast of India, beyond the Ganges. 57.
_Penatur_, one of the fortified places in _Carnate_. 63.
_Periaculam_, one of the placed which formerly sent merchandise from
Madura to the coast of Malabar. 56.
_Perimanur_, a place like _Pallicaré_. 135.
_Perimatorà_, a place on the coast of Malabar, not far from
_Angenga_. 114.
_Perumaculam_, one of the fortified places in _Carnate_. 63.
_Perumanel_, one of the places which formerly sent merchandise from
_Madura_ to the coast of Malabar. 56.
_Perumnàda_, a place to the east of _Collam_, which belonged to the
very ancient kingdom of _Cottaracara_. 117.
_Pescaria._ The coast of _Pescaria_ lies between Cape _Mannapàr_ and
Adam’s Bridge, where the pearl islands are. 103.
_Pondamala_ (_Pondamalay_), a high mountain with a fortress, called
by the Europeans _Mont Grand_, not far from _Mailiapur_. 27, 93.
_Ponnaru_ (_Pannar_), that is, the gold river. It takes its rise in
the Gauts, not far from _Dhermapuri_ in _Maïssur_, and falls
into the sea near _Cudalur_. 60.
_Porca_ (_Porrocada_), one of the places which send inland
merchandise to the coast of Malabar. 56, 81, 115, 118.
_Porolta_, a small river on the coast of Malabar. 104.
_Porto-nuovo_, a place in _Carnate_, at which the river _Velarru_
discharges itself into the sea. 60.
_Pucòtta_, a place which the Dutch left in the hands of the king of
_Cochin_. 135.
_Puduceri_, called commonly _Pondicheri_, lies on the coast of
_Coromandel_, and was the capital of the French possessions in
India: at present it is in the hands of the English. 1, 7, 12,
18, 24, 25, 64.
_Puducurici_, a place on the coast of Malabar, not far from
_Angenga_. 114.
_Pugnoda_, one of the places on the coast of Malabar which still
carry on trade with _Madura_. 55.
_Pugnatil_, a place where formerly, according to the account of
Ptolemy, beryls were found. 118.
_Pullingunne_, a considerable town on the coast of Malabar, where
there are a great many rice-fields. 120.
_Pulluvalley Bingiam_, a new harbour caused to be constructed by the
king of _Travancor_. 113.
_Puntora_, a place on the coast of Malabar,. 113, 120.
_Puradacudi_, one of the Christian congregations established by the
Jesuits in the kingdom of _Madura_. 64.
_Puttencara_ (_Puttencèra_). See _Pallicaré_. 117, 135, 138.
_Puttenpalli_, a place lying at a great distance in the forests
of the _Gauts_, where there are a great many Christian
congregations. 201.
_Puttentopo_, a place on the coast of Malabar not far from _Angenga_.
114.
Q.
_Quichenavaron._ See _Krishnavaram_. 28.
R.
_Rajacolla mangalam_, a city where there are still to be seen the
remains of a palace belonging to the king of _Travancor_. 112.
_Ràmanàthapuram_, on the coast of _Pescaria_. 31, 45.
_Ràmapurata_, a place in the Gauts. 125.
_Rèva_, a river which takes its rise in the mountain _Vindhia_. It is
called also _Ravi_. 232.
_Rotasgar_, a place on the river _Son_. 39.
S.
_Sadras_, a place with a castle in the British _Jaghire_, on
the coast of _Coromandel_, at the mouth of the _Palir_ or
_Palarru_. 60, 72, 73, 96.
_Sanhya_, the name of a mountain where the _Deva_ has its rise. 233.
_Sarasvadi_, the name of a river. 231.
_Sarayouvà_, the name of a river. See _Déva_. 39.
_Satara_, a province on the coast of Coromandel. 42.
_Saude_, a place on the coast of Malabar, not far from _Cochin_. 121.
_Sharavadi_, the name of a river. 231.
_Shelon_, a fortified place in _Carnate_. 63.
_Shivagari_, a place in _Madura_. 56.
_Shrinagari._ See _Allakandara_. 36.
_Siam_, a kingdom in the peninsula beyond the Ganges. 21.
_Sina_, or China. 21.
_Sindacalla_, a place in _Madura_. 56.
_Sindhu_, the western great river of India, which is commonly, but
improperly, called the Indus. 231.
_Sirgani_, a place in _Tanjaur_. 65.
_Son_, a river in Hindostan, which discharges itself into the Ganges.
39.
_Sultanpatnam_, a place on the coast of Malabar which Tippoo Sultan
caused to be spared. It is called also _Vaypur_ or _Baypur_.
139.
_Suran_, a place in _Tanjaur_. 65.
_Sushindram_, a town with a celebrated temple of the god _Kámadèva_,
on the coast of Malabar. 112.
T.
_Tacaculam_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Taliceri_, a city on the coast of Malabar, a mile north from _Mahe_.
It belongs to the English, and is an arsenal for the coast of
Malabar. 143.
_Tanghi_, a place on the sea-coast not far from _Cochin_. 121.
_Tangut_, a kingdom in the interior part of Asia, lying north-west
from China, which was conquered in 1202 by Gengis Khan. 40.
_Tanjaur_, the name of a kingdom with its capital lying between the
two arms of the _Caveri_. 7, 12, 29, 48, 65.
_Tannur_, a place on the coast of Malabar, called also _Tanor_,
between _Paniani_ and _Calicut_. 138.
_Tatagari_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Tatta_ (_Taitanagur_), a city at that part of the _Sindhu_ where
it divides itself into several branches, called formerly
_Pattalone_ or _Pattala_. 35.
_Tèdanàda_, a place in the interior part of _Madura_. 56.
_Tengacetti_, a place on the coast of Malabar, not far from _Sadras_.
72.
_Terpunatre_, the residence of the nominal king of _Cochin_. 134.
_Tevàram_, a place in _Madura_. 56.
_Tevelacare_, a place on the coast of Malabar which exports a great
deal of pepper and cardamoms. 117.
_Timeri_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Tindacalla_ (_Tinducalla_), in _Madura_, probably the _Tindis_ of
Arrian and Ptolemy. 31.
_Tindivanam_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Tirucolur_, the same. 63.
_Tirumala_, the same. 63.
_Tirumaladùvasam_, that is, the temple of the god of the holy
mountain. The Europeans call it _Tiremalevasen_. It lies in
_Tanjaur_. 29.
_Tirumanur_, called also _Tremmanur_, lies in _Tanjaur_. 29, 47.
_Tirunamalà_, corrupted into _Tirnemalet_, a place in _Carnate_. 28,
61.
_Tirunaveli_ (_Tirnaveli_), a place in the interior part of _Madura_.
31, 56, 58, 65.
_Tirupati_ (_Tirapati_), a fortified place in the kingdom of
_Carnate_. 28, 61, 63.
_Tirupalur_, a place on the coast of Coromandel, not far from
_Sadras_. 73.
_Tiruvalur_, a place with a beautiful pagoda in the kingdom of
_Tanjaur_. 47, 61.
_Tiruvananganur_, a fortress on the borders of _Tanjaur_, belonging
to _Marava_. 47.
_Tiruvamatur_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Tiruvancàda_ (_Tiruvancor_, _Travancor_), a place on the coast of
Malabar. 45, 58, 112.
_Tiruvandaburam_ (_Tiruvandaram_), the summer residence of the king
of _Travancor_. 113.
_Tiruvandapuram_, a place on the coast of Malabar. 8.
_Tiruvanelur_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Tiruvatur_, a fortified place in the same kingdom. 63.
_Tovàla_, a fortified place in Travancor, on the boundaries of
_Marava_. 59, 103, 111.
_Tremanour._ See _Tirumanur_. 29.
_Tricinnapalli_, a city on the _Caveri_. 47.
_Triciur_, a town and district on the Malabar coast, where the
_Brahmans_ have a celebrated seminary. 138.
_Tricolur_, that is, the town of the three ponds, in _Tanjaur_. 30,
60.
_Trividi_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Tshandranagar_ or _Schandranagor_, lying to the north of _Calcutta_
in _Bengal_; belonged formerly to the French, but at present is
in the hands of the English. 39.
_Tumbanur_, a place on the coast of Malabar, which exports a great
deal of pepper and cardamoms. 117.
_Tumbòli_, a fishing village on the coast of Malabar, inhabited by
Catholic Christians. 119, 121.
_Tunquin_, a kingdom in the peninsula beyond the Ganges. 21.
_Turangaburam_ (_Toràngapuri_, also _Tranquebar_), the water-city,
or horse-city; the factory of the Danes on the coast of
Coromandel, and the chief place of the Danish missions. 29, 48,
65.
_Tutucuri_ (_Tùtucudi_), a place on the coast of _Pescaria_. 31.
_Tuvàrencurici_, a place in the kingdom of _Madura_. 56.
_Tuyam_, a place washed by a river which flows into the sea on the
coast of Malabar near _Cybika_. 117.
U.
_Udiamper_ (_Diemper_), a place where the celebrated synod was held
in the year 1599 against the Indian Nestorians. 123.
_Uttamalùr_, corrupted into _Utmalar_, a place in _Carnate_. 28.
_Uttampàleam_, a place in _Madura_. 31, 56.
_Uttamatur_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
V.
_Vadakencolam_, a city in _Pescaria_. 31.
_Vaikam_ (_Vaikatta_), a place and district belonging to the Brahmans
near _Cochin_, with a seminary and a celebrated temple. 122.
_Vaitravadi_ (_Vetravadi_), one of the largest rivers in India. 231.
_Valavaley_, the name of a river and place on the coast of Malabar,
not far from Cape Comari. 103, 112.
_Valdur_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Valiacada_ (_Paliacate_), a place lying on the sea-coast to the
north of Madras. 60.
_Valiapatnam_, a place on the coast of Malabar. 144.
_Valiotora_, a town on the coast of _Travancor_. 113.
_Vallam_, a considerable city in _Tanjaur_, called also _Vellum_. 47.
_Vandavagi_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Varugápatti_, a place in _Tanjaur_. 65.
_Vayparra_, that is, the three great rocks, a town near these rocks
in _Pescaria_. 31.
_Vaypi_, a small island formed on the north side of _Cochin_ in 1341
by an eruption of the sea. 126, 127.
_Vaypur_ (_Baypur_). See _Sultanpatnam_. 104, 118, 138.
_Velarru_, a river in _Carnate_, which falls into the sea near
_Portonuovo_. 59.
_Veli._ See _Canantora_. 113.
_Velùr_, a city in _Carnate_. 28, 42, 60.
_Veluváracotta_, a place in the kingdom of _Madura_. 56.
_Venares._ See _Benares_. 37.
_Vencàttiguiri_ (_Vencàtighiri_), a place in _Carnate_, where the
Jesuits formerly had a residence. 28, 64.
_Vepur_, an insignificant place not far from _Sadras_. 72.
_Verapole_ (_Verapoli_), a town with a monastery on the coast of
Malabar. 15, 128, 137.
_Vettiacòtta_, an inland fortress in the kingdom of _Travancor_. 138.
_Veyarru_, a large river which flows through the kingdom of Madura
and _Marava_. 44, 54.
_Vicravandi_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Villamur_, a fortified place in the kingdom of _Carnate_. 63.
_Villanur_ (_Villenur_), in _Carnate_. 28.
_Vindhia_ (_Vindhya_), a mountain in which the river _Rèvà_ has its
source. 232, 234.
_Virapatnam_, a town not far from _Pondicheri_. 18.
_Visapur_ (_Visiapur_, _Betjapur_), formerly a kingdom which,
together with _Velur_ and _Golconda_, was conquered by
Aureng-Zeb in 1686. 42.
Y.
_Yamuna_, a river which takes its rise in _Sirinagur_, and falls into
the Ganges near _Allahabad_. It is called also the _Jumna_ and
_Dschumna_. 37.
_Yindacalla_, a place in _Madura_. 64.
THE END.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY J. DAVIS, CHANCERY-LANE.
1800.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The title of it is: _Viaggio alle Indie Orientali,
umiliato alla Santità di N. S. Papa Pio Sesto,
Pontefice Massimo, da Fra Paolino da S. Bartolomeo,
Carmelitano Scalzo. Roma presso Antonio Fulgoni.
L’anno 1796._
[2] _Sidharùbam, seu Grammatica Samscredamica._ Romæ,
1790.--He is the author also of the following works:
_Systema Brahmanicum_; and, _India Orientalis
Christiana, continens fundationes ecclesiarum,
seriem episcoporum, missiones, schismata,
persecutiones, viros illustres_. Romæ, 1794.
[3] Pondichery--Respecting the author’s orthography of
names I have said a few words in the preface, to
which the reader is referred. _F._
[4] The passage, from England or France, to India is
commonly reckoned to be six months; but it depends
upon circumstances whether the voyage will be longer
or shorter, and particularly on the season of the
year and the situation of the place to which the
ship is bound. As the monsoons, or _mussongs_,
change every half year in the Indian seas, vessels
bound to a certain place must often take a long
circuitous course in order to fall in with the wind
proper for conducting them to it. The change of the
monsoons is always attended with violent storms,
by which ships in the open sea often sustain great
damage. The passage to India must, of course, be
often prolonged. I, however, know instances of ships
going thither from Europe in five months. _F._
[5] In the original there is here an error, either of
the author or of the press; for throughout the
whole work this coast is always called afterwards
_Ciòlamandala_ (_Tscholamandala_). _F._
[6] The southern extremity of India is, in all the
European maps, called Cape _Comorin_; the author,
however, gives it the proper Indian name, _Comari_.
_F._
[7] The eastern part is, without doubt, called the _land
of millet_, because the Indians cultivate, in their
fields, various kinds of that grain, such as the
_Holcus Sorghum_, _Holcus Durra_, &c. _F._
[8] When Bougainville returned from his voyage round
the world, some conceited Parisian ladies asked him
how the Chinese women were dressed. On his replying
that he had never been in that country, they were
much astonished, and could not comprehend how it
was possible to sail round the globe without being
in China. Questions have been asked me and my son
George, at which we could not help laughing, at
least afterwards. _F._
[9] On the flat coast of Coromandel there are no
harbours; and, for that reason, neither people nor
goods can be conveyed on shore from ships, but in
these _shilingas_. This labour is very dangerous
even for such small vessels, as the flatness of the
coast for so great an extent renders the breakers
extremely violent. The English, in all their
wars, have lost many of their ships for want of a
harbour on the eastern coast; and therefore it is
of the utmost importance to them to have possession
of the excellent, safe, and spacious harbour of
_Trinconomale_, on the east side of the island of
_Ceylon_. _F._
[10] See _Sonnerat, Voyages aux Indes_, vol. i. p. 1.
p. 13. Sonnerat, who was an excellent draftsman,
and possessed some knowledge of natural history,
came very young to India, and was hotheaded because
he conceived himself to be a man of importance on
account of these talents.--Law de Lauriston was a
descendant or relation of Law who made himself known
by his speculations under the regency of the Duke of
Orleans. _F._
[11] We have here a striking instance of the truth of the
observation, that travelling in distant countries,
among people of different manners, customs, and
religious opinions, tends to inspire men with
more liberal sentiments, and to render them more
tolerant. _F._
[12] The fiction respecting Hayder Aly’s mean extraction,
&c. has been long ago refuted. See _Sprengel’s Hyder
Ali_, in the preface, p. 6. _F._
[13] The most modern and authentic history of India shews
that all the European East India Companies followed
the example of the Dutch, and of merchants became
warriors. _F._
[14] See on this subject Guyon’s _Histoire de
l’Indostan_, vol. iii. p. 220-224, and _Recherches
hist. et geograph._ par Anquetil du Perron, part i.
p. 174.--The author here delineates the state of
the French trade with strong and ugly colours; but,
it cannot be denied, with a considerable degree of
truth. _F._
[15] These animals are called improperly _white ants_.
The appellation _termites_, from the Latin
systematic name _termes_, is better. There are
various kinds of them, but only in warm countries,
which are all equally destructive, and occasion
great devaluation, not only in sugar plantations,
but also among furniture and clothes in habitations.
_F._
[16] About 2s. 6d. sterling.
[17] It is certain that the religion of Brahma has
not the least similarity to the true Christian
religion; it is also of such antiquity that it
could not have borrowed any thing from it. Both
are essentially different from each other: the
principal object of the Christian religion is the
moral formation and improvement of man, and it is
totally spiritual; the doctrine of Brahma renders
the first ideas of religion familiar to the senses
by images, and allows to its followers a number
of things which Christianity forbids. It cannot,
however, be denied, that many of the old doctrines
and practices generally adopted, particularly in
the East, were received into the Catholic religion;
such, for example, as the worshipping of images,
solemn processions, monachism, the pretended great
sanctity and the different degrees of the clergy,
external pomp and magnificence, &c. The idea of the
Pagan Indians, therefore, mentioned in the text, is
extremely natural. _F._
[18] It has been remarked by English travellers, who
resided in India, that these falsehoods have been
believed and taught by ignorant missionaries. But
are there not people, even at Rome, who consider
the Indians as Manicheans, and their religion as
corrupted Christianity? It may, however, be readily
comprehended, that such hypothesis-mongers never saw
India, or studied the religion of the Indians. See,
on this subject, the _Asiatic Researches_, printed
at Calcutta in 1788, vol. I. p. 127, and _Herbelot_,
_Bibl. Orient._, p. 203, where such ridiculous
assertions are sufficiently refuted. _A._
[19] They bear such marks in honour of _Brahma_, on the
forehead; in honour of _Vishnu_, on the breast;
and in honour of _Shiva_, on the arms. These are
the three rulers of the elements--earth, water,
and fire. In commemoration of the earth having
been created by these three deities, and by means
of these three elements, the Indians, in their
lustrations, besprinkle themselves with three
fingers. They take water also in the hollow of the
hand, raise it upwards, and, in honour of the eight
superior protecting spirits, sprinkle it towards
the eight quarters of the world: they then throw it
towards the heavens in honour of the Sun, whom they
consider as the supreme divinity. These ablutions,
with the marks on the forehead, are called
_Shudhamayaga_; that is, purification, purity. The
_Bhasma_, or colour with which the sacred marks are
made, is supposed to represent the earth, from which
the whole world, and consequently these colours,
were produced. In this respect, however, the systems
differ. _A._
[20] The latitude is not always accurately determined,
even by the moderns. Thus John Hamilton Moore, in
his _Practical Navigator_, places _Puduceri_, or
Pondichery, in 11° 56′ N. lat.; but M. De la Tour
places it in 12° N. lat. and 68° of E. lon. De
l’Isle and D’Anville also differ from each other in
their maps. This difference arises partly from the
expertness requisite in determining the latitude by
means of a quadrant, partly from the greater or less
acuteness of the observer’s eye, and partly from
the perfection or imperfection of the astronomical
instruments employed. _A._
[21] See, on this subject, the second volume of
_Nieubuhr’s Travels_, where the idols in the pagoda
on the island of Elephanta are described.
[22] Responsa privatis dat (Apis) e manu consulentium
cibum capiendo. Germanici Cæfaris manum aversatus
est, haud multo post extincti.
[23] Whether the worship of the Egyptian Apis came from
India, or the sacred ox of the Indians was carried
from Egypt, cannot, as far as I am able to judge, be
determined. The mode of worship in both countries
has without doubt a great deal of similarity,
though in many things different. The sacred ox of
the Indians, for example, remains only three years
in life; whereas that of the Egyptians, according
to Plutarch, remained twenty-five, after which
he was drowned, then embalmed and deposited in a
subterranean burying-place destined for that purpose
near the village of _Abusir_, the ancient _Busiris_,
not far from Memphis. The coffin of the Apis ox was
found there by Paul Lucas and Wortley Montague, the
latter of whom carried away a stone with sculpture
on it representing the embalming of Apis. This stone
may be seen in the British Museum, to the keepers of
which I first explained it. _F._
[24] The temple at _Cirangam_, in the island _Ciranga_,
which lies in the river _Colaru_, or _Colram_, and
in M. De la Tour’s map is placed in 10° 45′ N. lat.
and 76° 45′ E. lon. is a real master-piece of Indian
architecture. This temple is surrounded by seven
walls, each of a square form, which together inclose
the whole edifice. They are entirely constructed
of hewn stone; are twenty-five feet in height,
and each is 350 feet distant from the other in a
parallel direction. Each wall has four gates, and
over each gate is a _gobura_, or high tower, which
rests on the middle of the wall, and is at an equal
distance from both ends. These gates and towers,
which stand exactly opposite to each other, looking
towards the four cardinal points, are ornamented
with columns thirty-five feet in length, and five in
thickness. In the centre of this temple, that is the
sanctuary, stands the image of _Vishnu_, to whom it
is dedicated. On the gates, towers, and walls may be
seen various figures of men and animals, which all
have a symbolical meaning. This temple is at least
2000 years old, and serves to shew how far advanced
the ancient Indians were in the arts of architecture
and sculpture. The learned Chevalier d’Agincourt
at Rome has in his possession a drawing of this
magnificent edifice, which was presented to him by
M. Law de Lauriston, the governor of Pondichery. As
this temple has been already described by English
travellers, I shall say nothing further of it at
present, than to call the reader’s attention to the
mystic number seven, which is signified by the seven
inclosures. _A._
[25] The Egyptians, however, assert, that their king
Sesostris, who lived about the time of Moses, or
1500 years before the birth of Christ, penetrated as
far as India; but this is not probable. _F._
[26] _Cachemir_ is a beautiful province or lordship
conquered by the Moguls. The capital, at the time
Bernier was in India, between 1663 and 1668, was
known also by the name of _Cachemir_; but at present
it is called, as well as the whole province,
_Siri-Negor_. The old _Caspirus_ is not _Cachemir_,
but a city lying nearer to Persia; perhaps _Ghazna_
or _Ghazmin_. _F._
[27] _Cabul_, one of the most northern cities of India,
probably the old _Argyræum_. _F._
[28] _Hastinapuri_, or _Hastinagari_, at present
_Ashnagur_, was formerly the chief city of the
_Assakani_, an ancient people of India. It is not
improbable that the Assyrian and Persian kings may
have extended their dominions thither. _F._
[29] In the eighth part of his works, p. 210-218,
according to the Venetian edition.
[30] The Greeks were accustomed to compare with their
own all the divinities of the most distant foreign
nations; and a similarity in the name, or in
any thing else, made them immediately find in
them Grecian deities. Thus the _Deva-Nishi_ was
_Dionysius_; the _Neith_ of the Egyptians, _Minerva_
or _Athene_; their _Serapis_, _Jupiter_; their
_Horus_, _Apollo_, &c.--The river _Allakantara_ in
La Rochette’s map of 1788 is called _Allaknanda_,
and in Mannert’s map _Allaknandra_. _F._
[31] The village of _Pallipatur_ lies quite close to
_Allahabad_, the name of which is Persian, and which
is of a much later origin. _F._
[32] A description of this observatory may be found in
the _Philosophical Transactions_.
[33] Above three millions sterling.
[34] It can, however, be proved, that the English draw
much more from their Indian possessions than the
author says. For, in the first place, oppression is
not so general as the author pretends; and besides,
many abuses were rectified by the marquis of
Cornwallis. 2dly, In Bengal, from which the English
derive their greatest incomes, there has properly
been no war for a long time. 3dly, The East India
Company has issued orders and formed regulations
for reviving agriculture and manufactures. 4thly,
The monopoly is not very prejudicial, as it extends
only to a few articles. 5thly, The specie exported
to China and England has been in part made good by
the large sums which Tippoo Saib has been obliged
to pay to the East India Company. In a word, the
English, by their late conquests in India, _Ceylon_,
_Malacca_, _Amboina_, _Banda_, &c. have considerably
enlarged their revenue. _F._
[35] Sir William Jones, in one of his anniversary
discourses, says, “It seems agreed that the singular
people called Egyptians, and by corruption Gypsies,
passed the Mediterranean immediately from Egypt:
and their motely language, of which Mr. Grellman
exhibits a copious vocabulary, contains so many
Sanscrit words, that their Indian origin can hardly
be doubted. The authenticity of that vocabulary
seems established by a multitude of Gypsy words; as
_angár_, charcoal; _cásth_, wood; _pár_, a bank;
_bhû_, earth; and a hundred more, for which the
collector of them could find no parallel in the
vulgar dialect of Hindostan, though we know them
to be pure Sanscrit, scarcely changed in a single
letter. A very ingenious friend, to whom this
remarkable fact was imparted, suggested to me that
those very words might have been taken from old
Egyptian, and that the Gypsies were Troglodytes from
the rocks near Thebes, where a race of banditti
still resemble them in their habits and features;
but, as we have no other evidence of so strong an
affinity between the popular dialects of old Egypt
and India, it seems more probable that the Gypsies,
whom the Italians call _Zingaros_ and _Zinganos_,
were no other than _Zinganians_, as M. D’Anville
also writes the word, who might, in some piratical
expedition, have landed on the coast of Arabia or
Africa, whence they might have rambled to Egypt, and
at length might have migrated or been driven into
Europe.” _Asiatic Researches_, vol. iii. p. 8. _E.
Trans._
[36] See Montesquieu’s Works. London 1777, vol. i. p. 180.
[37] This nabob of _Arcate_ or _Arcot_, is merely a
nominal prince. His whole territories are beset with
English troops; and he is suffered to exist, as is
the case with many others, merely that it may appear
as if the country were actually ruled by native
Indian or at least Oriental princes. _F._
[38] The author here means, without doubt, Mr. Christian
Frederick Schwarz, missionary at Tanjaur, sent
thither by the English Society for promoting
Christian knowledge. This missionary, in the
51st part of the _New History of the Evangelic
Missionary Establishments in India_, p. 275-284,
has defended the newly-converted Christians there
against the illiberal accusations of Secretary
Montgomery Campbell, and clearly shewn that
the avaricious British commissaries, by their
oppression and extortion, are the cause of the
poverty of the country and of the wretched state
of agriculture.--The author calls Mr. Schwarz a
Dane. He has probably been led into this mistake
by his connection with the Danish missionaries at
Tranquebar; for, as far as I know, Mr. Schwarz is a
German. _F._
[39] _Tapissendis_ is a general name given to the cotton
stuffs procured from India. They are partly painted
and partly printed with wooden blocks. _Gingam_ is
properly the name given to those cotton stuffs which
come from Bengal and the coast of Coromandel. They
are distinguished by this particular circumstance,
that a thread made from the bark of a tree is
interwoven with the cotton. _A._
This information respecting the difference between the
_Tapissendis_ and _Gingams_ is new. It is, however,
a pity that the author did not give the name of
the tree which produces the bark employed in
manufacturing the latter. Had he made it known, he
would have deserved thanks from all naturalists and
technologists.--In Madagascar, the inhabitants of
the sea-coast manufacture, from the long leaves of
a tree called by them _Vattulala_, but which is no
farther known to botanists, a kind of very strong
stuffs, sometimes as fine as the best camblet, and
frequently employed by the women at the Cape of Good
Hope to make under-petticoats. _F._
[40] _Tirunaveli_, near the fortress _Palamotta_, is
called also, on the modern maps, _Tinivelly_. _F._
[41] It was a part of the political system of the
ancient Indian kings, that they never entered the
territories of their neighbours in a hostile manner
but upon the most urgent occasions. If they could
not possibly avoid it, they at least suffered
the people employed in agriculture to remain at
peace, and molested neither their temples nor their
priests. We are told so by Strabo, and by Adrian in
his History of Alexander’s Expedition to India. The
policy of the Mahometan conquerors and their allies
in India has, on the contrary, been, as far as they
were able, to reduce the mightiest sovereigns and
kingdoms to obedience, and to endeavour to govern
the latter themselves; to leave on the throne only
the weakest princes, and to render them tributary;
to foment quarrels between them, or bring about
a reconciliation according as it suited their
interest; never to undertake more than one war at a
time; to allow religious liberty in its full extent
only to their allies, and to suffer them alone to
retain their ancient usages and customs; to take
part always with one or other of two contending
parties, and in that manner to increase their power;
lastly, to furnish their allies with officers to
command their troops. _Ossa vides regum vacuis
exhausta medullis._ In this manner they suck the
very marrow from the bones of kings, says Juvenal in
his eighth satire. _A._
[42] The kingdom of _Carnate_ must certainly have enjoyed
a long state of peaceful prosperity under its native
kings. This we have reason to conclude from the
extensive pagodas, regularly built with art and a
sort of magnificence, which are found in it; and
also from the many old castles and fortified towns
on the borders of the kingdom, and in the passes
which conduct through the mountains called the
Gauts. The duration of the ancient buildings, for so
many centuries, may be explained by the nature of
the mortar used in India, which is a mixture of oil
and viscous substances, and by the dry warm climate.
The Mahometan princes first brought poverty into
this country, formerly so fortunate; and what they
began the Europeans completed, by carrying thither
as soldiers the refuse of all nations. _F._
[43] See the bull of Clement VIII. of the year 1600,
which begins thus: _In supremo militantis ecclesiæ
solio_. Also that of Clement X. issued on the 7th of
June 1674. _A._
[44] This estimation of the number of the Roman Catholic
Christians (48,000) is certainly too high, even
if we should forget how the missionaries of the
Romish church behave in regard to their so called
converts. They insinuate themselves as physicians
into the houses of the Indians; draw a wet cloth
over the head and forehead of a sick person, even
when at the point of death; mutter privately to
themselves the baptism service; and think they have
then made one Christian more, who is immediately
added to their list.--The protestant missionaries
have in the course of nineteen years baptised 19,340
persons. See _Neuere Geschichte der evangelischen
Missions-anstalten_, 51st part, Halle 1797, 4to. p.
187. _F._
[45] In warm countries sensuality is more active, and the
imagination more lively; and therefore the usages
of the Catholic church must have greater effect on
the Indians, who, when they become members of it,
imagine that they only leave one idolatrous worship
to embrace another. _F._
[46] The _Tschuderies_, or resting-places in India, are
indeed beneficent establishments, but not to be
compared with the large and elegant caravanseries
in Persia and Turkey. Each, however, are suited to
the nature of the country in which they are found.
India is extremely populous, whereas in Persia and
Turkey there are immense wilds and deserts, totally
destitute of inhabitants. In the latter countries,
merchants, for the sake of security, must travel in
large bodies, and therefore require for themselves,
their merchandize and cattle, resting-places of
greater extent. _F._
[47] I must, however, confess that I have been sometimes
robbed: but the _Kuli_, or other poor Indians,
never took any thing else from me than liquor or
provisions, which they found necessary for their
support. As they are always satisfied with little,
it may be readily comprehended that what they
purloined was of no great value. During a residence
of thirteen or fourteen years in India I never heard
of any traveller being robbed or murdered on the
highway. _A._----Travelling is not equally secure in
every part of India. In the peninsula on this side
the Ganges, Bengal and Oude, as far as the power of
the English extends, there is nothing to be feared;
but in the mountains, and farther towards the
north-west, the same safety does not prevail. _F._
[48] The _Caida_, or _Kayda_, is the _Kenra_ of Forskäl,
or the _Pandamùs odoratissima_ of Linnæus. On
account of the similarity in the leaves, it has been
called also _Bromelia_. The natives of Otaheite
cover their houses with it. The farina of the male
flowers is used as a perfume. _F._
[49] The Indians divide good works into _Gnana_ and
_Karma_: Under the former appellation they
comprehend wisdom, meditation, and internal
spiritual employment. _Karma_, on the other hand,
signifies practice, external exercise. Meditation
and spiritual works are the occupation of the
philosophers, particularly the _Budhists_. The
_Karma_, however, or external good works, such as
prayer, lustrations, offerings, and the like, are
confined by the Brahman priests merely to the common
people. _A._
[50] According to Stevens the Tical is equal to a Rupee.
_E. T._
[51] This sovereign died 56 years before the birth of
Christ. _A._
[52] A Paolo is worth about 6d. sterling; and ten
Bajocchi make a Paolo.
[53] The author’s information respecting the coins,
measures and weights in the different parts of India
is without doubt useful, and of great importance
to those who wish to be acquainted with the Indian
trade; but a fuller account of them may be found in
Stephen’s _Guide to the Trade of India_, and, if I
am not mistaken, in a volume of the _Transactions of
the Batavian Society_. _F._
[54] It is very singular to find people in the eighteenth
century bringing forward evidence to prove that the
apostle Thomas was stoned to death and interred,
seventeen hundred years ago, at _Mailapuri_ or
St. Thomas. The Mar Thomas, of whom there are so
many traditionary accounts in India, was probably
Thomas Cana, an Armenian, who must have gone to
India before the sixth century, and have there
diffused the doctrines of Christianity among his own
followers. In the year 822 two Nestorian priests
from Syria, called Mar Sapor and Mar Parges, went
from Babylon to India, and landed at Coulan. The
Indian princes granted extensive privileges to the
Christians of Mar Thomas, and to the two priests
from Babylon, by which they were raised above the
Nairs, or Malabar nobility. These privileges were
engraven on plates of copper, and it is believed
were not long ago extant somewhere in India. The
archbishop of Goa, Alexis de Menezes, a despotic
enthusiast, endeavoured, in 1599, in a synod at
Diamper, to unite the Nestorian Christians with
the Romish church, and burnt all their books and
papers; but they still exist as a distinct sect.
See La Crozes _View of the State of the Church in
India_. The German translation is fuller than the
French original, because the author supplied the
translator with a great many important improvements
and additions. _F._
[55] Some curious particulars respecting this practice
may be seen in a paper on the duties of a faithful
Hindu widow, by Henry Colebroke, Esq. in the 4th
vol. of _Dissertations and Miscellaneous Pieces
relating to the History, Antiquities_, &c. _of
Asia_, reprinted for Vernor and Hood, 1798. _E. T._
[56] See a full account of these sculptures and ruins by
William Chambers, Esq. in the first volume _Asiatic
Researches_, reprinted for Vernor and Hood, 1798.
_E. T._
[57] The oldest pagodas in India, and a great many of
the ancient Egyptian temples, are cut out in the
solid rock. This mode of architecture, peculiar to
the oldest nations, was derived from the nature of
their own dwellings. It is probable that the first
men lived in mountainous districts, and that holes
or cavities in the earth, partly natural and partly
formed by art, were their earliest habitations. The
_Troglodytes_, that is, the inhabiters of holes, dug
out places of the like kind for performing their
religious worship. At later periods they ventured
to quit the mountains to reside on low hills and
plains; and, that they might not suffer from
inundations, to build houses and towns on artificial
eminences, and to dig canals and ditches in order to
procure earth for making these artificial mounts. In
places destitute of stones they built habitations of
brick dried in the sun, which they cemented together
by means of lime, bitumen, and other substances. It
was not till periods much later that burnt bricks
and cut stone began to be employed for building
temples and palaces. _F._
[58] All rivers which have their sources in high
mountainous districts generally flow with great
impetuosity after heavy rains, so that it is
sometimes dangerous, if not impossible, to cross
them. Various instances of the truth of this
observation may be found in Vaillant’s _Travels into
the interior Parts of Africa_. _F._
[59] It is, indeed, worthy of remark, that the many petty
princes on the Malabar coast have maintained their
independence, notwithstanding the great revolutions
by which the whole face of India has been changed,
and though each singly was not sufficiently powerful
to withstand a formidable enemy, and though they
are seldom in such a state of friendship with each
other as to oppose with united forces any antagonist
that might attack them from the north and the east.
The author explains this phenomenon very properly.
The conquest of these small states is, however,
possible: 1st, by fomenting quarrels between the
princes, and then espousing the cause of one of
the parties: 2d, by establishing strong posts and
erecting fortresses in the defiles of the mountains
and places where the rivers are fordable: 3d, by
employing artillery and troops acquainted with the
European discipline. The last method was employed by
Tippoo Saib, in order to reduce some places on the
sea coast. _F._