SECTION I.

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A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS,

ARRANGED IN SYSTEMATIC ORDER:

FORMING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF NAVIGATION,

DISCOVERY, AND COMMERCE, BY SEA AND LAND, FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO

THE PRESENT TIME.

BY

ROBERT KERR, F.R.S. & F.A.S. EDIN.

ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND CHARTS.

VOL. XI.

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH:

AND T. CADELL, LONDON.

MDCCCXXIV.

CONTENTS OF VOL. XI

PART II. BOOK IV. CONTINUED.

CHAP. XII.--(_Continued_.)

Voyage round the World, by Captain George Shelvocke, in 1719-1722,

SECT.

V. Voyage from California to Canton in China,

VI. Residence in China, and Voyage thence to

England,

VII. Supplement to the foregoing Voyage,

VIII. Appendix to Shelvocke's Voyage round the

World. Containing Observations on the

Country and Inhabitants of Peru, by Captain

Betagh,

Introduction,

§ 1. Particulars of the Capture of the Mercury

by the Spaniards,

§ 2. Observations made by Betagh in the

North of Peru,

§ 3. Voyage from Payta to Lima, and Account

of the English Prisoners at that

Place,

§ 4. Description of Lima, and some Account

of the Government of Peru,

§ 5. Some Account of the Mines of Peru and

Chili,

§ 6. Observations on the Trade of Chili,

§ 7. Some Account of the French Interlopers

in Chili,

§ 8. Return of Betagh to England,

CHAP. XIII. Voyage round the World, by Commodore Roggewein, in 1721-1723

Introduction

SECT.

I. Narrative of the Voyage from Holland to the Coast of Brazil,

II. Arrival in Brazil, with some Account of that Country,

III. Incidents during the Voyage from Brazil to Juan Fernandez, with a

Description of that Island,

IV. Continuation of the Voyage from Juan Fernandez till the Shipwreck of

the African Galley,

V. Continuation of the Voyage after the Loss of the African, to the

Arrival of Roggewein at New Britain,

VI. Description of New Britain, and farther Continuation of the Voyage

till the Arrival of Roggewein at Java,

VII. Occurrences from their Arrival at the Island of Java, to the

Confiscation of the Ships at Batavia,

VIII. Description of Batavia and the Island of Java, with some Account

of the Government of the Dutch East-India Company's Affairs,

IX. Description of Ceylon,

X. Some Account of the Governments of Amboina, Banda, Macasser, the

Moluccas, Mallacca, and the Cape of Good Hope,

XI. Account of the Directories of Coromandel, Surat, Bengal, and

Persia,

XII. Account of the Commanderies of Malabar, Gallo, Java, and

Bantam,

XIII. Some Account of the Residences of Cheribon, Siam, and Mockha,

XIV. Of the Trade of the Dutch in Borneo and China,

XV. Of the Dutch Trade with Japan,

XVI. Account of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope,

XVII. Voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to Holland, with some Account of

St Helena, the Island of Ascension, and the Açores,

CHAP. XIV. Voyage round the World, by Captain George Anson, in the Years

1740-1744,

Preface,

Introduction,

SECT.

I. Of the Equipment of the Squadron, and the Incidents relating to it,

from its first Appointment to its setting Sail from St Helens,

II. The Passage from St Helens to the Island of Madeira, with a short

Account of that Island, and of our Stay there,

III. History of the Spanish Squadron commanded by Don Joseph

Pizarro, 236

IV. Passage from Madeira to St Catharines,

V. Proceedings at St Catharines, and a Description of that Place, with

a short Account of Brazil,

VI. The Run from St Catharines to Port St Julian; with some Account of

the Port, and of the Country to the South of the Rio Plata,

VII. Departure from the Bay of St Julian, and Passage from thence to

the Straits of Le Maire,

VIII. Course from the Straits of Le Maire to Cape Noir,

IX. Observations and Directions for facilitating the Passage of future

Navigators round Cape Horn,

X. Course from Cape Noir to the Island of Juan Fernandez,

XI. Arrival of the Centurion at Juan Fernandez, with a Description of

that Island,

XII. Separate Arrivals of the Gloucester, and Anna Pink, at Juan

Fernandez, and Transactions at that Island during the

Interval,

XIII. Short Account of what befell the Anna Pink before she rejoined;

with an Account of the Loss of the Wager, and the putting back of

the Severn and Pearl,

XIV. Conclusion of Proceedings at Juan Fernandez, from the Arrival of

the Anna Pink, to our final Departure from thence,

XV. Our Cruise, from leaving Juan Fernandez, to the taking of

Payta,

XVI. Capture of Payta, and Proceedings at that Place,

XVII. Occurrences from our Departure from Payta to our Arrival

at Quibo,

XVIII. Our Proceedings at Quibo, with an Account of the Place,

XIX. From Quibo to the Coast of Mexico,

XX. An Account of the Commerce carried on between the City of Manilla on

the Island of Luconia, and the Port of Acapulco on the Coast of

Mexico,

XXI. Our Cruise off the Port of Acapulco for the Manilla Ship,

XXII. A short Account of Chequetan, and of the adjacent Coast and

Country,

XXIII. Account of Proceedings at Chequetan and on the adjacent Coast,

till our setting sail for Asia,

XXIV. The Run from the Coast of Mexico to the Ladrones or Marian

Islands,

XXV. Our Arrival at Tinian, and an Account of the Island, and of our

Proceedings there, till the Centurion drove out to Sea,

XXVI. Transactions at Tinian after the Departure of the Centurion,

XXVII. Account of the Proceedings on board the Centurion when driven out

to Sea,

XXVIII. Of our Employment at Tinian, till the final Departure of the

Centurion, and of the Voyage to Macao,

XXIX. Proceeding at Macao,

XXX. From Macao to Cape Espiritu Santo: The taking of the Manilla

Galleon, and returning back again,

XXXI. Transactions in the River of Canton,

XXXII. Proceedings at the City of Canton, and the Return of the

Centurion to England,

A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.

PART II.

BOOK IV. (CONTINUED.)

* * * * *

CHAPTER XII--_Continued_.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, BY CAPTAIN GEORGE SHELVOCKE, IN 1719-1722.

SECTION V.

_Voyage from California to Canton in China_.

We fell in with the coast of California on the 11th of August, and

as soon as we were discovered by the natives, they made fires on the

shore as we sailed past. Towards evening, two of them came off on a

bark log, and were with difficulty induced to come on board. Seeing

our negroes standing promiscuously among the whites, they angrily

separated them from us, and would hardly suffer them to look at us.

They then made signs for us to sit down, after which one of them put

himself into strange postures, talking to us with great vehemence, and

seeming to be in a transport of extacy, running from one to the

other of us with great vehemence, continually singing, speaking, and

running, till quite out of breath. Night coming on, they were for

departing, when we gave them a knife and an old coat each, with which

they were much pleased, and invited us by signs to go on shore along

with them. On the 13th, we were near Porto Leguro, whence some of the

natives came out to meet us on bark-logs, while others made fires,

as if to welcome us, on the tops of hills and rocks near the sea, all

seemingly rejoiced to see us; those on shore running up and down

to each other, and those on the bark-logs paddling with all their

strength to meet us.

No sooner was our anchor down than they came off to us in crowds, some

off bark-logs, but most of them swimming, all the while talking and

calling to each other confusedly. In an instant our ship was full of

these swarthy gentry, all quite naked. Among the rest was their

king or chief; who was no way distinguishable from the rest by any

particular ornament, or even by any deference paid to him by his

people, his only ensign of sovereignty being a round black stick of

hard wood, about two feet and a half long. This being observed by some

of our people, they brought him to me, and concluding that I was the

chief of the ship, he delivered his black sceptre to me in a handsome

manner, which I immediately returned. Notwithstanding his savage

appearance, this man had a good countenance, and there was something

dignified in his manner and behaviour. I soon found a way to regale

them, by setting before them abundance of our choicest Peruvian

conserves, with which they seemed much gratified. They were

accommodated with spoons, mostly silver, all of which they very

honestly returned.

Having thus commenced friendship with the natives, I sent an officer

ashore to view the watering-place; and, to make him the more welcome,

I sent with him some coarse blue baize and some sugar, to distribute

among the women. On seeing our boat ready to put off, the king was

for accompanying her in his bark-log, but I persuaded him to go in the

boat, with which he seemed to be much gratified. The remainder of

the day was spent with our wild visitors, who behaved in general very

quietly. The officer returned with an account of having been very

civilly received, and we prepared our casks for being sent ashore next

morning. Although, at first view, the country and inhabitants might

dissuade us from venturing freely among them, I had formerly read such

accounts of these people, that I was under no apprehension of being

molested in wooding and watering. The Californians, however, appeared

very terrible to our negroes, insomuch, that one of them, who

accompanied the officer on shore, was afraid to stir from the boat,

and held an axe constantly in his hand, to defend himself in case of

being attacked. On the approach of night, all the Indians swam ashore,

leaving us a clear ship, after the fatigues of the day.

Next morning, at day-break, our boat went ashore with the people

appointed to cut wood and fill our water-casks; and before the sun was

up, our ship was again filled with our former guests, who seemed

never satisfied with gazing at us and every thing about the ship. That

nothing might be wanting to keep up our amity, I sent a large boiler

on shore, with a good store of flour and sugar, and a negro cook, who

continually boiled hasty-pudding, to serve the numerous guests on the

beach. At first the natives remained idle spectators of our labours;

but at length, taking compassion to see our few men labouring hard in

rolling great casks of water over the heavy sand in the sultry heat

of the day, they put forth their hands to help them, encouraged by the

particular readiness of their chief to serve us; for, after seeing Mr

Randal take up a log of wood to carry to the boat, he took up another,

and was immediately followed by two or three hundred of the natives,

so that they eased our men mightily. They also rolled our casks down

to the beach, but always expected a white man to assist them, though

quite satisfied if he only touched the cask with his finger. This

eased our men of a great deal of fatigue, and shortened the time of

our stay at this place. We even found means to make those who used to

stay all day on board, of some use to us; for, when we came to heel

the ship, we crowded them, all over on one side, which, with other

shifts, gave her a deep heel, while we cleaned and paid her bottom

with pitch and tallow.

The natives seemed every day more and more attached to us. When our

boat went ashore in the morning, there was constantly a large retinue

in waiting on the beach for our people, and particularly for those

whom they guessed to be above the common rank, by their better dress.

By this time, the news of our arrival had spread through all the

neighbouring parts, and some natives of different tribes from that

which dwelt about the bay, came daily to visit us. Those who came

from any distance in the inland country could not swim, and were

differently painted, besides some other visible distinctions; but

all united amicably to assist us, and hardly any were idle except the

women, who used to sit in circles on the scorching sand, waiting for

their shares of what was going forwards, which they received without

any quarrelling among themselves about the inequality of distribution.

Having completed our business in five days, we prepared for our

departure on the 18th August, and employed that morning in making a

large distribution of sugar among the women, and gave a great many

knives, old axes, and old iron among the men, being the most valuable

presents we could make them; and, in return, they gave us bows and

arrows, deer-skin bags, live foxes and squirrels, and the like. That

we might impress them with awe of our superior power, we saluted them

with five guns on loosing our top-sails, which greatly frightened

them, and there seemed an universal damp on their spirits on seeing

our sails loosed, as sorry for our approaching departure. The women

were all in tears when my people were coming off to the ship; and many

of the men remained till we were under sail, and then leapt into the

sea with sorrowful countenances.

Having made some stay in California, some account of that country and

its inhabitants may be expected; though I believe a complete discovery

of its extent and boundaries would produce few real advantages, except

satisfying the curious. That part of California which I saw, being the

southern extremity of its western coast, appears mountainous, barren,

and sandy, much like some parts of Peru: yet the soil about Porto

Leguro, and most likely in the other vallies, is a rich black mould,

and when turned up fresh to the sun, appears as if intermingled with

gold-dust. We endeavoured to wash and purify some of this, and the

more this was done, the more it appeared like gold. In order to be

farther satisfied, I brought away some of this earth, but it was

afterwards lost in our confusions in China. However this may be,

California probably abounds in metals of all sorts, though the natives

had no ornaments or utensils of any metal, which is not to be wondered

at, as they are perfectly ignorant of all arts.

The country has plenty of wood, but the trees are very small, hardly

better than bushes. But woods, which are an ornament to most other

countries, serve only to make this appear the more desolate; for

locusts swarm here in such numbers, that they do not leave a

green leaf on the trees. In the day, these destructive insects are

continually on the wing in clouds, and are extremely troublesome by

flying in, one's face. In shape and size they greatly resemble our

green grasshoppers, but are of a yellow colour. Immediately after we

cast anchor, they came off in such numbers, that the sea around the

ship was covered with their dead bodies. By their incessant ravages,

the whole country round Porto Leguro was stripped totally naked,

notwithstanding the warmth of the climate and the richness of the

soil. Believing that the natives are only visited with this plague at

this season of the year, I gave them a large quantity of calavances,

and shewed them how they were sown. The harbour of Porto Leguro is

about two leagues to the N.E. of Cape St Lucas, being a good and safe

port, and very convenient for privateers when cruizing for the Manilla

ship. The watering-place is on the north side of the bay or harbour,

being a small river which there flows into the sea, and may easily be

known by the appearance of a great quantity of green canes growing

in it, which always retain their verdure, not being touched by the

locusts, as these canes probably contain, something noxious to that

voracious insect.

The men of this country are tall, straight, and well set, having large

limbs, with coarse black hair, hardly reaching to their shoulders. The

women are of much smaller size, having much longer hair than the men,

with which some of them almost cover their faces. Some of both sexes

have good countenances; but all are much darker-complexioned than

any of the other Indians I saw in the South Seas, being a very deep

copper-colour. The men go quite naked, wearing only a few trifles by

way of ornament, such as a band or wreath of red and white silk-grass

round their heads, adorned on each side with a tuft of hawk's

feathers. Others have pieces of mother-of-pearl and small shells

fastened among their hair, and tied round their necks; and some had

large necklaces of six or seven strings, composed of small red and

black berries. Some are scarified all over their bodies; others use

paint, some smearing their faces and breasts with black, while others

were painted black down to the navel, and from thence to the feet with

red.

The women wear a thick fringe or petticoat of silk-grass, reaching

from their middle to their heels, and have a deer-skin carelessly

thrown over their shoulders. Some of the better sort have a cloak of

the skin of some large bird, instead of the bear-skins. Though the

appearance of the Californians is exceedingly savage, yet, from what

I could observe of their behaviour to each other, and their deportment

towards us, they seem to possess all imaginable humanity. All the time

we were there, and constantly among many hundreds of them, there

was nothing to be seen but the most agreeable harmony, and most

affectionate behaviour to each other. When any of us gave any thing

eatable to one person, he always divided it among all who were around

him, reserving the smallest share to himself. They seldom walked

singly, but mostly in pairs, hand in hand. They seemed of meek

and gentle dispositions, having no appearance of cruelty in their

countenances or behaviour, yet seemed haughty towards their women.

They lead a careless life, having every thing in common, and seemed to

desire nothing beyond the necessaries of life. They never once offered

to pilfer or steal any of our tools or other utensils; and such was

their honesty, that my men having forgotten their axes one day on

shore, while cutting wood, which was noticed by one of the natives, he

told it to the king, who sent into the wood for the axes, and restored

them with much apparent satisfaction.

Their language is guttural and harsh, and they talk a great deal, but

I could never understand a single word they spoke. Their dwellings

were very mean, being scarcely sufficient to shelter them. Their diet

is, I believe, mostly fish, which they frequently eat raw, but they

sometimes bake it in the sand. They seldom want abundance of this

food, as the men go out to sea on their bark-logs, and are very expert

harponiers. Their harpoons are made of hard wood, and with these

they strike the largest albicores, and bring them ashore on their

bark-logs, which they row with double paddles. This seemed strange

to us, who had often experienced the strength of these fish; for

frequently when we had hold of one of these with very large hooks,

made fast to eight-strand twine, we had to bring the ship to, to bring

them in, and it was then as much as eight or ten men could do; so that

one would expect, when an Indian had struck one of these fish,

from his light float, it would easily run away with the man and the

bark-log; but they have some sleight in their way of management, by

which the strength and struggling of these fish are all in vain. There

are hardly any birds to be seen in this country except a few pelicans.

When the Californians want to drink, they wade into the river, up to

their middles, where they take up the water in their hands, or stoop

down and suck it with their mouths. Their time is occupied between

hunting, fishing, eating, and sleeping; and having abundant exercise,

and rather a spare diet, their lives are ordinarily prolonged to

considerable age, many of both sexes appearing to be very old, by

their faces being much wrinkled, and their hair very grey. Their bows

are about six feet long, with strings made of deer's sinews, but their

arrows seemed too long for their bows; and considering that they have

no adequate tools, these articles must require much time in making.

The shafts of their arrows consist of a hollow cane, for two-thirds of

their length, the other third, or head, being of a heavy kind of wood,

edged with flint, or sometimes agate, and the edges notched like a

saw, with a very sharp point. They made no display of their arms to

us, and we seldom saw any in their hands, though they have need of

some arms to defend themselves from wild beasts, as I saw some men who

had been severely hurt in that way, particularly one old man, who

had his thigh almost torn in pieces by a tiger or lion, and though,

healed, it was frightfully scarred. The women commonly go into the

woods with bows and arrows in search of game, while the men are

chiefly occupied in fishing. I can say nothing respecting their

government, except that it did not seem any way strict or rigorous.

When the king appeared in public, he was usually attended by many

couples, or men walking hand in hand, two and two together. On the

first morning of our arrival, he was seen in this manner coming out of

a wood, and noticing one of my officers cutting down a tree, whom

he judged to be better than ordinary, by having silver lace on his

waistcoat, be shewed both his authority and civility at the same time,

by ordering one of his attendants to take the axe and work in his

stead.

One day while we were there, a prodigious flat fish was seen basking

in the sun on the surface of the water near the shore, on which twelve

Indians swam off and surrounded him. Finding himself disturbed, the

fish dived, and they after him, but he escaped from them at this time.

He appeared again in about an hour, when sixteen or seventeen Indians

swam off and encompassed him; and, by continually tormenting him,

drove, him insensibly ashore. On grounding, the force with which he

struck the ground with his fins is not to be expressed, neither can

I describe the agility with which the Indians strove to dispatch

him, lest the surf should set him again afloat, which they at length

accomplished with the help of a dagger lent them by Mr Randal. They

then cut him into pieces, which were distributed among all who stood

by. This fish, though of the flat kind, was very thick, and had a

large hideous mouth, being fourteen or fifteen feet broad, but not

quite so much in length.

On the 18th August, 1721, we set sail from Porto Leguro, bound for

Canton in China, as a likely place for meeting with some English

ships, in which we might procure a passage home. Considering the

length of the voyage before us, our ship was in a very bad condition,

as her sails and rigging were so old and rotten, that if any accident

had befallen our masts or sails, we had been reduced to extreme

distress and danger, having no change either of sails or ropes; but

ours being a case of necessity, we had to run all hazards, and to

endeavour, by the utmost attention, to guard against deficiencies

which could not be supplied. Having already overcome many

difficulties, seemingly insurmountable in prospect, we were full

of hope to get over these also, and the pleasing expectation of

revisiting our native shores gave us spirits to encounter this tedious

navigation in so weak and comfortless a condition. We were now so

weakly manned, that we could scarcely have been able to navigate our

vessel without the assistance of the negroes, not amounting now

to thirty whites, so much had our crew been reduced by untoward

accidents.

We discovered an island on the 21st, 110 leagues W.S.W. from Cape St

Lucas,[1] but as the wind blew fresh, I could not get nearer than two

leagues, and did not think proper to lose time in laying-to in the

night. It seemed seven or eight leagues in circumference, having a

large bay on its S.W. side, in the middle of which was a high rock. My

people named this Shelvocke's island. From hence we shelved, down to

the latitude of 13° N. but were stopped two or three days by westerly

winds, which we did not expect in this sea, especially as being

now five or six hundred leagues from the land. The trade-wind again

returning, we kept in the parallel of 13° N. except when we judged

that we were near the shoals of St Bartholomew, and then haled a

degree more to the north, and so continued for sixty or seventy

leagues. A fortnight after leaving California, my people, who had

hitherto enjoyed uninterrupted health, began to be afflicted with

sickness, particularly affecting their stomachs, owing doubtless to

the great quantities of sweetmeats they were continually devouring,

and also to oar common food, chiefly composed of puddings made of

coarse flour and sweetmeats, mixed up with sea-water, together with

jerked beef, most of which was destroyed by ants, cockroaches, and

other vermin. We could not afford to boil the kettle once in the whole

passage with fresh water, so that the crew became reduced to a

very melancholy state by scurvy and other distempers. The sickness

increased upon us every day, so that we once buried two in one day,

the armourer and carpenter's, mate, besides whom the carpenter,

gunner, and several others died, together with some of our best

negroes.

[Footnote 1: Probably La Nablada, in lat. 18° 55' N. long. 180° 48'

E.]

The greatest part of my remaining people were disabled, and our ship

very leaky; and to add to our misfortunes, one of our pumps split and

became useless. Under these unhappy circumstances, we pushed forwards

with favourable gales till within 80 leagues of Guam, one of the

Ladrones, when we encountered dismal weather and tempestuous winds,

veering round the compass. This was the more frightful, as we were

unable to help ourselves, not above six or seven, being able for duty,

though necessity obliged even those who were extremely low and weak

to lend what help they could. In the boisterous sea raised by these

gales, our ship so laboured that the knee of her head, and her whole

beak-head, became loose, so that the boltsprit fetched away and played

with every motion of the ship, and so continued all the rest of

the time we were at sea. For some time our main-mast stood without

larboard shrouds, till we could unlay our best cable to make more,

having knotted and spliced the old shrouds till our labour was in

vain. In the midst of these difficulties, I was taken very ill, and

had little expectations of living much longer, till the gout gave me

some painful hopes of recovery.

In the beginning of October, we made the island of Guam, 100 leagues

short of the account given by Rogers, who makes 105° of longitude

between Cape St Lucas and Guam, while we made not quite 100°.[2] We

passed through between Guam and Serpana, and saw several flying proas,

but none came near us that day. We had heavy and squally weather,

which obliged me to keep the deck in the rain, by which I caught a

cold, which threw me into a worse condition than before, in which I

continued all the time I was in China. Guam seemed very green and of

moderate height, and the sight of land was so pleasant after our long

run, that we would gladly have stopped to procure some refreshments,

but durst not venture in, though on the point of perishing, lest the

inhabitants should take advantage of our weakness. From Guam I shaped

our course for the island of Formosa, to which we had a long and

melancholy voyage, as our sickness daily increased; so that, on the 3d

November, when we got sight of that island, both ship and company

were almost entirely worn out. Next day we doubled the south Cape of

Formosa, passing within a league of the rocks of _Vele-Rete_, where

we were sensible of a very strong current. As we passed in sight, the

inhabitants of Formosa made continual fires on the coast, as inviting

us to land; but we were so weak that we did not deem it prudent to

venture into any of their harbours.

[Footnote 2: Rogers is however nearer the truth, the difference of

longitude being 106° 42' between these two places.--E.]

We directed our course from Formosa for the neighbouring coast of

China, and found ourselves on the 6th at the mouth of the river

_Loma_,[3] in twelve fathoms water, but the weather was so hazy that

we could not ascertain where we were. Seeing abundance of fishing

boats, we tried every method we could think of to induce some of

the fishermen to come on board to pilot us to Macao, but found

this impracticable, as we could not understand each other. We were

therefore obliged to keep the land close on board, and to anchor

every evening. This was a prodigious fatigue to our men, who were so

universally ill that we could hardly find any one able to steer

the ship. We were bewildered in a mist during four days, and much

surprised by seeing a great many islands, omitted in our charts, on

some of which we saw large fortifications. This made us believe

that the current had carried us beyond our port, and occasioned much

dejection of spirits; for, though the sea was covered with fishing

boats, we could get no one to set us right, or to give us any

directions we could understand.

[Footnote 3: This name is so corrupted as to be unintelligible.--E]

Towards evening of the 10th, as we were passing through a very narrow

channel between two islands, a fisherman who was near, and observed

by our manner of working that we were afraid to venture through, waved

with his cap for us to bring to till he came to us. When he came, he

seemed to understand that we enquired for Macao, and made signs that

he would carry us there, if we gave him as many pieces of silver as

he counted little fish from his basket, which amounted to forty. We

accordingly counted out forty dollars into a hat, and gave them to

him, on which he came into our ship, and took her in charge, carrying

us through the narrow channel, and brought us to anchor at sun-set. We

weighed next morning, and kept the coast of China close on board. By

noon we were abreast of Pulo Lantoon, whence we could see two English

ships under sail, passing the island of Macao on their way from the

river of Canton. They kept on their way, taking no notice of us, which

struck a damp into our spirits, fearing we should miss a passage for

England this season. In the afternoon of next day, we anchored in

the road of Macao, near the entrance of Canton river, which we never

should have found out by any of our charts.

I was much amazed at the incorrectness with which these coasts are

laid down, to the eastwards of Pulo Lantoon; as there runs a cluster

of islands for upwards of twenty leagues in that direction, which are

not in the least noticed by any of our hydrographers, nor have I ever

met with any navigator who knew any thing about them. The coast of

China, within these islands, is rocky, mountainous, and barren;

but, owing to my heavy sickness, I was unable to make any useful

observations.

SECTION VI.

_Residence in China, and Voyage thence to England._

As Macao is the place where ships always stop for a pilot to carry

them up the river of Canton, I sent an officer with my compliments

to the governor, and with orders to bring off a pilot; but

hearing nothing of him till next morning, I was under very great

apprehensions. Next morning, a great number of the people belonging

to the Success came off to our ship, and acquainted me that Clipperton

had left me designedly. About noon this day, the 12th November,

1721, a pilot came off to us, when we immediately weighed anchor, and

immediately entered Canton river, being assured that there still were

some European ships at Wampoo, about ten miles short of Canton. We

were four days in plying up to the road between the tower bars, where

we anchored; and, finding the Bonetta and Hastings, two English

ships, I sent an officer to request their instructions how to conduct

ourselves in this port, and to acquaint us with its customs. They

answered, that the Cadogan and Francis, two English European ships,

were lying at Wampoo, and advised me to send up to the English factors

at Canton, to acquaint them with our arrival, and the reasons which

obliged us to come here. This I accordingly did next day, borrowing

one of their flags to hoist as our boat, without which we had met with

much trouble from the _Hoppo-men_, or custom-house officers. I sent

letters to the captains of the English ships, signifying the necessity

which forced me to this country, and requesting their succour and

protection; assuring them that I acted under his majesty's commission,

which also I sent, for their perusal. Next morning, being the 17th, I

weighed and worked up to Wampoo, where, besides the two English ships,

I found three belonging to France, one Ostender, and a small ship from

Manilla.

I was here in hopes of all my troubles being at an end, and that I

should have full leisure for rest and refreshment after my many and

great fatigues; but I soon found these expectations ill grounded,

and after all my perils, that I was fallen into others least to be

endured, as proceeding from false brethren. A most unlucky accident

happened the very evening that we anchored at Wampoo, which gave birth

to all the troubles I encountered in India; though, in respect to

me, both unforeseen and unavoidable, and purely the effects of that

eagerness in the ship's company to get out of this part of the world

at any rate. Had there been any government among the English settled

here, to have supported my authority, this unlucky business had never

happened; and, as it was, could only be imputed to nothing but the

want of such an establishment. One of my men, named David Griffith,

being in a hurry to remove his effects into the Bonetta's boat, in

which he was chased by a _Hoppo_ or custom-house boat; and being a

little in liquor, and fearing to lose his silver, fired a musket and

killed the Hoppo-man or custom-house officer. Early next morning, the

dead body was laid at the door of the English factory, where Chinese

officers lay in wait to seize the first Englishman that should come

out. A supercargo belonging to the Bonetta happened to be the first;

he was immediately seized and carried off, and afterwards led in

chains about the suburbs of Canton. All that could be said or done

by the most considerable Chinese merchants who were in correspondence

with the English, was of no avail. In the mean time, my man, who had

slain the Chinese officer, and another, were put in irons aboard

the Francis, which was _chopped_, or seized, till the guilty man

was delivered up. He was then carried to Canton in chains, and the

supercargo was released.

I had not been here many days, when I was deserted by all my officers

and men, who were continually employed in removing their effects from

my ship to some of the European ships, without my knowledge, I being

then confined to bed. My officers were using all their efforts to

engage the gentlemen belonging to the company in their interest, and

had only left my son and a few negroes to look after the ship, and

to defend my effects, which were on the brink of falling into the

bottomless pit of Chinese avarice; besides, they and the ship's

company had so many ways of disposing of every thing they could lay

their hands on, that I found it impossible to oblige them to do what

I thought justice to our owners: They all soon recovered from

their illness, and they all became their own masters. There were no

magistrates for me to appeal to on shore, who would aid me so far as

to compel them to remain in my ship; and the officers commanding

the English ships could not afford me the help they might have been

inclined to give, lest the supercargoes might represent their conduct

to the East India Company. And these last, who superintend the English

trade at this port, seemed even inclined to have refused me a passage

in one of their ships, and even treated me as one enemy would treat

another in a neutral port; looking on me in that light for presuming

to come within the limits of the Company, without considering the

necessity by which I had been compelled to take that step.

When Captains Hill and Newsham came to visit me, they were astonished

at the ruinous condition of my ship, and could scarcely think it

possible for her to have made so long a passage. The rottenness of her

cordage, and the raggedness of her sails, filled them with surprise

and pity for my condition. When I had given them a short history of

the voyage, and requested they would receive my officers and company,

with their effects, they at once said, That they saw plainly my ship

was in no condition to be carried any farther, and they were willing

to receive us all as soon as we pleased, on payment of our passage.

But the supercargoes were displeased that I had not applied to them,

as they are the chief men here, though only passengers when aboard; so

that I was quite neglected, and the English captains were ordered to

fall down with their ships five or six miles below where I lay. I was

thus left destitute in the company of five foreign ships; yet their

officers, seeing me deserted by my countrymen, kindly offered me their

services, and assisted me as much as they could, and without them

I know not what might have been my fate, as I was under perpetual

apprehensions that the Chinese would have seized my ship.

After the murder of the custom-house officer seemed to have been quite

forgotten, a magistrate, called a _Little Mandarin_, committed the

following outrageous action:--At the beginning of the troubles,

occasioned by that murder, he had received orders to apprehend all the

English he could find, which he neglected till all was over. He then

one day, while passing the European factories, ordered his attendants

to seize on all the English he could see in the adjoining shops, and

took hold of nine or ten, French as well as English, whom he carried,

with halters about their necks, to the palace of the _Chantock_, or

viceroy. Application was then made to the _Hoppo_, or chief customer,

who represented matters to the viceroy in favour of the injured

Europeans; on which the mandarin was sent for, and being unable to

vindicate himself was degraded from his post, subjected to the bamboo,

a severe punishment, and rendered incapable of acting again as a

magistrate; the Europeans being immediately liberated. It appears to

me, however, that the English are tyrannized over by the Chinese, and

exposed to the caprices of every magistrate, wherefore I was the more

urgent to be on board one of the European ships. I had now discovered

my error in addressing the captains, and now sent a letter to the

supercargoes, demanding a passage for myself, my officers, and

ship's company, which I was sensible they could not refuse: but their

compliance was clogged with a charge to the captains not to receive

any thing belonging to us, unless consigned to the company in England.

The hoppo now made a demand upon me for anchorage in the river,

amounting to no less than 6000 _tahel_, and, to quicken the payment,

annexed a penalty to this extortion of 500 _tahel_ for every day

the payment was delayed. There were no means to avoid this gross

imposition; and though a day necessarily elapsed before I could

send up the money, I had to add the penalty of that day, so that he

received 6500 _tahel_, or L. 2166:13:4 sterling;[4] being about six

times as much as was paid for the Cadogan, the largest English ship

there at the time, and which measured a third larger than mine. I soon

after sold my ship for 2000 tahel, or L. 666, 13s. 4d. sterling, which

money was consigned to the India Company, along with all the rest of

my effects, and I prevailed on most of my officers and men to take

their passage in the English homeward-bound ships.

[Footnote 4: At these proportions, the Chinese _tahel_ is exactly 6s.

8d. sterling.--E.]

Considering my short stay in China, and my bad health, I cannot be

expected to give any tolerable account of this place from my own

observation, and to copy others would be inconsistent with the purpose

of this narrative, so that I shall only observe, that the English, at

this time, had no settled factory at Canton, being only permitted

to hire large houses, called _hongs_, with convenient warehouses

adjoining, for receiving their goods previous to their shipment. For

these they pay rent to the proprietors, and either hire the same or

others, as they think proper, next time they have occasion for the

accommodation.

Notwithstanding my utmost diligence, the business I was engaged in

kept me in a continual hurry till the ships were ready to depart,

which was in December, 1721: At which time, heartily tired of the

country, and the ill usage I had met with, I sailed in the Cadogan,

Captain John Hall, in company with the Francis, Captain Newsham; and

as the latter ship sailed much better than the Cadogan, she left us

immediately after getting out to sea. Finding his ship very tender, or

crank, Captain Hill put in at Batavia, to get her into better trim. We

continued here about ten days; but I can say little about that place,

being all the time unable to stand on my legs, and was only twice out

in a coach to take the air, two or three miles out of the city, in

which little excursion I saw a great variety of beautiful prospects of

fine country seats and gardens, and, indeed, every thing around shewed

the greatest industry. The buildings in the city are generally very

handsome, and laid out in very regular streets, having canals running

through most of them, with trees planted on each side, so that Batavia

may justly be called a fine city: But the sight is the only sense that

is gratified here, for the canals smell very offensively when the tide

is low, and breed vast swarms of muskitoes, which are more troublesome

here than in any place I was ever in.

A great part of the inhabitants of Batavia are Chinese, who are

remarkable for wearing there their ancient dress, having their hair

rolled up in such a manner that there is little difference in that

respect between the men and women. Ever since the revolution in China,

which brought that country under the Tartar yoke, the Tartarian

dress has been imposed upon the whole kingdom, which was not

effected without great bloodshed: For many of the Chinese were

so superstitiously attached to their ancient modes, that they

unaccountably chose rather to lose their lives than their hair; as the

Tartar fashion is to shave the head, except a long lock on the crown,

which they plait in the same manner we do. The Dutch, taking advantage

of this superstitious attachment of the Chinese to their hair, exact

from all the men who live under their protection, a poll-tax of a

dollar a month for the liberty of wearing their hair, which produces a

very considerable revenue.

Hearing at Batavia that there were several pirates in these seas,

Captain Hill joined the Dutch homeward-bound fleet in Bantam bay, and

the Dutch commodore promised to assist Captain Hill in wooding and

watering at _Mew_ island, the water at Batavia being very bad. We fell

in with the Francis in the Straits of Sunda, though we imagined that

ship had been far a-head. The Dutch made this a pretence for leaving

us before we got to Mew island, and Captain Newsham also deserted

us, so that we were left alone. We continued six or seven days at

Mew island, during which time several boats came to us from Prince's

island, and brought us turtle, cocoa-nuts, pine-apples, and other

fruits. From Mew island we had a very pleasant voyage to and about the

Cape of Good Hope. By the good management of Captain Hill, although

the Francis and the Dutch ships had the start of us seven days, by

deserting us in the Straits of Sunda, we yet got to the cape seven

days before the Francis, though she sailed considerably better than

we. By comparing notes with the officers of the Francis, we found that

she had suffered a good deal of bad weather off the south of Africa,

while we, by keeping about ten leagues nearer shore, continually

enjoyed pleasant weather and a fair wind, till we anchored in Table

Bay, which we did towards the end of March, 1722.

We here found Governor Boon and others, bound for England in the

London Indiaman. We had a pleasant voyage from the cape to St Helena,

and thence to England, arriving off the Land's-end towards the close

of July. On coming into the British channel we had brisk gales from

the west, with thick foggy weather. In the evening of the 30th July we

anchored under Dungeness, and that same night some of the supercargoes

and passengers, among whom I was one, hired a small vessel to carry

us to Dover, where we arrived the next morning early. The same day we

proceeded for London, and arrived there on the 1st August, 1722. Thus

ended a long, fatiguing, and unfortunate voyage, of _three years,

seven months, and eleven days_, in which I had sailed considerably

more than round the circumference of the globe, and had undergone a

great variety of troubles and hardships by sea and land.

SECTION VII.

_Supplement to the foregoing Voyage._

In the Collection of Harris, besides interweaving several

controversial matters respecting this voyage, from an account of it by

one Betagh, who was captain of marines in the Speedwell, a long series

of remarks on the conduct of Shelvocke by that person, are appended.

Neither of these appear to possess sufficient interest, at this

distance of time, almost a century, to justify their insertion in

our collection, where they would have very uselessly occupied a

considerable space. Captain Betagh appears to have been actuated by

violent animosity against Captain Shelvocke, whose actions he traduced

and misrepresented with the utmost malignity, the innocent cause of

his having suffered captivity among the Spaniards in South America,

of which some account will be found in the subsequent section. Of

all these charges, we have only deemed it expedient to insert the

following statement of the circumstances connected with the capture

of the Conception, as related by Betagh, which Harris, I. 230,

characterizes as "a very extraordinary piece of recent history, and

seemingly supported by evidence;" but at this distance of time we have

no means of ascertaining to which side the truth belongs.--_Ed._

"This being the great crisis of the voyage, I shall be more particular

in relating the affair of this last prize. This ship was named the

Conception, Don _Stephen de Recova_ commander,[1] bound from Calao to

Panama, having on board several persons of distinction, particularly

the Conde de la Rosa, who had been some time governor of Pisco,

and was now going to Spain, laden with flour, sugar, marmalade, _et

cetera_. Now, be it known to all men, that the _et cetera_ was 108,630

pieces of eight, or Spanish dollars: And Shelvocke little thought,

when he took this prize, or compiled his book, that I, of all men,

should have the exact state of this affair. He often said that he

would give the gentlemen owners a fair account; and I have often

promised to prove that he did say so. We have now both made our

words good, and I have not only an authentic account, but I will also

declare how I got it.

[Footnote 1: Shelvocke who certainly ought to have known best, names

the ship the Conception de Recova, and her commander Don Joseph

Desorio.--E.]

"When I was carried prisoner to Lima, I had sufficient leisure to

reflect on my misfortunes, and how likely I was to be ruined and

the owners cheated; wherefore, to prepare them to defend their just

rights, I wrote to one of them the substance of what had occurred

to me; how Shelvocke had mismanaged; how arbitrarily he had acted in

defiance of their articles, and what were his private intentions in

the latter part of the voyage. As soon as I came to London, which was

in October, 1721, I confirmed the report of my letter with several

new circumstances; for all which performance of my duty, it is, as

I suppose, that my name has met with so much reproach in Captain

Shelvocke's book. But, besides my advices, the gentlemen owners had

many proofs from prisoners and other people. Eleven months after me,

being August, 1722, Shelvocke himself arrived, and immediately waited

on the gentlemen in the lump for all his transactions; not owning any

thing of this prize, which he had unlawfully shared, with every thing

else, among twenty-three of his men. Instead of compromising the

matter, the gentlemen read him a letter, secured him, and had him

the same day confined in _Wood-street Compter_. A few days after, his

pupil, Stewart, arrived at Dover, and was seized by the honest warden

of the castle, according to directions, securing also his book of

accounts, and brought it along with the prisoner to the owners, from

whom I had the book, and copied from it the following statement of the

dividends:--

Names. Quality Number Dollars Eng.

of Money.

Shares

George Shelvocke Captain 6 14,325 2642 10 0

Samuel Rundal Lieutenant 2-1/2|

John Rainer Cap. Marines 2-1/2|

Blowfield Coldsea Master 2-1/2|---4718 1100 17 4

Nicholas Adams Surgeon 2-1/2| each

Mathew Stewart First mate 2|

Monsieur La Porte Second mate 2|

George Henshall Boatswain 2|-------3775 880 16 8

Robert Davenport Carpenter 2| each

William Clark Gunner 2|

James Daniel Midshipman 1-1/2|

David Griffith Ditto 1-1/2|

Christopher Hawkins Ditto 1-1/2|

Oliver Lefevre Sail-maker 1-1/2|

John Doydge Surgeon's |

mate 1-1/2|

William Morgan Ditto 1-1/2|---2850 660 0 0

John Popplestone Armourer 1-1/2| each

James Moyett Cooper 1-1/2|

John Pearson Carpenter's 1-1/2|

mate |

Geo. Shelvocke, jun. 1-1/2|

William Clement Able seaman 1|

John Norris Ditto 1|

James Moulville Ditto 1|

George Gill Ditto 1|

Peter Fero Ditto 1|-------1887-1/4 440 7 2

John Smith Ditto 1| each

Edward Alcocke Ditto 1|

John Theobald Barber 1|

William Burrows Old seaman 3/4

Daniel M'Donald Ditto 3/4

Richard Croft Ditto 3/4

John Robbins Grommet, 1/2|

or boy |----943-1/4 220 4 2

Benedict Harry Cook 1/2| each

------------------------------------------------------------------

33 persons in all 52-1/4 98,604-2/3 23,007 15 6

"The reader will perceive that the sum total of this dividend falls

short of what I said the capture amounted to; but, in order to set

that matter right, there is a secret article of 627 quadruples of

gold, which Shelvocke graciously shared among private friends, each

quadruple, or double doubloon; being worth sixteen dollars each, or L.

3:14:8 sterling, at 4s. 8d. the dollar. The value of these is 10,032

dollars, which, added to the sum of the foregoing account, make

108,636-3/4 dollars, or L. 25,348:11:6 sterling in all. Which large

sum of money Shelvocke had the prodigious modesty to conceal, under

the mysterious _et cetera_. Stewart's book mentions the double

doubloons, but says not a word as to how they were distributed, so

that we may imagine they were sunk between the two Shelvockes and

Stewart: For, as Stewart was agent, cashier, and paymaster, it was an

easy matter to hide a bag of gold from the public, and to divide it

afterwards in a committee of two or three."--_Betagh._

SECTION VIII.

_Appendix to Shelvocke's Voyage round the World. Containing

Observations on the Country and Inhabitants of Peru, by Captain

Betagh._[1]

[Footnote 1: Harris, I. 240.]

INTRODUCTION.

This article may rather seem misplaced, as here inserted among the

circumnavigations; but, both as having arisen out of the voyage of

Shelvocke, and because arranged in this manner by Harris, it has been

deemed proper and necessary to preserve it in this place, where it

may be in a great measure considered as a supplement to the preceding

voyage. In the opinion of Harris, "The time that Betagh lived among

the Spaniards in Peru, and the manner in which he was treated by them,

gave him an opportunity of acquainting himself with their manners and

customs, and with the nature and maxims of their government, such as

no Englishman had possessed; and the lively manner in which he tells

his story, gives it much beauty and spirit." We have already seen, in

the narrative of Shelvocke, the occasion of Betagh separating from his

commander, along with Hately and a complement of men in the Mercury,

on which occasion Shelvocke alleged that they purposely separated from

him, in consequence of taking a prize containing 150,000 dollars. In

the following narrative, Betagh tells his own story very differently,

and we do not presume to determine between them. The separation of

Shelvocke originally from his own superior officer, Clipperton, is not

without suspicion; and Hately and Betagh may have learnt from their

commander, to endeavour to promote their own individual interests, at

the expense of their duty, already weakened by bad example.--_Ed_.

§ 1. _PARTICULARS OF THE CAPTURE OF THE MERCURY BY THE SPANIARDS_.

It was in the beginning of the year 1720, about the middle of March,

when Captain Shelvocke sent Hately and the rest of us to seek our

fortunes in the lighter called the Mercury. He then went in the

Speedwell to plunder the village of Payta, where we might easily have

joined him, had he been pleased to have imparted his design to us.

We had not cruized long off Cape Blanco, when we took a small bark,

having a good quantity of flour and chocolate. There were also on

board an elderly lady, and a thin old friar, whom we detained two

or three days; and, after taking out what could be of use to us, we

discharged the bark and them. Soon after this we took the Pink, which

Shelvocke calls the rich prize. Her people had no suspicion of our

being an enemy, and held on their way till they saw the Mercury

standing towards them, and then began to suspect us; on which, about

noon, they clapt their helm hard a-weather, and crowded all sail

before the wind; and, being in ballast, this was her best sailing, yet

proved also the greatest advantage they could have given us; for, had

she held her wind, our flat-bottomed vessel could never have got up

with theirs. About ten o'clock at night, with the assistance of hard

rowing, we got up within shot of the chase, and made her bring to,

when pretty near the shore. On boarding the prize, in which were

about seventy persons, thirty of whom were negroes, Hately left me and

Pressick in the Mercury, with other four, where we continued two or

three days, till a heavy rain spoiled all our bread and other dry

provisions. We then went on board the prize, sending three men to take

charge of the Mercury.

After this, we stood off and on in the height of Cape Blanco for seven

or eight days, expecting to meet with the Speedwell; and at that

place we sent ashore the Spanish Captain, a padre or priest, and some

gentlemen passengers. At last we espied a sail plying to windward;

and, having no doubt that she was either the Speedwell or the Success,

we stood towards her, while she also edged down towards us. About ten

in the morning we were near enough to make her out to be a ship of

war, but neither of these we wished for. The master of our prize had

before informed us, that he had fallen in with the _Brilliante_,

which was cruizing for our privateers, and we had till now entirely

disregarded his information. Upon this, Hately advised with me what

we ought to do in this emergency, when we agreed to endeavour to take

advantage of the information given us by the Spaniards; considering,

as the Brilliante had spoken so very lately with the Pink, that there

might not be many questions asked now. Accordingly, Hately and

I dressed ourselves like Spaniards, and hoisted Spanish colours,

confined all our prisoners in the great cabin, and allowed none but

Indians and negroes to appear on the deck, that the Pink might have

the same appearance as before. We had probably succeeded in this

contrivance, but for the obstinacy of John Sprake, one of our men,

whom we could not persuade to keep off the deck. As the Brilliante

came up, she fired a gun to leeward, on which we lowered our topsail,

going under easy sail till we got alongside. The first question asked

was, If we had seen the English privateer? We answered, No. The next

question was, How we had got no farther on our way to Lima? To

which we answered, By reason of the currents. To two or three other

questions, we answered satisfactorily in Spanish, and they were

getting their tacks aboard in order to leave us, when Sprake and two

or three more of our men appeared on the main deck. A Frenchman aboard

the Brilliante, who was on the mast-head, seeing their long trowsers,

called out, _Par Dieu, Monsieur, ils sont Anglois_, By Heaven, Sir,

they are English: Upon which they immediately fired a broad-side into

us with round and partridge shot, by one of which Hately was slightly

wounded in the leg.

As soon as we struck our flag, the enemy sent for all the English

on board their ships, and ordered two of their own officers into our

prize. The Brilliante then bore down on the Mercury, into which she

fired at least twenty-five shot, which bored her sides through and

through: Yet such was the construction of that extraordinary vessel,

that, though quite full of water, there was not weight enough to sink

her, and our three men who were in her remained unhurt. Don Pedro

Midrando, the Spanish commander, ordered these three men into his

own ship, in which he intended to sail for Payta. As for me, he gave

directions that I should be sent forty miles up the country, to a

place called _Piura_, and was so kind as to leave Mr Pressick the

surgeon, and my serjeant Cobbs, to bear me company. Mr Hately and

the rest of our men were ordered to Lima by land, a journey of four

hundred miles.[2] Hately had the misfortune to be doubly under the

displeasure of the Spaniards: First, for returning into these seas

after having been long their prisoner, and being well used among them:

And, second, for having stripped the Portuguese captain at Cape Frio

of a good quantity of moidores, which were now found upon him. Don

Pedro proposed to have this business searched to the bottom, and the

guilty severely punished, without exposing the innocent to any danger.

[Footnote 2: Lima is above six hundred miles from Cape Blanco, and

Piura is about seventy-five miles from the same place. Betagh gives no

account of the place where he landed; but forty miles northwards from

Piura would only carry him to the north side of the bay of Payta; and,

as he makes no mention of passing any river, he was probably landed on

the south side of the river Amatape or Chira.--E.]

§ 2. _OBSERVATIONS MADE BY BETAGH IN THE NORTH OF PERU._

Leaving Mr Hately for the present, I proceed to the observations I

made on the road, as the admiral was so good as send me up into the

country, till his return from Payta. As the weather in this part of

the world is much too hot to admit of any labour in the middle of the

day, the custom is to travel only from six in the evening till eight

next morning. My Indian guide set me on the best mule he had,

which did not think proper to follow the rest, so that I led my

fellow-travellers while day lasted. The whole country through which we

travelled was an open plain, having Indian plantations laid out with

tolerable regularity, on both sides of us. This champaign country is

from thirty to an hundred miles broad, and extends three hundred

miles along shore; and I was travelling to the southward, having the

Cordelieras, or mountains of the Andes, on my left hand, and the great

Pacific Ocean to the right. As the soil is good and fertile, this land

would be as fine a country as any in the world, if well watered; but

travellers are here obliged to carry water for their mules as well as

themselves. At the approach of night, I was much puzzled to find the

way, my mule still persisting to go foremost, being often stopped by

great sand hills, and my mule as often endeavoured to pull the reins

out of my hand. This being very troublesome, the Indians advised me

to lay the reins on the mule's neck, and on doing that the creature

easily hit the way. These sand hills often shift from place to place,

which I suppose is occasioned by strong eddy winds, reverberated from

the mountains.

We rested at night in an old empty house, about half way, which

the guide told me was built by the inhabitants of Piura, for the

accommodation of the prince of San Bueno, viceroy of Peru, when they

met and regaled him at his entrance on his government. After a short

rest, we continued our journey, and arrived at Piura, a handsome

regularly built town, on the banks of the river _Callan_ or _Piura_.

The Indian conducted us to the house of an honest Spanish gentleman

and his wife, to whose charge he committed us, and then returned to

Payta. In less than a quarter of an hour, the inhabitants of the town

flocked to see us, as a raree-show, and entertained us with respect

and civility, instead of using us as prisoners of war. The gentleman

to whose charge we were committed was named Don Jeronimo Baldivieso,

who had five daughters, who received us in so benevolent a manner,

that we hoped our time would slide easily away, and our captivity

prove no way disagreeable; and I now became sensible of the favour

shewn me by Don Pedro in sending me to this place; for he had such

interest in all Peru, that for his sake we found very good treatment.

After refreshing ourselves, according to the custom of the country,

with chocolate, biscuit, and water, we were serenaded by the sound

of a harp from some inner apartment, of which instrument the artist

seemed to have a good command, as I heard parts of several famous

compositions, both Italian and English. Upon enquiry, I found that

all Don Jeronimo's daughters had learnt music, and sung or played

upon some instrument. Though this seemed unaccountable at first, I

afterwards found that music was much cultivated in Peru. During the

prevalence of the Italian party at the court of Madrid, the last

viceroy of Peru, the prince of San Bueno, who was an Italian, brought

a great many musicians to that country along with him, by whom the

taste for music had spread every where, and had become as good in

Peru as in old Spain. I the rather notice this, because, by our

being lovers of music, and behaving peaceably and civilly to the

inhabitants, we passed our time quietly and chearfully. We were only

exposed to one inconvenience, which lasted all the time we remained

here: which was, the daily assembling of the people to stare at us.

I and my sergeant Cobbs, being used to exercise in public, bore this

pretty well; but Mr Pressick, being a grave man, at first hung down

his head, and was very melancholy. But he grew better acquainted with

the people by degrees, and came to like them so well, that we had much

ado to get him away, when it became necessary for us to remove our

quarters.

Almost all the commodities of Europe are distributed through Spanish

America by a sort of pedlars, or merchants who travel on foot. These

men come from Panama to Payta by sea; and in their road from Payta

to Lima, make Piura their first stage, disposing of their goods, and

lessening their burdens, as they go along. From Piura, some take the

inland road by Caxamarca, and others the road along the coast through

Truxillo. From Lima they take their passage back to Panama by sea,

perhaps carrying with them a small adventure of brandy. At Panama

they again stock themselves with European goods, and return by sea to

Payta. Here they hire mules to carry their goods, taking Indians along

with them to guide the mules and carry them back: And in this

way these traders keep a continual round, till they have gained a

sufficiency to live on. Their travelling expenses are next to nothing;

as the Indians are under such entire subjection to the Spaniards,

that they always find them in lodgings free, and provide them with

provender for their mules. All this every white man may command, being

an homage the Indians have long been accustomed to, and some think

themselves honoured into the bargain. Yet out of generosity, they

sometimes meet with a small recompense. Among the British and French,

a pedlar is despised, and his employment is considered as a very, mean

shift for getting a living: But it is quite otherwise here, where the

quick return of money is a sufficient excuse for the manner in which

it is gained; and there are many gentlemen in old Spain, in declining

circumstances, who send their sons to what they call _the Indies_, to

retrieve their fortunes in this way.

Our lodging while at Piura was in an out-house, which had been built

on purpose for accommodating such travelling merchants. Every day,

according to the Spanish custom, our dinner was served up under

covers, and we eat at the same table with Don Jeronimo; while the good

lady of the house and her daughters sat in another room. Any strong

liquors are only used during dinner: And I think the only circumstance

in our conduct that any way disobliged our good host, was once seeing

me drink a dram with the doctor, at a small eating-house; and, as

nothing is more offensive to the Spaniards than drunkenness, I had

much ado to apologise for this step. Yet they admit of gallantry in

the utmost excess, thus only exchanging one enormity for another.

After remaining about six weeks at Piura, our Indian guide came to

conduct us to Payta, to which place the Brilliante had returned. When

about to take leave, Mr Pressick our surgeon was not to be found,

which detained us a day. They had concealed him in the town, meaning

to have kept him there, being a very useful man; and if he could have

had a small chest of medicines, he might soon have made a handsome

fortune. Next day, however, we mounted our mules, and parted

reluctantly with our kind host and his family. We went on board the

Brilliante at Payta, which had done nothing at sea since we left her,

and now made a sort of cruizing voyage to Calao, the port of Lima.

I have already mentioned the civility I received from Don Pedro

Midranda, who was admiral or general of the South Seas; and I shall

here add one circumstance to the honour of Monsieur de Grange, a

captain under the general. When taken by the Brilliante, the soldiers

stripped us, considering our clothes as the usual perquisite of

conquerors; on which that gentleman generously gave me a handsome suit

of clothes, two pair of silk stockings, shirts, a hat and wig, and

every thing accordant, so that I was rather a gainer by this accident.

§ 3. _VOYAGE FROM PAYTA TO LIMA, AND ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH PRISONERS

AT THAT PLACE._

Our voyage to Lima occupied about five weeks; and, immediately on our

arrival, we were committed to the same prison in which the rest of

the ship's company were confined, except Mr Hately, who, for reasons

formerly assigned, was confined by himself, and very roughly treated.

A short time after our arrival, commissioners were appointed to

hear our cause, and to determine whether we were to be treated as

criminals, or as prisoners of war. We were charged with piracy,

not solely for what we had done in the South Seas in plundering

the Spaniards, but for having used the like violence against other

nations, before our arrival in that sea, from which they proposed to

infer that we had evinced a piratical disposition in the whole of

our conduct. Of this they thought they had sufficient proof in the

moidores found upon Hately, as they appeared to have been taken from

the subjects of a prince in amity with our sovereign. Happily for us,

Don Diego Morsilio, the viceroy, who was an archbishop in the decline

of life, was pleased to investigate this matter; and finding only one

of us guilty, would not sign an order for taking away the lives of

the innocent. Some were for sending Hatley to the mines for life,

and others for hanging him: But the several accounts of the vile

proceedings of Captain Shelvocke contributed to his deliverance, of

the truth of which circumstance, there were enough of our people at

Lima to witness; for, besides Lieutenant Sergeantson and his men,

who were brought thither, there came also the men whom Shelvocke sent

along with Hopkins to shift for themselves in an empty bark, who were

forced to surrender themselves to the Indians for want of sustenance;

so that the court were satisfied that Shelvocke was the principal in

that piratical act, rather than Hately. Considering that we had all

been sufficiently punished before our arrival at Lima, they thought

fit to let us all go by degrees. Hately was kept in irons about a

twelvemonth, and was then allowed to return to England. I was more

fortunate, as my imprisonment lasted only a fortnight, owing to the

interposition of one Captain Fitzgerald, a gentleman born in France,

who had great interest with the viceroy, and became security for

me, on which I was allowed my liberty in the city, provided I were

forthcoming when called for.

Among my first enquiries was into the condition of other English

prisoners at this place. I learnt from Lieutenant Sergeantson and

his men, who were here before us, that most of them had adopted the

religion of the country, had been christened, and were dispersed among

the convents of the city. The first of these I met had his catechism

in one hand, and a large string of beads dangling in the other. I

smiled, and asked him how he liked it? He said, very well; for having

a religion to chuse, he thought theirs better than none, especially

as it brought him good meat and drink, and a quiet life. Many of

Shelvocke's men followed this example, and I may venture to say, that

most of them had the same substantial reason for their conversion.

It is here reckoned very meritorious to make a convert, and many

arguments were used for that purpose, but no rigorous measures

were used to bring any one over to their way of thinking. Those who

consented to be baptized, generally had some of the merchants of Lima

for their patrons and god-fathers, who never failed to give them a

good suit of clothes, and some money to drink their healths.

About this time four or five of Clipperton's men had leave from the

convents where they resided, to meet together at a public-house kept

by one John Bell, an Englishman, who had a negro wife, who had been

made free for some service or other. The purpose of this meeting was

merely to confirm their new baptism over a bowl of punch; but they all

got drunk and quarrelled, and, forgetting they were true catholics,

they demolished the image of some honest saint that stood in a corner,

mistaking him for one of their companions. Missing them for a few

days, I enquired at Bell what was become of them, when he told me they

were all in the Inquisition; for the thing having taken air, he was

obliged to go himself to complain of their behaviour, but he got them

released a few days after, when they had time to repent and get

sober in the dungeons of the holy office. Bell said, if these men had

remained heretics, their drunken exploit had not come within the verge

of the ecclesiastical power; but as they were novices, they were the

easier pardoned, their outrages on the saint being attributed to the

liquor, and not to any designed affront to the catholic faith, or a

relapse into heresy.

Some time afterwards, about a dozen of our men from the Success and

Speedwell were sent to Calao, to assist in careening and fitting out

the Flying-fish, designed for Europe. They here entered into a plot

to run away with the Margarita, a good sailing ship which lay in the

harbour, meaning to have gone for themselves, in which of course they

would have acted as pirates. Not knowing what to do for ammunition and

a compass, they applied to Mr Sergeantson, pretending they meant to

steal away to Panama, where there was an English factory, and whence

they had hopes of getting home. They said they had got half a dozen

firelocks, with which they might be able to kill wild hogs or other

game, as they went along, and begged him to help them to some powder

and shot, and a compass to steer their way through the woods. By

begging and making catholic signs to the people in Lima, they had

collected some dollars, which they desired Sergeantson to lay out

for them; and he, not mistrusting their plot, bought them what they

wanted. Thus furnished, one of them came to me at Lima, and told me

their intention, and that Sprake was to have the command, as being the

only one among them who knew any thing of navigation. I answered, that

it was a bold design; but as Captain Fitzgerald had engaged for my

honour, I could not engage in it. Their plot was discovered a few days

after, their lodgings searched, their arms taken away, and they were

committed to prison. The government was much incensed against them,

and had nearly determined upon their execution; but they were soon all

released except Sprake, who was the ringleader, and was kept in irons

for two or three months, and then set at liberty.

The dominions belonging to the Spaniards in America are so large and

valuable, that, if well governed, they might render that monarchy

exceedingly formidable. In my long stay in Peru, I had the means of

examining at leisure, and with attention, their manner of living, the

form of their government, and many other circumstances little known

in our part of the world, and had many opportunities of enquiring into

things minutely, which did not fall under my immediate observation;

and of which I propose to give as clear and accurate an account as

I can, constantly distinguishing between what fell under my own

immediate knowledge, and what I received from the information of

others.

§ 4. _DESCRIPTION OF LIMA, AND SOME ACCOUNT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF

PERU._

The great and rich city of Lima is the metropolis of Peru, and the

seat of an archbishop. It is all regularly built, the streets being

all straight and spacious, dividing the whole into small squares. It

stands in an open vale, through which runs a gentle stream, dividing

the city in two, as the Thames does London from Southwark. Calao is

the port of Lima, from whence it is about seven miles distant. Because

of the frequent earthquakes, the houses are only of one story, and

generally twelve or fourteen feet high. It contains eight parish

churches, three colleges for students, twenty-eight monasteries of

friars, and thirteen nunneries, so that the religions occupy a fourth

part of the city; yet, by the quick and plentiful flow of money, and

the vast sums bequeathed through the effects of celibacy, they are

well endowed. Besides these, there are two hospitals for sick, poor,

and disabled; and in which several of our men were kindly looked

after. The length of the city from north to south is two miles, and

its breadth one and a half; its whole circumference, including the

wall and the river, being six miles. The other, or smaller part of

the city, is to the east of the river, over which there is a handsome

stone bridge of seven arches. Including all sorts and colours, I

computed that the whole population of Lima amounted to between

sixty and seventy thousand persons; and I should not wonder at any

multiplication in this city, as it is the centre of so much affluence

and pleasure. Besides the natural increase of the inhabitants, all

ships that trade this way, whether public or private, generally leave

some deserters, who remain behind in consequence of the encouragement

given to all white faces.

The people here are perhaps the most expensive in their habits of any

in the world. The men dress nearly as in England, their coats being

either of silk, fine English cloth, or camblets, embroidered or laced

with gold or silver, and their waistcoats usually of the richest

brocades. The women wear no stays or hoops, having only a stitched

holland jacket next their shifts, and they generally wear a square

piece of swansdown flannel thrown over their shoulders, entirely

covered with Flanders lace, and have their petticoats adorned with

gold or silver lace. When they walk out, the Creole women are mostly

veiled, but not the mulattoes; and, till thirty or forty years of

age, they wear no head-clothes, their hair being tied behind with fine

ribbons. The pride of the ladies chiefly appears in fine Mechlin or

Brussels lace, with which they trim their linen in a most extravagant

manner, not omitting even their sheets and pillows. Their linen

jackets are double bordered with it, both at top and bottom, with four

or five ruffles or furbelows hanging down to their knees. They

are very extravagant also in pearls and precious stones, in rings,

bracelets, and necklaces, though the value of these is hardly equal to

the shew.

The viceroy has a splendid palace in the royal square, or great

quadrangle of the city, which seemed as large as Lincoln's-Inn-Fields.

His salary is ten thousand pounds a-year, but his perquisites amount

to double that sum. And though his government expires at the end of

three, four, or five years, he generally makes a handsome fortune,

as all places are in his gift, both in the government and the army

throughout all Peru, except such as are sent out or nominated by the

king. The great court of justice consists of twelve judges, besides a

number of inferior officers, councillors, and solicitors. Before this

court all causes are decided, but they are too often determined in

favour of the party who gives most money. And, though these vast

dominions abound in riches, there is not much work for the lawyers,

as the laws are few and plain, which certainly is much better than

a multiplicity of laws, explaining one another till they become so

intricate that the issue of a cause depends more on the craft of the

solicitor and advocate, than on its justice. Every magistrate in this

country knows that his reign is short, and that he will be laughed at

if he does not make a fortune, so that they wink at each other; and,

so great is the distance between Spain and Peru, that the royal orders

are seldom, regarded, being two years in going backward and forward:

Hence arise many clandestine doings. According to law, the king ought

to have a twentieth part of all the gold, and a fifth of all the

silver procured from the mines; but vast quantities are carried away

privately, without paying any duty, both north by Panama, and south

through the Straits of Magellan. There are also vast sums allowed for

the militia, the garrisons, and the repairs of fortifications, one

half of which are never applied to these objects. Hence it may easily

be imagined what immense riches would flow into the treasury of

Madrid, if his catholic majesty were faithfully served.

The country of Peru is naturally subject to earthquakes. About fifty

years before I was there, or about the year 1670, there were two great

ones at Lima, which overturned many houses, churches, and convents.

And in the reign of Charles II. the late king of Spain, there was an

earthquake near the equator, which lifted up whole fields, carrying

them to the distance of several miles. Small shocks are often felt

which do no harm, and I have been often called out of bed on such

occasions, and heard nothing more about the matter; but on these

occasions the bells always toll to prayers. Yet, although this country

has suffered much from earthquakes, especially near the coast, their

churches are lofty and neatly built. Such parts of their buildings as

require strength are made of burnt bricks; but their dwelling-houses

are all constructed of bamboos, canes, and bricks only dried in

the sun, which are sufficiently durable, as it never rains in Peru.

Instead of roofs, they are merely covered over with mats, on which

ashes are strewed, to keep out the dews. The small river of Lima,

or _Runac_, consists mostly of snow-water from the neighbouring

mountains, which are covered all the year with snow, that partly

dissolves in the summer-season, from September to March.

One would expect the weather to be much hotter here; but there is

no proportion between the heat of this part of America and the

same latitudes in Africa. This is owing to two causes; that the

neighbourhood of the snowy mountains diffuses a cool temperature

of the air all around; and the constant humid vapours, which are so

frequent that I often expected it to rain when I first went to Lima.

These vapours are not so dense, low, and gloomy, like our fogs, nor

yet are they separated above like our summer clouds; but an exhalation

between both, spread all around, as when we say the day is overcast,

so that sometimes a fine dew is felt on the upper garments, and may

even be discerned on the knap of the cloth. This is a prodigious

convenience to the inhabitants of Lima, who are thus screened half the

day from the sun; and though it often shines out in the afternoon, yet

is the heat very tolerable, being tempered by the sea-breezes, and

not near so hot as at Lisbon and some parts of Spain, more than thirty

degrees farther from the equator.

The entire want of rain in this country induced the Indians, even

before the conquest, to construct canals and drains for leading water

from among the distant mountains, which they have done with great

skill and labour, so as to irrigate and refresh the vallies, by which

they produce grass and corn, and a variety of fruits, to which also

the dews contribute. A Spanish writer observes that this perpetual

want of rain is occasioned by the south-west wind blowing on the coast

of Peru the whole year round, which always bears away the vapours from

the plains before they are of sufficient body to descend in showers:

But, when carried higher and farther inland, they become more compact,

and at length fall down in rain on the interior hills. The inhabitants

of Peru have plenty of cattle, fowls, fish, and all kinds of

provisions common among us, except butter, instead of which they

always use lard. They have oil, wine, and brandy in abundance, but not

so good as in Europe. Instead of tea from China, which is prohibited,

they make great use of _camini_, called herb of Paraguay, or Jesuits

tea, which, is brought from Paraguay by land. They make a decoction

of this, which they usually suck through a pipe, calling it _Mattea_,

being the name of the bowl out of which it is drank. Chocolate is

their usual breakfast, and their grace cup after dinner; and sometimes

they take a glass of brandy, to promote digestion, but scarcely drink

any wine. In Chili, they make some butter, such as it is, the cream

being put into a skin bag kept for that purpose, which is laid on a

table between two women, who shake it till the butter comes.

The Spaniards are no friends to the bottle, yet gallantry and intrigue

are here brought to perfection, insomuch that it is quite unmannerly

here not to have a mistress, and scandalous not to keep her well. The

women have many accomplishments, both natural and acquired, having

graceful motions, winning looks, and engaging, free, and sprightly

conversation. They are all delicately shaped, not injured by

stiff-bodied stays, but left entirely to the beauty of nature, and

hardly is there a crooked body to be seen, among them. Their eyes and

teeth are singularly beautiful, and their hair is universally of a

dark polished hue, nicely combed and plaited, and tied behind with

ribbons, but never disguised by powder; and the brightness of their

skins round the temples, clearly appears through their dark hair.

Though amours are universal at Lima, the men are very careful to bide

them, and no indecent word or action is ever permitted in public.

They usually meet for these purposes, either in the afternoon at

the _Siesta_, or in the evening in calashes on the other side of the

river, or in the great square of the city, where calashes meet in

great numbers in the dusk. These are slung like our coaches, but

smaller, many of them being made only to hold two persons sitting

opposite. They are all drawn by one mule, with the negro driver

sitting on his back; and it is quite usual to see some of these

calashes, with the blinds close, standing still for half an hour at

a time. In these amusements they have several customs peculiar to

themselves. After evening prayers, the gentleman changes his dress

from a cloak to a _montero_, or jockey-coat, with a laced linen cap on

his head, and a handkerchief round his neck, instead of a wig; or if

he wear his own hair, it must be tucked under a cap and concealed, as

it is the universal fashion to be thus disguised. Even those who

have no mistress, are ashamed to appear virtuous, and must be somehow

masked or disguised, in order to countenance the way of the world.

As, all this is night-work, they have an established rule to avoid

quarrels, by never speaking to or noticing each other, when going in

quest of or to visit their ladies.

In short, the fore-part of every night in the year is a kind of

masquerade. Among people of any rank who do not keep calashes, one

couple never walks close behind another, but each at the distance

of at least twelve paces, to prevent the overhearing of any secret

whispers. Should a lady drop a fan or any thing else by accident, a

gentleman may take it up, but he must not give it to the lady, but to

the gentleman who accompanies her, lest she may happen to be the wife

or sister of him who takes it up; and as all the ladies are veiled,

these wise rules are devised to prevent any impertinent discoveries.

Any freedom in contravention of these laws of gallantry would be

looked upon as the highest affront, and would be thought to merit a

drawn sword through the midriff. Should any one see his most intimate

friend any where with a woman, he must never take notice of it, or

mention it afterwards. Every thing of this nature is conducted with

all imaginary gravity and decorum, by which the practice of gallantry

becomes decent and easy; yet there are some jealousies in this regular

commerce of love, which sometimes end fatally. A story of this kind

happened shortly before I went to Lima. A young lady, who thought

herself sole sovereign in the heart of her lover, saw him by chance

in the company of another, and, waiting no farther proof of his

infidelity, she instantly plunged a dagger in his bosom. She was soon

after brought to trial, and every one expected that she should pay

the forfeit with her life; but the judges, considering her rashness

as proceeding from excess of love, not malice, acquitted her. However

agreeable these gallantries may be to the _Creole_ Spaniards, they

have an inconvenient effect on society; as the men are so engrossed

by these matters, as to spoil all public conversation. Their time is

entirely taken up in attendance on their mistresses, so that there are

no coffee-houses or taverns, and they can only be met with at their

offices, or in church.

Perhaps it may be chiefly owing to this effeminate propensity, that

all manly exercises, all useful knowledge, and that noble emulation

which inspires virtue, and keeps alive respect for the public good,

are here unknown. Those amusements which serve in other countries to

relax the labours of the industrious, and to keep alive the vigour of

the body and mind, are unknown in Peru; and whoever should attempt to

introduce any such, would be considered as an innovator, which, among

them, is a hateful character: For they will never be convinced, that

martial exercises or literary conferences are preferable to intrigues.

They have, however, a sort of a play-house, where the young gentlemen

and students divert themselves after their fashion; but their dramatic

performances are so mean as hardly to be worth mentioning, being

scripture stories, interwoven with romance, a mixture still worse than

gallantry. At this theatre, two Englishmen belonging to the squadron

of Mons. Martinat, fought a prize-battle a short time before I came

to Lima. Having first obtained leave of the viceroy to display their

skill at the usual weapons, and the day being fixed, they went through

many previous ceremonies, to draw, as the phrase is, a good house.

Preceded by beat of drum, and dressed in holland shirts and ribbons,

they went about the streets saluting the spectators at the windows

with flourishes of their swords, so that the whole city came to see

the trial of skill, some giving gold for admittance, and hardly any

one less than a dollar. The company, male and female, being assembled,

the masters mounted the stage, and, after the usual manner of the

English, having shaken hands, they took their distance, and stood

on their guard in good order. Several bouts were played without much

wrath or damage, the design being more to get money than cuts or

credit, till at length one of the masters received a small hurt on

the breast, which blooded his shirt, and began to make the combat look

terrible. Upon this, fearing from this dreadful beginning that the

zeal of the combatants might grow too warm, the company cried out,

_Basta! basta!_ or enough! enough! And the viceroy would never permit

another exhibition of the same kind, lest one of the combatants might

receive a mortal wound, and so die without absolution.

So deficient are the Spaniards in energy of spirit, that many

extensive countries and islands remain unexplored, in the immediate

neighbourhood of their vast American dominions, though some of these

are reported to be richer and more valuable than those which are

already conquered and settled. The first Spanish governors of Mexico

and Peru were not of this indolent disposition, but bestowed great

pains in endeavouring to acquire the most perfect knowledge bordering

upon their respective governments: But now that general thirst of fame

is entirely extinguished, and they content themselves with plundering

their fellow-subjects in the countries already known. The regions to

the north of Mexico are known to abound in silver, precious stones,

and other rich commodities, yet the Spaniards decline all conquest on

that side, and discourage as much as possible the reports which have

spread of the riches of these countries. On the same principles, they

give no encouragement to attempt penetrating into the heart of South

America, whence most of the riches of Peru are known to come, the

mountains at the back of the country being extremely rich in gold; and

the regions, on the other side, towards the Atlantic, being inhabited

by nations that have abundance of that metal, though, for fear of

being oppressed by the Europeans, they conceal it as much as possible.

Of all the discoveries that have been talked of among the Spaniards,

that which has made the most noise is the island or islands of

Solomon, supposed to be the same with those discovered by the famous

Ferdinand Quiros. He reported them to be extremely rich and very

populous, and repeatedly memorialed the court of Spain to be

authorised to complete his discovery. All his solicitations, however,

were neglected, and it became a question in a few years whether any

such islands had ever existed. At length, towards the close of the

seventeenth century, such discoveries were made as to the reality of

these islands, that Don Alvaro de Miranda was sent out to discover

them in 1695. He failed in the attempt, but in the search met with

four islands, between the latitude of 7° and 10° S. which were

wonderfully rich and pleasant, the inhabitants being a better looking

race, and far more civilized than any of the Indians on the continent

of America. This discovery occasioned a good deal of discourse at the

time; but the subsequent disturbances relative to the succession to

the crown of Spain, so occupied the attention of every person, that

all views of endeavouring to find the islands of Solomon were laid

aside.[2]

[Footnote 2: These islands of Miranda appear to have been the

Marquebes, between the latitudes of 8° 45' and 10° 25' N. and long.

139° W. The Solomon islands, or New Georgia, are between 5° and 10° N.

and long. 200° to 205° W. 63-1/2 degrees of longitude farther to the

westwards.--E.]

§ 5. _SOME ACCOUNT OF THE MINES OF PERU AND CHILI_.

As the riches of Peru consist chiefly in mines of silver, I shall

endeavour to give some account of them, from the best information I

could procure. There are two sorts of silver-mines, in one of which

the silver is found scattered about in small quantities, or detached

masses, while, in the other kind of mine, it runs in a vein between

two rocks, one of which is excessively hard, and the other much

softer. These certainly best deserve the name of silver-mines, and

are accordingly so denominated. This precious metal, which in other

countries is the standard or measure of riches, is the actual riches

of Peru, or its chief natural commodity; as, throughout the whole of

that vast country, silver-mines are almost every where to be met with,

of more or less value, according as the ore produces more or less

silver, or can be wrought at a greater or less expence. Some of these

mines are to the north of Lima, but not a great many, but to the south

they are very numerous. On the back, or eastern side of the Andes,

there is a nation of Indians called _Los Platerors_, or the _Plate_,

or _Silver_ men, from their possessing vast quantities of silver,[1]

but with them the Spaniards have very little communication. The best

of the mine countries are to the south of Cusco, from thence to Potosi

and the frontiers of Chili, where, for the space of 800 miles, there

is a continued succession of mines, some being discovered and others

abandoned almost every day.

[Footnote 1: This tribe still holds its place in modern geography,

in the vast plain to the E. of the Maranors or Amazons, where there

cannot be any silver-mines, at least that they can explore. They are

so named because of wearing silver ear-rings, which they must, almost

certainly, procure in barter from the tribes in the mountains, far to

the west.--E.]

It is common, both here and elsewhere, for people to complain of the

times, commending the past, as if there had been infinitely greater

quantities of silver dug from the mines formerly than at present. This

certainly may be the case with particular mines; but, on the whole,

the quantities of silver now annually obtained from the mines in

Spanish America, abundantly exceeds what used formerly to be procured.

Those mines which are at present [1720] most remarkable in Peru are,

Loxa, Camora, Cuenca, Puerto-veio, and St Juan del Oro. Those of Oruro

and Titiri are neglected; and those of Porco and Plata are filled

up. At Potosi there are a vast number of mines; and those of Tomina,

Chocaia, Atacuna, Xuxui, Calchaques, Guasco, Iquique, &c. are all

wrought with more or less profit, according to the skill of the

proprietors or managers. It is generally believed that the Creoles

have a very perfect acquaintance with the minerals, from experience,

and with the art of treating them, so as to obtain the largest profit;

but, when their utter ignorance in all other arts is considered, their

constant going on in the old beaten track, and their enormous waste of

quicksilver, one is tempted to believe that our European miners might

conduct their works to still greater advantage.

The most perfect silver that is brought from Peru is in the forms

called _pinnas_ by the Spaniards, being extremely porous lumps of

silver, as they are the remainder of a paste composed of silver dust

and mercury, whence the latter being exhaled or evaporated, leaves the

silver in a spongy mass, full of holes, and very light. This is the

kind of silver which is put into various forms by the merchants, in

order to cheat the king of his duty; wherefore all silver in this

state, found any where on the road, or on board any ship, is looked

upon as contraband, and liable to seizure.

In regard to the art of refining, I propose to shew the progress of

the ore, from the mine till it comes to this spongy mass or cake.

After breaking the stone or ore taken out of the veins, it is grinded

in mills between grindstones, or pounded in the _ingenious reales_,

or royal engines, by means of hammers or beetles, like the mills for

Paris plaster. These generally have a wheel of twenty-five or thirty

feet diameter, with a long axle or lying shaft, set round with smooth

triangular projections, which, as the axle turns, lay hold of the iron

hammers, of about two hundred-weight each, lifting them to a certain

height, whence they drop down with such violence that they crush and

reduce the hardest stones to powder. The pounded ore is afterwards

sifted through iron or copper sieves, which allow the finest powder

to go through, the coarse being returned to the mill. When the one

happens to be mixed with copper or other metals which prevent

its reduction to powder, it is roasted or calcined in an oven or

reverberatory furnace, and pounded over again.

At the smaller mines, where they only use grindstones, they, for the

most part, grind the ore along with water, forming it into a liquid

paste, which runs out into receivers. When grinded dry, it has to be

afterwards mixed with water, and well moulded up with the feet for a

long time. For this purpose, they make a court or floor, on which that

mud, or paste of pounded ore and water, is disposed in square parcels

of about a foot thick, each parcel containing half a _caxon_, or

chest, which is twenty-five quintals or hundred-weights of ore, and

these parcels are called _cuerpos_, or bodies. On each of these they

throw about two hundred-weights of sea-salt, more or less, according

to the nature of the ore, which they mould or incorporate with the

moistened ore for two or three days. They then add a certain quantity

of quicksilver, squeezing it from a skin bag, to make it fall in drops

equally on the mass or _cuerpo_, allowing to each mass ten, fifteen,

or twenty pounds of quicksilver, according to the nature or quality of

the ore, as the richer it is, it requires the more mercury to draw it

to the silver contained in the mass, so that they know the quantity

by long experience. An Indian is employed to mould or trample one

of these square cuerpos eight times a-day, that the mercury

may thoroughly incorporate with the silver. To expedite this

incorporation, they often mix lime with the mass, when the ore happens

to be what they call greasy, and in this great caution is required,

as they say the mass sometimes grows so hot that they neither find

mercury nor silver in it, which seems quite incredible. Sometimes also

they strew in some lead or tin ore, to facilitate the operation of the

mercury, which is slower in very cold weather; wherefore, at Potosi

and Lipes, they are often obliged to mould or work up their cuerpos

during a month or six weeks; but, in more temperate climates, the

amalgama is completed in eight or ten days. To facilitate the action

of the mercury, they, in some places, as at Puno and elsewhere,

construct their _buiterons_ or floors on arches, under which they keep

fires for twenty-four hours, to heat the masses or _cuerpos_, which

are in that case placed as a pavement of bricks.

When it is thought that the mercury has attracted all the silver,

the assayer takes a small quantity of ore from each cuerpo, which he

washes separately in a small earthen plate or wooden bowl; and, by the

colour and appearance of the amalgama found at the bottom, when the

earthy matters are washed away, he knows whether the mercury has

produced its proper effect. When blackish, the ore is said to have

been too much heated, and they add more salt, or some other temper. In

this case they say that mercury is _dispara_, that is, shoots or flees

away. If the mercury remains white, they put a drop under the thumb,

and pressing it hastily, the silver in the amalgam sticks to the

thumb, and the mercury slips away in little drops. When they conceive

that all the silver has incorporated with the mercury, the mixed mass,

or cuerpo, is carried to a basin or pond, into which a small stream

of water is introduced to wash it, much in the same way as I shall

afterwards describe the manner in which they wash gold, only that as

the silver-ore is reduced to a fine mud without stones, it is stirred

by an Indian with his feet, to dissolve it thoroughly, and loosen the

silver. From the first basin it falls into a second, and thence into

a third, where the stirring and washing is repeated, that any amalgam

which has not subsided in the first and second may not escape the

third.

The whole being thoroughly washed in these basins, which are lined

with leather, till the water runs clear off, the amalgam of mercury

and silver is found at the bottom, and is termed _la pella_. This is

put into a woollen bag and hung up, from whence some of the mercury

runs out. The bag is then beaten and pressed as much as they can,

laying upon it a flat piece of wood loaded with a heavy weight, to get

out as much of the mercury as they can. The paste is then put into

a mould of wooden planks bound together, generally in the form of an

octagon pyramid cut short, its bottoms being a plate of copper, full

of small holes, into which the paste is stirred and pressed down, in

order to fasten it. When they design to make many _pinnas_, or spongy

lumps of various weights, these are divided from each other by thin

beds or layers of earth, which hinder them from uniting. For this

purpose, the _pella_, or mass of amalgam, must be weighed out in

separate portions, deducting two-thirds for the contained mercury, by

which they know to a small matter the quantity of silver contained in

each. They then take off the mould, and place the pella or mass with

its copper base on a trivet, or such like instrument, standing over a

great earthen vessel full of water, and cover it with an earthen cap,

which again is covered by lighted coals. This fire is fed and kept

up for some hours, by which the mass of pella below becomes violently

heated, the contained mercury being thereby raised into vapour: But,

having no means of escape through the cap or cover, it is forced down

to the water underneath, where it condenses into quicksilver and sinks

to the bottom. By this contrivance, little of the mercury is lost,

and the same serves over again. But the quantity must be increased,

_because it grows weak_.[2] At Potosi, as Acosta relates, they

formerly consumed six or seven thousand quintals of mercury every

year, by which Some idea may be formed of the silver there procured.

[Footnote 2: This is utterly absurd, as the mercury must be the same

in _quality_ as before, the _quantity_ only being _weakened_.]

On the evaporation of the mercury, nothing remains but a spongy lump

of contiguous grains of silver, very light and almost mouldering,

called _la pinna_ by the Spaniards. These masses must be carried to

the king's receipt or mint, to pay the royal fifth; and are there cast

into ingots, on which are stamped the arms of the crown, the place

where cast, and their weight and fineness. All these ingots, having

paid the fifth, are sure to be without fraud or deceit; but it is not

so with the _pinnas_, as these have often iron, sand, or some other

matter contained within them, to increase their weight; Hence,

prudence requires that these should be opened, and made red hot in a

fire; for, if falsified, the fire will turn them black or yellow, or

melt them more easily. This trial by fire is also necessary to extract

moisture, which they contract in places where they are purposely laid

to render them heavier, as also for separating the mercury with which

the bottom of the mass is always more or less impregnated. The weight

of these _pinnas_ may be increased nearly a third, by dipping them

while red hot into water. It also sometimes happens that the same mass

of pinna may be of different fineness in different parts.

The ore, or stones taken from the mines, or the _mineray_, as it is

called in Peru, from which the silver is extracted, is not always of

the same nature, consistence, and colour. Some are white and grey,

mixed with red or bluish spots, called _plata blanca_ or white silver;

of which sort the one in the Lipes mines mostly consists. For the most

part, some little grains of silver are to be discerned, and very often

small branches are seen, ramifying along the layers of the stone. Some

ores are as black as the dross of iron, and in which no silver is to

be seen, which is called _negrillo_ or blackish ore. Sometimes the ore

is rendered black by admixture of lead, and is called _plombo ronco_,

or coarse lead, in which the silver appears as if scratched by

something harsh. This ore is generally the richest in silver, and from

it also the silver is got at the smallest charge; as instead of having

to be moulded or kneaded with quicksilver, it has only to be melted

in furnaces, where the lead evaporates by the force of fire, and the

silver remains pure behind. From this sort. of mines, the Indians drew

their silver before the coming of the Spaniards, having no knowledge

of the use of mercury, and they accordingly only wrought those mines

of which the ore would melt; and, having but little wood, they heated

their furnaces with _ylo_, the dung of the _Llamas_ or Peruvian sheep,

placing their furnaces on the sides of mountains, that the wind might

render their fires fierce.

There is another sort of black ore, in which the silver does not at

all appear; and which, when wetted and rubbed against iron, becomes

red. This ore is called _rosicler_, signifying that ruddiness which

appears at the dawn of day. This is very rich, and affords the finest

silver. Another kind, called _zoroche_, glitters like talc, and is

generally very poor, yielding little silver: Its outer coat is very

soft and of a yellowish red, but seldom rich; and the mines of this

sort are wrought on account of the easiness of extracting the ore,

being very easily dug. Another kind, not much harder than the last, is

of a green colour, called _cobrissa_ or copperish, and is very rare.

Although the silver usually appears in this kind, and it is almost

mouldering, it is the most difficult of all to manage, as it parts

very difficultly with the silver. Sometimes, after being stamped or

reduced to powder, it has to be burnt in the fire, and several other

expedients must be used to separate the silver, doubtless because

mixed with copper. There is another very rare sort of ore, which has

only been found in the mine of _Cotamiso_ at Potosi, being threads of

pure silver entangled, or wound up together, like burnt lace, and so

fine that it is called _arana_, or spider ore, from its resemblance to

a cobweb.

The veins of _mineray_, of whatever sort they may be, are generally

richer in the middle than towards the edges; and where two veins

happen to cross each other, the place where they meet is always very

rich. It is also observed that those which lie north and south are

richer than those which lie in any other direction. Those also which

are near to places where mills can be erected, and can consequently

be more commodiously wrought, are often preferable to others that are

richer, but require more expense in working. For this reason, at Lipes

and Potosi, a chest of ore must yield ten marks or eighty ounces of

silver, to pay the charges of working; while those in the province of

Tarama only require five merks or forty ounces to defray the expences.

When even very rich, and they happen to sink down so as to be liable

to be flooded, the adventurers must have recourse to pumps and

machines in order to drain them; or to _cocabones_ or levels dug

through the sides of the mountain, which often ruin the owners by the

enormous expence they are insensibly drawn into. At some of the mines,

where the methods of separation already described fail, they use other

means of extracting the silver from the ore, and from other metals

which may be combined with it; as by fire, or strong separating

waters; and there the silver is cast into a sort of ingots, called

_bollos_. But the most general and useful method is that already

described.

It may naturally be supposed that mines, as well as other things, are

subject to variation in their productiveness. The mines which, till

very lately, yielded most silver, were those of _Oroura_, a small town

about eight leagues from Arica. In the year 1712, one was discovered

at _Ollachea_ near Cusco, so rich that it yielded 2500 marks of silver

of eight ounces each, or 20,000 ounces, out of each _caxon_ or chest,

being almost a fifth part of the ore; but it has since declined much,

and is now [1720] only reckoned among the ordinary sort. Those of

Lipes have had a similar fate. Those at Potosi now yield but little,

and are worked at a very heavy expence, owing to their excessive

depth. Although the mines here are far diminished in their

productiveness, yet the quantity of ore which has been formerly

wrought, and has lain many years on the surface, is now thought

capable of yielding a second crop; and when I was at Lima, they were

actually turning it up, and milling it over again with great success.

This is a proof that these minerals generate in the earth like all

other inanimate things;[3] and it likewise appears, from all the

accounts of the Spaniards, that gold, silver, and other metals are

continually growing and forming in the earth. This opinion is verified

by experience in the mountain of Potosi, where several mines had

fallen in, burying the workmen and their tools; and these being

again opened up after some years, many boxes and pieces of wood were

discovered, having veins of silver actually running through them.[4]

[Footnote 3: It is merely a proof that the ore had been formerly very

imperfectly managed, and still contained enough of silver to pay for

extraction with profit, by more expert methods.--E.]

[Footnote 4: This proves only change of place, by solution,

infiltration, and deposition not growth, increase, or new

production.--E.]

All these mines become the property of their first discoverer, who

immediately presents a petition to the magistrates, desiring to have

such a piece of ground for his own. This is accordingly granted, and

a spot of ground eighty Spanish yards in length by forty in breadth[5]

is measured out and appropriated to the discoverer, who chuses what

spot he pleases within these bounds, and does with it as he thinks

fit. The exact same quantity is then measured off as belonging to the

king, and is sold to the best bidder, there being always many who are

willing to purchase, what may turn out an inestimable treasure. After

this, if any person may incline to work a part of this mine on his own

account, he bargains with the proprietor for a particular vein. All

that is dug out by any one is his own, subject however to payment of

the royal duties; being one-twentieth part for gold, and a fifth for

silver; and some proprietors find a good account in letting out their

grounds and mills to others.

[Footnote 5: In Harris this is said to be _about 1200 feet in length,

and 100 in breadth_, which is obviously absurd; as the one measure

gives the Spanish yard at 15 English feet, and the latter at 2-1/2

feet. Both measures are probably erroneous; but there are no data for

their correction.--E.]

There are gold-mines just beyond the town of Copaipo, and in all the

country around, which have attracted many purchasers and workmen to

that district, to the great injury and oppression of the Indians;

as the Spanish magistrates not only take away their lands for the

purposes of mining, but their horses also, which they sell to the

new adventurers, under pretence of serving the king and improving the

settlements. There is also abundance of magnet and _lapiz lazuli_,

of which the Indians know not the value; and some leagues within the

country, there is plenty of salt and salt-petre, which often lies an

inch thick on the ground. On the _Cordelieras_, about an hundred miles

to the east, there is a vein of sulphur about two feet wide, so fine

and pure that it needs no cleaning. This part of the country is full

of all sorts of mines, but so excessively barren, that the inhabitants

have to fetch all their subsistence from the country about Coquimbo,

over a desert of more than 300 miles extent, in which the earth

abounds so much in salt and sulphur that the mules often perish by

the way, for want of grass and fresh water. In that long road there

is only one river in the course of two hundred miles, which is named

_Ancalulae_ or the Hyporite, because it runs only from sun-rise to

sun-set. This is occasioned by the great quantities of snow melted on

the Cordelieras in the day, which freezes again by the excessive cold

of the night. Hence _Chili_ is said to derive its name, as _chile_

signifies cold in the Indian language; and we are told by the Spanish

historians, that some of their countrymen and others, who first traded

to this country, were frozen to death on their mules; for which reason

they now always travel by a lower road, towards the coast.

The mine countries are all so cold and barren, that the inhabitants

have to procure most of their provisions from the coast; this is

caused by the exhalations of salts and sulphur from the earth, which

destroy the growth of all vegetables. These are so stifling to the

Spaniards who dwell about the mines, that they are obliged often to

drink the _mattea_, or tea made of the herb _camini_, to moisten their

mouths. The mules also, that trip it nimbly over the mountains, are

forced to walk slowly in the country about the mines, and have often

to stop to take breath. If these vapours are so strong without and in

the open air, what must they be within the bowels of the earth in the

mines, into which, if a fresh man go, he is suddenly benumbed with

pain. This is the case with many, but seldom lasts above a day, and

they are not liable to be affected a second time: Yet vapours often

burst forth suddenly, by which the workmen are killed on the spot;

and one way or another, great multitudes of Indians die in working the

mines. One is apt to wonder that, through all this part of the world,

those districts which are most barren and unwholesome are the best

inhabited; while other places, that seem to vie with our nations of

the terrestrial paradise, in beauty and fertility, are but thinly

peopled. Yet, when one considers, that it is the thirst of wealth, not

the love of ease, which attracts people thither, the wonder ceases,

and we see how much the hope of living rich gets the better even of

the hope of living; as if the sole end for which man was created was

to acquire wealth, at the expence of health and happiness.

In reference to these deserts, the following observation occurs to my

memory, as having happened when we were on the road to Piura. When

we lay down to sleep at night, our mules went eagerly in search of a

certain root, not unlike a parsnip, but much bigger, which contains a

great deal of juice, and, besides serving as food, often answers as

a substitute for water in the deserts. When the mules find these, and

are unable to rake them out of the ground with their feet, they stand

over them and bray with all their might, till the Indians come to

their assistance.

It is generally understood that silver is the peculiar wealth of Peru,

and the Spaniards usually talk of gold-mines as confined to Chili: Yet

there are one or two _lavaderas_, or washing-places for gold in the

south of Peru, near the frontiers of Chili. In 1709, two surprizingly

large _pepitos_, or lumps of virgin gold, were found in one of these

places, one of which weighed complete thirty-two pounds, and was

purchased by the _Conde de Monclod_, then viceroy of Peru, and

presented by him to the king of Spain. The other, shaped somewhat like

an ox's heart, weighed twenty-two pounds and a half; and was purchased

by the corregidor of Arica. In searching for these _lavadores_ or

washing places, they dig in the corners of some little brook, where

they judge, from certain tokens, that the grains of gold are lodged.

To assist in carrying away the earth or mud, they let in a stream or

current of water into the excavation, and keep stirring up the soil,

that the water may carry it away. On reaching the golden sand, they

turn the stream another way, and dig out this sand, which is carried

on mules to certain ponds or basons, which are joined by small canals.

Into these they introduce a smart stream of water, to loosen the earth

and carry away the grosser part. The Indians stand in the basons or

ponds, stirring up the earth to assist the operation of the water, and

throwing out the stones. The gold remains at the bottom, still mixed

with a black sand, and is hardly to be seen till farther cleaned and

separated, which is easily done. These washing places differ much from

each other. In some the grains of gold are as big as small shot; and

in one belonging to the priests, near Valparaiso, some are found from

the weight of two or three ounces to a pound and a half. This way

of getting gold is much better than from the mines, as it does not

require expensive digging, neither are mills necessary for grinding

the ore, nor quicksilver for extracting the metal; so that both the

trouble and expence are much less. The Creoles are by no means so nice

in washing their gold as are the people in Europe; but great plenty

makes them careless, both in this and other matters.

§ 6. _OBSERVATIONS ON THE TRADE OF CHILI._

It is not intended in this place to give a description of the large

kingdom of Chili, but only some account of the nature of its trade,

and the manner in which that is connected with the general commerce

of Peru, by which the wealth of Chili is transmitted to Europe.

Chili extends in length about 1200 miles from north to south, but its

breadth is uncertain. The air is very temperate and wholesome, unless

when rendered otherwise by pestilential exhalations, that are most

common after earthquakes, to which this country is peculiarly liable.

The winter rains are very heavy, during the months of May, June, July,

and August; after which, for eight months together, they have fine

weather, generally speaking. The soil, where it admits of cultivation,

is prodigiously fertile, and fruit-trees carried thither from Europe

come to the greatest perfection, so that fruit is coming forward in

its different stages at all times of the year; insomuch that it is

common to see apple-trees, in the situation so much admired in orange

trees, having blossoms, fruit just set, green fruit, and ripe apples,

all on one tree at the same time. The valleys, wherever they have any

moisture, wear a perpetual verdure; and the hills are covered with

odoriferous herbs, many of which are very useful in medicine. The

country also produces trees of all sorts. Thus Chili, independent of

its gold-mines, may well be accounted one of the richest and finest

countries in the world. For instance, the town of Coquimbo, in lat.

30° S. [30° 20'] a short mile from the sea, in a most delightful

place. It is situated on a green rising ground, about ten yards high,

formed by nature like a regular terrace, stretching north and south in

a direct line of more than half a mile, turning a little at each end

to the eastwards; and its principal street forms a delightful walk,

having a fine prospect of the country and the bay. All this is placed

in an evergreen valley, and watered by a beautiful river, which rises

in the mountains, and flows in a winding stream to the sea, through

beautiful meadows and fertile vales.

Notwithstanding its many advantages, this vast country is very thinly

inhabited; so that through its whole extent there are scarcely five

towns deserving that appellation, and only one city, named St Jago.

Through all the rest of the country there are only farms, called

_estancias_, which are so remote from each other, that the whole

country cannot muster 20,000 whites capable of bearing arms, of which

St Jago contains 2000. All the rest of the population consists of

mesticoes, mulattoes, and Indians, the number of whom may amount to

three times as many.[1] This is exclusive of the _friendly_ Indians to

the south of the river _Biobio_, who are reckoned to amount to 15,000

fighting men, but whose fidelity is not much to be depended upon.

[Footnote 1: Allowing _eight_ persons of all ages and both sexes

to _one_ fit to bear arms, this would give to Chili, in 1720, a

population of 160,000 whites, and 480,000 of colour, or 640,000 in

all.--E.]

The trade of this country is chiefly carried on by sea, and at

present, 1720, is rather in a declining situation. The port of

Baldivia was formerly very famous, on account of the very rich

gold-mines which were wrought in its neighbourhood, which are now in

a great measure disused. Hence it is now only kept as a garrison,

serving to Peru as the fortresses on the coast of Barbary do to

Spain, as a place to which malefactors are sent, to serve against the

Indians. The trade of this place consists in sending ten or twelve

ships every year to Peru, laden with hides, tanned leather, salt meat,

corn, and other provisions, which are to be had here in great plenty.

The port of Conception is more considerable, by reason of its trade

with the Indians who are not under subjection to the crown of Spain.

These Indians are copper-coloured, having large limbs, broad faces,

and coarse lank hair. The nation of the _Puelches_ differs somewhat

from the rest, as among them there are some who are tolerably white,

and have some little colour in their cheeks; which is supposed to be

owing to their having some Europeans blood in their veins, ever since

the natives of this country revolted from the Spaniards, and cut off

most of their garrisons; on which occasion they preserved the women,

and especially the nuns, by whom they had many children; who still

retain a sort of affection for the country of their mothers, and,

though too proud to submit to the Spaniards, yet are unwilling to hurt

them.

These _Puelches_ inhabit the ridge of mountains called _La Cordeliera_

by the Spaniards, and as the manner of trading with them is very

singular, it may be proper to give some account of it. When the

Spanish pedlar or travelling merchant goes into this country, he

goes directly to a caçique or chief, and presents himself before him

without speaking a word. The caçique breaks silence first, saying

to the merchant, _Are you come?_ To which the merchant answers _I am

come._ _What have you brought me?_ replies the caçique. To which the

merchant rejoins, _Wine_, and such other things as he may have to

dispose of, wine being a necessary article. Upon which the caçique

never fails to say, _You are welcome_. The caçique then appoints

a lodging for the merchant near his own hut, where his wives and

children, bidding him welcome, each demand a present, however small,

which he accordingly gives. The caçique then gives notice to his

scattered subjects, by means of his horn or trumpet, that a merchant

is arrived with whom they may trade. They come accordingly and see

the commodities, which are knives, axes, combs, needles, thread, small

mirrors, ribbons, and the like. The best of all would be wine, were it

not dangerous to supply them with that article; as, when drunk, they

are very quarrelsome and apt to kill one another, and it would not

then be safe to be among them. When they have agreed on the price, or

barter rather, they carry away all the articles without then making

payment; so that the merchant delivers all his commodities without

knowing to whom, or even seeing any of his debtors. When his business

is concluded, and he proposes to go away, the caçique commands payment

by again sounding his horn, and then every man honestly brings to

the merchant the cattle he owes for the goods received; and, as

these consist of mules, goats, oxen, and cows, the caçique commands a

sufficient number of men to conduct them to the Spanish frontiers.

The far greater number of bullocks and cows that are slaughtered and

consumed every year in Chili, comes from the plains of Paraguay,[2]

which are in a manner covered by them. The Puelches bring them through

the plain of _Tapa-papa_, inhabited by the _Pteheingues_,[3] or

unconquered Indians, this being the best pass for crossing the

mountains, as being divided into two hills of less difficult access

than the others, which are almost impassable for mules. There is

another pass, about eighty leagues from Conception, at the volcano of

_Silla Velluda_, which now and then casts out fire, and sometimes with

so great a noise as to be heard even at that city. In that way the

journey is much shortened, and they can go to Buenos Ayres in six

weeks. By these communications they generally bring all the beeves and

goats,[4] which are slaughtered in Chili by thousands for their tallow

and lard. This last consists of the marrow of the bones, which serves

throughout all South America instead of butter and oil, for making

sauces. The flesh is either dried in the sun, or by means of smoke,

to preserve it for use, instead of salt as used in Europe. These

slaughters also afford great quantities of hides, especially

goat-skins, which they dress like Morocco leather, by them called

cordovanes, and is sent into Peru for making shoes, or other uses.

[Footnote 2: Paraguay is here used in far too extensive a sense,

as comprising the whole level country to the east of the Andes: The

plains of Cuyo are those alluded to in the text.--E.]

[Footnote 3: The Pehneuches are probably here meant, who dwell on the

west side of the Andes, between the latitudes of 33° and 36° S. The

Puelches on the same side of the Andes, from 36° to 40°.--E.]

[Footnote 4: Perhaps, instead of the goats in the text, _vicunnas_

ought to be understood.--E.]

Besides the trade of hides, tallow, and dried meat, the inhabitants of

Conception send every year eight or ten ships of forty or fifty tons

to Calao laden with corn; besides supplying meal and biscuit to the

French ships, which take in provisions there in order to proceed

to Peru, and for their voyage back to France. All this were quite

inconsiderable for so fine a country, were it better peopled; since

the land is so extraordinarily fertile, were it well cultivated, that

they only scratch it for the most part, by means of a plough made of a

crooked stick, and drawn by two oxen; and, though the seed be scarcely

covered, it produces seldom less than an hundred fold. Neither are

they at any more pains in procuring their vines, in order to make good

wine. Besides which, as they have not the art to glaze their jars in

which the wine is secured, to make them hold in, they are under the

necessity of pitching them. And this, together with the goat-skin bags

in which it is carried from the estancias, gives it a bitter taste

like treacle, and a flavour to which it is hard for strangers to

accustom themselves. The grasses also are allowed to grow without any

attention or industry being employed in grafting. Apples and pears

grow naturally in the woods, and in such abundance as it is hard to

comprehend how they could have so multiplied since the conquest, as

they affirm there were none in the country before.

The mines of _Quilogoya_ and _Quilacura_ are within four leagues of

this port, and afford vast quantities of gold. At the _Estancia del

Re_, or king's farm, which is at no great distance, there is by far

the most plentiful _lavaders_, or washing-place for gold in all Chili,

where sometimes they find lumps of pure gold of prodigious size. The

mountains of the Cordelieras are reported to contain a continued chain

of mines for many hundred miles, which certainly is highly probable,

as hardly any of these mountains have hitherto been opened without

vast quantities of metal being found in them, especially fine copper,

of which all the artillery in the Spanish West Indies is constructed,

at least all that are used in the countries on the South Seas.

The most considerable port in Chili is Valparaiso, which is esteemed

one of the best harbours on the whole coast of the South Sea. It lies

on a river fifteen leagues below St Jago, the capital of Chili.[5]

To this port all the riches of the mines on every side are brought,

particularly from those of _Tiltil_, which are immensely rich, and are

situated between St Jago and Valparaiso. The gold here is found in

a very hard stone, some of which sparkles and betrays the inclosed

treasure to the eye; but most of it does not shew the smallest sign

of gold, appearing merely a hard harsh stone of various colours, some

white, some red, some black. This ore, after being broken in pieces,

is grinded or stamped in a mill by the help of water, into a gross

powder, with which quicksilver is afterwards mixed. To this mixture a

brisk stream of water is let in, which reduces the earthy matters to a

kind of mud, which is carried off by the current, the amalgam of gold

and quicksilver remaining at the bottom, in consequence of its weight.

This amalgam is then put into a linen bag, and pressed very hard,

by which the greatest part of the mercury is strained off, and the

remainder is evaporated off by the force of fire, leaving the gold in

a little wedge or mass, shaped like a pine-apple, whence it is called

a _pinna_. This is afterwards melted and cast in a mould, to know its

exact weight, and to ascertain the proportion of silver that is mixed

with the gold, no farther process of refining being done here. The

weightiness of the gold, and the facility with which it forms an

amalgam with the mercury, occasions it easily to part from the dross

or earthy matters of the stone or matrix. This is a great advantage

to the gold-miners, as they every day know what they get; but the

silver-miners often do not know how much they get till two months

after, owing to the tediousness of their operation, as formerly

described.

[Footnote 5: This is a material error. Valparaiso is on no river, and

lies forty English miles north from the river Maypo, on one of the

upper branches of which, the Mapocho, St Jago is situated.--E.]

According to the nature of these gold-mines, and the comparative

richness of the veins, every _caxon_, or chest of fifty quintals,

yields four, five, or six ounces of gold. When it only yields two

ounces, the miner does not cover his charges, which often happens; but

he sometimes receives ample amends, when he meets with good veins; and

the gold-mines are those which produce metals the most unequally. In

following a vein, it frequently widens, then becomes narrower, and

then seems to disappear, all within a small space of ground; and this

sport of nature makes the miners live in continual hopes of finding

what they call a _purse_, being the expanded end of a vein, which is

sometimes so rich as to make a man's fortune at once; yet this same

inequality sometimes ruins them, which is the reason that it is more

rare to see a gold-miner rich than a silver-miner, or even one in any

other metal, although there be less expence in extracting gold from

the mineral than any other metal. For this reason also the gold-miners

have the particular privilege that they cannot be sued to execution in

civil actions. Gold only pays a twentieth part to the king, which

duty is called _Covo_, from the name of a private individual at whose

instance the duty was thus reduced, gold having formerly paid a fifth,

as silver still does.

On the descent of this mountain of _Tiltil_, there runs, during the

rainy season, a brisk stream of water, which passes through among

the gold-ore, and washes away abundance of that rich metal, as it

ripens[6] and breaks from its bed. On this account, this stream is

accounted one of the richest lavaderos in all Chili for four months

of every year; and well it may, as there are sometimes found in it

pellets of gold of an ounce weight. At _Palma_, about four leagues

from Valparaiso, there is another rich lavadero; and every where

throughout the country, the fall of a brook or rivulet is accompanied

by more or less of these golden showers, the richest of which fall

into the laps of the jesuits, who farm or purchase abundance of mines

and lavaderos, which are wrought for their benefit by their servants.

The soil in the neighbourhood of Valparaiso is exceedingly rich and

fertile, so that forty ships go from thence yearly to Calao, laden

with corn; yet that commodity still remains so cheap at this place,

where money is so abundant, that an English bushel of wheat may be

bought for less than three shillings. It would be still cheaper, could

all the country be cultivated; but as it has constant dry weather for

eight months endurance, cultivation is only possible where they have

brooks or little rills in the vales coming from the mountains, which

can be applied for irrigating or watering the cultivated land.

[Footnote 6: That is, as the matrix or rock in which it is contained,

moulders and decays by the influences of the weather and of this

stream; for the notion of ores ripening is a mere dream or fancy.--E.]

There is a great trade carried on to all parts of Chili from the

Atlantic ocean, by way of Buenos Ayres, whence the Chilese receive

some European goods, together with large sums in silver, in return

for their commodities. This is perhaps the largest route of Indian

commerce in the world, as the road from Buenos Ayres to Potosi is 1500

miles; and though the distance from Valparaiso be not above 160 miles

more,[7] yet it is attended with much greater difficulty, as the

vast chain of mountains called the Cordelieras of the Andes has to be

passed, which can only be done during the three first months of the

year, the passes being impracticable at all other times. At that

season the merchants come from Mendoza, an inland town about 300

leagues from Buenos Ayres, and travel through the mountains to St

Jago. The passage of the mountains usually takes up six or seven days,

though only about sixty leagues, and the travellers have not only to

carry their own provisions with them, but also the provender of their

mules, as the whole of that part of the road is a continued series

of rocks and precipices, and all the country round so barren and so

exposed to snows in winter, that it is utterly uninhabitable. The

remainder of the journey, from St Jago to the mines, and from thence

to Valparaiso, is both safe and pleasant; and in this the merchants

have nothing to fear, except staying too long, and losing their

passage home through the mountains for that season, in which case they

would have to remain in Chili at least nine months longer than they

intended.

[Footnote 7: In these estimates, Betagh has been very unfortunate, as

the direct distance from Buenos Ayres to Potosi does not exceed 1100

miles, and the distance from Valparaiso, also in a straight line, is

hardly 800 miles.--E.]

On the whole, though a very great part of the enormous extent of

the Spanish dominions in South America be absolutely desert, and the

people in some of the inhabited parts do not acquire large fortunes,

yet the Spanish settlers in Chili certainly procure immense riches

yearly, as the country is but thinly inhabited, and all the gold

drawn from the mines and lavadores must be divided among them. It

is evident, however, that the greater part of the inhabitants do not

abound in wealth. Those among them who deal in cattle, corn, and the

other productions of the country, only acquire moderate fortunes;

and those who are concerned in the mines are frequently ruined by

launching out into unsuccessful speculations, and by expensive living.

Those who are easy in their circumstances, and retire to the city of

St Jago, Jago, live in such a manner as sufficiently demonstrates

the riches of Chili; as all their utensils, even those of the most

ordinary sort, are of pure gold, and it is believed that the wealth

of that city cannot fall short of twenty millions.[8] Add to this,

the gold-mines are continually increasing, and it is only for want

of hands that they are not wrought to infinitely more advantage; for

those already discovered and now neglected, would be sufficient to

employ 40,000 men. It may also be observed, that the frauds practised

against the royal revenue are increasing daily, and, as the riches

of the Spanish West Indies are measured by the amount of the royal

revenue, this must make them appear poorer than they are in reality.

We have one instance of this in the mines of Potosi, which are said to

produce less silver than they did formerly; yet, on a computation

for fifty years, the annual revenue to the king has amounted, on the

average, to 220,000 _pesos_, of thirteen rials and a quarter yearly,

which shews that the annual produce of these mines, so far as it has

paid the royal duty, amounts nearly to two million pieces of eight,

or dollars, and it may be confidently asserted that the royal treasury

does not receive above half of what is due: wherefore, from this

example, the rest may be judged of.

[Footnote 8: The coin or denomination is not specified: If dollars, at

4s. 6d., this would amount to four millions and a half sterling.--E.]

§ 7. _SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FRENCH INTERLOPERS IN CHILI._

As the policy of Spain chiefly consists in endeavouring, by all

possible means, to prevent the riches of these extensive dominions

from passing into other hands, so the knowledge possessed by other

nations of the great wealth of these countries, and of the great

demand for European manufactures among their inhabitants, has excited

almost every nation in Europe to devise every possible contrivance for

coming in for a share in these riches, and this with such effect, that

it is even questionable whether any considerable portion of the riches

of the new world centres among the inhabitants of Old Spain. This may

be judged of from the following considerations: Even the trade carried

on from Spain to the new world is of much greater importance to

foreigners than to the Spaniards themselves. For as Spain has few

commodities of its own, and carries on scarcely any manufactures, the

Spanish merchants at Cadiz have to make up their cargoes by means of

purchases from other countries; or rather the Cadiz merchants are mere

factors for the merchants of England, France, and Holland, whose goods

they send to America, and pay them by the returns made in the Plate

fleets. Spain also is a country very ill provided with some of the

necessaries of life, and most of the conveniences; so that prodigious

sums of the money brought from America have to be yearly exported for

the purchase of these.

Besides such drawbacks as the above, to which the Spaniards willingly

submit, there are many others which they are forced to endure: For

instance, all the negroes they employ in their plantations, in

which every kind of labour is performed by them, are purchased from

foreigners, particularly the English and Dutch, at a very large

annual expence; and, under pretence of furnishing them with negroes, a

clandestine trade is carried on every year, along the whole coasts

of their possessions on the Atlantic. In the South Sea, however,

they were tolerably free from every thing except the depredations

of pirates, till the general war on account of the succession to the

crown of Spain, which created a new kind of contraband trade, unknown

in former times, of which I now propose to give some account.

The _French interlopers_ carried vast quantities of goods directly

from Europe into the South Seas, which till then had hardly ever been

attempted by any European nation. This was always viewed with an evil

eye by the court of Spain, as repugnant to the interests of Spain, and

diametrically opposite to the maxims of her government; but there

were many circumstances at that time which rendered this a kind of

necessary evil, and obliged therefore the people of Old Spain to

submit to it. As for the Creoles, they had European goods and at a

cheaper rate, and it did not give them much concern who it was that

received their money. The town of St Malo has always been noted for

privateers, and greatly annoyed the trade of the English and Dutch

during the whole reign of King William, and part of that of Queen

Anne; and though some allege that money procured by privateering never

prospers, yet I may safely affirm that the people of St Malo are as

rich and flourishing as any in all France. Privateering has thriven

so well among them, that all their South Sea trade has arisen from

thence; and, during the last war, they were so rich and generous,

that they made several free gifts to Louis XIV.; and so dexterous were

they, that though our Admiralty always kept a stout squadron in

the Atlantic, we were never able to capture one of their South-Sea

traders. The reason of this was, that they always kept their ships

extremely clean, having ports to careen at of which we knew not. In

1709, when I belonged to her majesty's ship the Loo, being one of the

convoy that year to Newfoundland, we saw and chased upon that coast

a ship of fifty guns, which we soon perceived to be French-built; but

she crowded sail and soon left us. She had just careened at Placentia,

and we wondered much to find such a ship in that part of the world. We

afterwards learnt, from some French prisoners, that she was a French

ship bound to St Malo, having two or three millions of dollars on

board, and was then so trim that she trusted to her heels, and valued

nobody. They went thus far to the north and west on purpose to have

the advantage of a westerly wind, which seldom failed of sending them

into soundings at one spirt, if not quite home. Since Placentia

has been yielded to Great Britain, they now use St Catherine and

Islagrande, on the coast of Brasil, and Martinico in the West Indies.

This trade succeeded so well, that all the merchants of St Malo

engaged in it, sending every year to the number of twenty sail of

ships. In 1721, I saw eleven sail of these together at one time on the

coast of Chili, among which were several of fifty guns, and one called

the _Fleur-de-luce_, which could mount seventy, formerly a man-of-war.

As this trade was contrary to the _Assiento_ treaty between Great

Britain and Spain, memorials were frequently presented against it

at Madrid by the court of London; and the king of Spain, willing to

fulfil his engagements to the king of England, resolved to destroy

this contraband French trade. As there was no other way to accomplish

this but by sending a squadron of men-of-war into the South Sea, and

as few of the Spaniards were acquainted with the navigation of Cape

Horn, or could bear the extreme rigour of the climate, the court of

Spain was obliged to use foreigners on this expedition, and the

four ships sent oat were both manned and commanded by Frenchmen. The

squadron consisted of the _Gloucester_, of 50 guns, and 400 men, the

_Ruby_, of 50 guns, and 330 men, both of these formerly English ships

of war, the _Leon Franco_, of 60 guns, and 450 men, and a frigate

of 40 guns, and 200 men. Monsieur _Martinet_, a French officer, was

commodore of this squadron, and commanded the _Pembroke_,[1] and

Monsieur _La Jonquiere_ the Ruby. The French conducted the navigation

round the cape very well, though in the middle of winter; but the last

ship of the four, which was manned with Spaniards, could not weather

Cape Horn, and was forced back to the Rio Plata, where she was cast

away. As the Spaniards have little or no trade into any of the cold

climates, and are unused to hard work, it is not to be wondered that

they failed on this occasion, especially considering the improper

season of the year. The Biscaneers, indeed, are robust enough fellows;

and had the Leon Franco been manned with them, she had certainly

doubled the cape along with the other three ships; but the Spaniards

in general, since acquiring their possessions in America, have become

so delicate and indolent, that it would be difficult to find an entire

ship's company capable to perform that navigation.

[Footnote 1: No such name occurs, in enumerating the squadron

immediately before--E.]

The vast advantage of the trade of Chili by way of Cape Horn, is so

obvious, that his catholic majesty is obliged by treaty to shut out

all the European nations from it, as well as the English, although

his own subjects make nothing of it, as it very rarely happens that

a Spanish ship ventures to go round Cape Horn. Owing to this, all

European goods sell enormously dear in Chili and Peru; insomuch, that

I have been told at Lima, that they are often at 400 per cent. profit,

and it may be fairly asserted, that the goods carried from France by

Cape Horn are in themselves 50 per cent. better than those sent in

the Cadiz _flota_ to Carthagena and Vera Cruz, because the former are

delivered in six months, fresh and undamaged, while the latter are

generally eighteen months before they reach Chili. In the course of

this trade, the French sold their goods, furnished themselves with

provisions, and got home again, all within twelve or fourteen months.

When Martinet arrived on the coast of Chili in 1717, furnished with a

commission from the king of Spain to take or destroy all the ships of

his countrymen found trading in the South Sea, he soon had sufficient

employment for his squadron and of fourteen ships belonging to St

Malo, then on the coast, only one escaped him, which lay hid in a

landlocked creek unseen till he had gone to leeward. Although in this

he executed the orders of his catholic majesty, and did a material

benefit to the British South Sea company, yet he almost ruined the

trading part of the Creole Spaniards, as hindering the circulation of

money and spoiling business, so that they could not bear the sight

of the French men-of-war, though they liked the French merchant ships

very much. On the other hand, imagining that they had done essential

service to the Spaniards, the French expected to have received at

least civil treatment in return, during their stay in these seas.

As soon, however, as Martinet brought his prizes into Calao, and the

Frenchmen had received their shares of the prize-money, forgetting

the ancient antipathy of the Spaniards for the French, they gave

themselves extravagant airs on shore, by dancing and drinking, which

still more incensed the creolians against them, who called them

cavachos and renegados, for falling foul of their own countrymen. From

one thing to another, their mutual quarrels grew so high, that the

Frenchmen were obliged to go about Lima and Calao in strong armed

parties, the better to avoid outrages and affronts. At last, a young

gentleman, who was ensign of the Ruby, and nephew to Captain La

Jonquiere, was shot from a window, and the murderer took refuge in

the great church of Calao. Martinet and La Jonquiere petitioned the

viceroy to have the murderer delivered up to justice: But the viceroy,

who was at the same time archbishop, would on no account consent to

violate the privileges of the church. On this refusal, they called all

their men on board by beat of drum, and laid the broadsides of their

three ships to bear on the town of Calao, threatening to demolish

the town and fortifications, unless the assassin were delivered up

or executed. All this blustering, however, could not prevail upon the

viceroy to give them any satisfaction, though they had several other

men killed, besides that gentleman.

At length, unwilling to proceed to extremities, and no longer able

to endure the place where his nephew had been murdered, La Jonquiere

obtained leave of his commodore to make the best of his way home.

About this time, many _padros_ and many rich passengers were assembled

at Conception in Chili, intending to take their passage to Europe in

the French squadron, knowing that all ships bound for Cape Horn must

touch at Conception, or some places thereabout, for provisions.

La Jonquiere, having thus the start of his commodore, had all the

advantage to himself of so many good passengers in his ship; for, as

the king of Spain had no officer at Conception to register the

money shipped at that place, these passengers and missionaries put

astonishing sums of money on board the Ruby. They were thereby spared

the trouble of a voyage to Panama or Acapulco, and travelling thence

for Portobello or Vera Cruz, where they must have had their coffers

visited, to see if the _indulto_ of his majesty were fairly accounted

for. They therefore saved every shilling of that _indulto_, as the

Ruby touched first in France, where no cognizance whatever was taken

of this affair. They also got clear of the other moiety payable in

Spain, as they landed all their money in France.

Besides these rich passengers and their money, the Ruby had also on

board a considerable sum arising to his catholic majesty from the

confiscation of the thirteen captured interlopers, all of which, as I

was informed, amounted to four millions of dollars in that ship. What

a fine booty we missed therefore by the obstinacy of Shelvocke! For,

when this ship, the Ruby, found us at the island of St Catharine, her

company was so sickly that she had not above sixty sound men out of

four hundred; so that La Jonquiere was actually afraid of us, and

would not send his boat to the watering-place, where we kept guard,

and our coopers and sail-makers were at work, till he had first

obtained leave of our captain; neither is this strange, for he knew we

had a consort, and was in Spain all the time he staid there, lest the

Success should have joined us.

After Commodore Martinet had cleared the coast of Chili and Peru

of his countrymen, he sent his brother-in-law, Monsieur de Grange,

express with the news to Madrid, who went by way of Panama,

Portobello, Jamaica, and London. On delivering his message, the king

of Spain asked what he could do for him, when he humbly requested his

majesty would give him the command of a ship, and send him again round

Cape Horn into the South Sea. He accordingly got the Zelerin, of fifty

guns. He came first to _Calais_,[2] where the ship was getting ready,

and was surprised to meet with a cold reception from the French

merchants and other gentlemen of his acquaintance residing there; for,

as there were merchants of various nations interested in the ships

taken and confiscated in the South Sea, they universally considered

him and all the French in that squadron as false brethren, for serving

the crown of Spain to the prejudice of their own countrymen. Thus,

while he expected to have had a valuable cargo consigned to his care,

no man would ship the value of a dollar with him. Captain Fitzgerald,

who was then at _Cales_, made him a considerable offer for the

privilege of going out as his second officer, with liberty to take out

what goods he might be able to procure, in his own name. As de Grange

was not a little embarrassed, he accepted this offer, and procured a

commission for Fitzgerald as second captain. They accordingly manned

the Zelerin chiefly with French seamen, and some English, and got very

well round Cape Horn. At this time our two privateers, the Success and

Speedwell, were known to be in the South Seas, and the Zelerin was

one of the ships commissioned by the viceroy of Peru to cruize for

us. Fitzgerald sold all his goods to great advantage at Lima, where he

continued to reside; while de Grange served as captain under Admiral

Don Pedro Miranda, who took Hately and me prisoners.

[Footnote 2: This, certainly, is a mistake for Cadiz, often named

Cales by English seamen; and, in fact, only a few lines lower down,

the place is actually named Cales.--E.]

Though great sufferers by so many confiscations, the merchants of St

Malo were not entirely discouraged; for, in the year 1720, we found

the Solomon of St Malo, of 40 guns, and 150 men, at _Ylo_, on the

coast of Chili, with several Spanish barks at her stern. In the course

of six weeks, she sold all her cargo, got in a supply of provisions,

and left the coast without interruption, as by this time Martinet's

squadron had left the coast. Encouraged by the success of the Solomon,

the merchants of St Malo fitted out fourteen sail together, all of

which arrived in the South Sea in the beginning of the year 1721.

Three of the commanders of these ships, being well acquainted with the

creolians, quickly sold their cargoes and returned home. About this

time, the people of Lima judged that our privateers were gone off the

coast, or at least would not commit any more hostilities, because

of the truce between the two crowns. Wherefore, the three Spanish

men-of-war that had been fitted out to cruize against us, were ordered

against these fresh interlopers. I was on board the Flying-fish, an

advice-boat that accompanied the men-of-war, when they came up with

eleven sail of the St Malo ships, which were then altogether on the

coast of Chili, and, instead of firing on them, the Spaniards joined

them as friends. At first, expecting to have been attacked, the French

ships drew up in a line, as if daring the ships of war. This seemed to

me somewhat strange, that three such ships, purposely fitted out for

this cruize, should decline doing their duty on their own coasts; for,

had they proved too weak, they had ports of their own to retire

to, under their lee. But the ships of war contented themselves with

watching the motions of the interlopers, keeping them always in sight;

and when any of the French ships drew near the shore, the Spaniards

always sent a pinnace or long-boat along with her, carrying the

Spanish flag, the sight of which effectually deterred the creolians

from trading with the French. In this manner they contrived to prevent

all these ships from disposing of their goods, except when they

were met with at sea by chance, and sold some of their commodities

clandestinely. At length, completely tired out by this close

superintendence, the French got leave to take in provisions, and went

home, at least half of their goods remaining unsold. Notwithstanding

these losses and disappointments, and severe edicts issued against

this trade in France, the merchants of St Malo still persist to carry

it on, though privately, nor is it probable they will ever leave off

so lucrative a commerce, unless prevented by the strong arm of power,

or supplanted by some other nation.

§ 8. RETURN OF BETAGH TO ENGLAND.

I now return to my own affairs, and the manner of my return to England

from Peru. I have already acknowledged the kind reception I met with

from the admiral of the South Seas, Don Pedro Miranda, and the reasons

of his treating us so civilly. I think it barely justice to mention

the several favours I received, during the eleven months that I

continued at Lima, particularly from Don Juan Baptista Palacio, a

native of Biscay, a knight of the order of St Jago, who came weekly

to the prison while we were there, and distributed money to us all, in

proportion to our several ranks. Captain Nicholas Fitzgerald procured

my enlargement, by becoming security for me; and he afterwards

supplied me with money and necessaries, from that time till my

departure; and procured for me and twenty more, a passage to Cadiz, in

a Spanish advice-boat called the Flying-fish, of which our surgeon's

mate, Mr Pressick, acted as surgeon, receiving wages, as did the

rest of our men, being released from prison expressly to assist in

navigating that vessel home to Spain. For my own part, being well

treated, I did not think proper to eat the bread of idleness, but kept

my watches as well as the other officers. And pray, what is the harm

of all this? Though Shelvocke had the stupidity to call it treason;

it must surely appear a very malicious, as well as an ignorant charge,

after a man has been driven among the enemy, to call him a traitor

because he has been kindly used, and for accepting his passage back

again; and, because I was not murdered in Peru, I ought to be

executed at home. This is Shelvocke's great Christian charity and good

conscience![1]

[Footnote 1: After all, had the Flying-fish been captured by a British

cruizer, Betagh would have run great risk of being found guilty of

treason for _keeping his watches_.--E.]

On my arrival at Cadiz, captain John Evers of the Britannia kindly

gave me my passage to London, and entertained me at his own table. On

my return to London, and representing the hardships I had undergone,

nine honourable persons made me a present of ten guineas each; which

afforded me the satisfaction of seeing, that such as were the best

judges, had a proper idea of the miseries I had suffered, and approved

the manner in which I had behaved, the only consolation I could

receive in the circumstances in which I was left by that unfortunate

voyage. The fair account I have given of facts, and the detail of my

proceedings in the Spanish West Indies, together with the account of

what I observed worthy of notice during my stay in these parts,

will acquit me, I hope, in the opinion of every candid and impartial

person, from the aspersions thrown upon me by Shelvocke, in the

account he has published of his voyage.

* * * * *

_Note._

"Betagh has fully shewn, that the navigation round Cape Horn is no

such dangerous or wonderful voyage. If twenty ships from St Malo could

perform it in one year, and not a single vessel either shipwrecked or

forced to put back, what shall hinder an English ship or an English

fleet from doing the same? We see from the foregoing account, with how

much ease the French carried on a prodigious trade to the South Seas,

at a time when the appearance of an English ship there was esteemed

a prodigy. We certainly can send our frigates there, as well as the

French can their ships from St Malo; and it might be well worth the

while of our merchants to send out ships to the coasts of Chili and

Peru, laden with proper goods for that country."--_Harris._

In the present day, this trade to the coasts of Chili and Peru has

been resumed by the citizens of the United States; but the subjects

of Britain are debarred from even attempting to take a share, because

within the exclusive limits of the East India Company; although their

ships never come nearer to the western coast of America than Canton

in China, at the enormous distance of 174 degrees of longitude, and

59 degrees of latitude, counting from Canton in China to Conception in

Peru, or upwards of _twelve thousand English miles_. It is certainly

at least extremely desirable, that a trade of such promise should not

remain any longer prohibited, merely to satisfy a punctilio, without

the most distant shadow of benefit to the India Company, or to the

nonentity denominated the South-sea Company.--_Ed._

CHAPTER XIII.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, BY COMMODORE ROGGEWEIN, IS 1721-1723.[1]

INTRODUCTION.

There was, perhaps, no country in the world where commerce was more

profitable, or held more honourable, than in Holland, or where more

respect and attention was shewn to it by the government. As the

republic chiefly subsisted by trade, every thing relating to it was

considered as an affair of a public nature, in which the welfare

of the state was concerned, and highly deserving therefore of the

strictest and readiest attention. The great companies in Holland,

as in other countries, were considered as injurious to trade in

some lights, yet necessary to its welfare in others. The _West India

Company_ of that country, originally erected in 1621, held, by an

exclusive charter, the commerce of the coast of Africa, from the

tropic of Cancer to the Cape of Good Hope, and that of America, from

the southern point of Newfoundland in the N.E. all along the eastern

coast to the Straits of Magellan or Le Maire, and thence northwards

again along the western coast, to the supposed Straits of Anian, thus

including the entire coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The

directors of this company consisted of seventy-two persons, divided

into five chambers, of whom eighteen were chosen to administer the

affairs of the Company, together with a nineteenth person, nominated

by the States-General.

[Footnote 1: Harris, I. 256. Callender, III. 644.]

The affairs of this Company were once in so very flourishing a

condition, that it was considered as even superior to their East India

Company. This prosperity was chiefly owing, to the happy success of

their affairs at sea; as their admiral, Peter Haines, in the 1629,

captured the Spanish plate fleet, laden with immense riches. They at

one time made themselves masters of the greatest part of Brazil; and

were so considerable that the great Count Maurice of Nassau did not

think it beneath him to accept a commission from this Company as

Governor-General of Brazil; which country, however, after it had cost

them immense sums to defend, they at length lost. The term of their

charter, originally limited to twenty-four years, expired in 1647,

and was then renewed for other twenty-five years. During this second

period, their affairs became so perplexed, so that the Company was

dissolved towards the close of that term, with its own consent.

In 1674, a new company was erected, by letters patent from the

States-General, with nearly the same powers and privileges, which has

subsisted ever since with great reputation.[2] The capital of this

new company consisted of six millions of florins, which are equal

to 545,454l. 10s. 10d. 10-11ths sterling. And the limits of their

authority are the western coast of Africa and both coasts of America,

all the establishments of the Dutch in these countries being under

their authority, so that any one who proposes a new scheme of commerce

in those parts, must necessarily apply himself to that company. Under

these circumstances, a Mr Roggewein, a person of parts and enterprize,

formed a project for the discovery of the vast continent and numerous

islands, supposed to be in the southern part of the globe, under the

name of _Terra Australis Incognita_, of which the world had hitherto

only very imperfect notices from others; which project, with a plan

for carrying the discovery into execution, they presented to the Dutch

_East_ India Company[3] in 1696, by which it was favourably received,

and he was assured of receiving all the assistance and support he

could desire or expect, as soon as the affairs of the Company would

permit. But the disturbances which soon afterwards followed put a stop

to the good intentions of the Company; and Mr Roggewein died before

any thing could be done. Mr Roggewein was a gentleman of the province

of Zealand, who had addicted himself from his youth to mathematical

studies, and we have reason to suppose recommended his projected

discovery on his death-bed to his son.

[Footnote 2: This refers to the year 1743, when Harris wrote: It

is hardly necessary to say, that Holland and its great commercial

companies are now merely matters of history.--E.]

[Footnote 3: From what goes both before and after, this seems a

mistake for the _West_ India Company.--E.]

After the death of his father, the younger Roggewein applied to his

studies with much vigour, and qualified himself for the office of

counsellor in the court of justice at Batavia, where he resided

for many years. After his return from Java, where he had acquired a

handsome fortune, he resolved upon carrying his father's projected

discovery into execution; and, in the year 1721, presented a memorial

to the West India Company, narrating the proposal of his father

for discovering the southern continent and islands, which they had

formerly been pleased to approve of, and which he was now ready to

attempt. The Company received this memorial with readiness; and, as

its affairs were now in better order, acquainted Mr Roggewein, that it

would give immediate orders for equipping such a squadron as might

be necessary for carrying his design into effect. The squadron

accordingly fitted out on this occasion consisted of three ships: The

Eagle of 36 guns and 111 men, commanded by Captain Job Coster, and in

which Mr Roggewein embarked as Commodore; the Tienhoven of 28 guns and

100 men, commanded by Captain James Bowman; and the African, a galley

armed with 14 guns, and carrying 60 men, commanded by Captain Henry

Bosenthal.

It may be proper to acquaint the reader, that the subsequent account

of this voyage is derived from an original journal, which never

appeared before in our language, for which I was indebted to the

gentleman who commanded the land-forces on board the Commodore, and

whose name I am not at liberty to mention; neither that of another

gentleman who was engaged in the voyage, and from whom I received

considerable assistance. The nature of the expedition is sufficient

in itself to recommend it to the notice of the curious; and the many

remarkable particulars it contains, especially respecting the state of

the Dutch Company in the Indies, renders it both a very entertaining

and a most instructive performance.

Before proceeding to the narrative of this voyage, I hope to be

indulged in making a few remarks, which may contribute both to

amusement and information, and may clear up some points that might

otherwise appear obscure in the following voyage. It is worth

observing, that the Dutch West India Company had been long in a

declining condition; which, instead of dispiriting the Directors,

engaged them to turn their thoughts to every method that could be

devised for recovering their affairs. There is so wide a difference

between our English great chartered companies and those [formerly]

in Holland, that it may not be amiss to give a concise account of the

flourishing state of that Company, as it may shew what great things

may be managed by a board of merchants, for such the Directors

generally were.

It appears, from the books of the Company, that, in the space of

thirteen years, from 1623 to 1636, the Company had fitted out 800

ships, either for war or trade, and that the expence of building,

equipping, and seamen's wages had cost forty-five millions of florins,

or upwards of _four millions_ sterling: And, in the same space of

time, the Company had taken from the enemy 545 vessels, valued at

_sixty millions_ of florins, or nearly _five and a half millions_

sterling; besides to the value of _thirty millions_ at the least, or

nearly _two millions and a quarter_ sterling, in spoils of various

denominations. The greatest of their exploits was the capture of the

Spanish _flota_ at the Havannah, by their admiral Peter Heyne; by

which they gained seven millions of dollars in money, or L. 2,625,000

sterling; besides ships, brass cannon, and other military stores, to

the value of above ten millions.[4] Such were the flourishing times of

the Company.

[Footnote 4: Harris does not say whether dollars or florins: If the

former, equal to L. 2,250,000 sterling at 4s. 6d. the dollar; if the

latter, a little above L. 900,000 sterling at 11 florins to the pound

sterling; both of these the old par of exchange.--E.]

The causes of their decay seem to have been principally the following.

_First_, their emulation of the East India Company, which induced

them to make the conquest of Brazil from Portugal, the crown of which

country had been usurped by their arch enemy the king of Spain. This

was achieved at a vast expence, and Count Maurice of Nassau was

appointed governor-general, who conducted their affairs with great

skill and prudence. _Secondly_, owing to the desire of the Company

to conduct all things, and repining at the expence incurred by

that prince in the government of Brazil, was another cause of their

misfortunes: For the merchants, who had conducted their affairs with

great wisdom and capacity, while they confined themselves to commerce

and maritime war, shewed themselves only indifferent statesmen, and

soon lost all that Prince Maurice had gained, and loaded the Company

with so heavy a debt, as compelled them in the end to consent to its

dissolution.

The new West India Company, warned by the example of its predecessors,

has kept more within bounds, and has certainly managed its affairs

with great prudence and economy. Having formed a project in 1714,

for uniting the East and West India Companies into one,[5] and the

proposition, being rejected, the directors of the West India

Company very wisely turned their thoughts another way; and it is not

improbable, that the rejection of their proposal on this occasion

may have induced them to give encouragement to the proposition of

Roggewein: For, being disappointed in their aim of coming in for a

share in the commodities of the East Indies, they were desirous of

acquiring the same articles of trade by some other means, expecting to

have found these in the continent or islands proposed to be discovered

by Roggewein. This also accounts for the extraordinary heat and

violence of the Dutch East India Company, against those who were

engaged on the present expedition, and is the true secret of the

dispute so warmly carried on by the two Companies, and so wisely

decided by the States-General. When the Dutch East India Company

persecuted and destroyed Le Maire for his voyage of discovery,

under pretence of interfering within their exclusive boundaries, the

government did not interfere, because at that time the power of the

East India Company was of the highest importance to the state: But,

as the government of Holland became better established, and especially

since a share in the public administration has been acquired by such

as are conversant in trade, the concerns of the East India Company

have been viewed in a new light. The first who explained this matter

clearly was that consummate statesman and true patriot, John de Witte,

whose words are most worthy the attention of the reader.

[Footnote 5: A long, indistinct, and uninteresting account of this

project is here omitted, which Harris alleges might have transferred

the whole commerce of Europe to the Dutch, but for which opinion he

advances no substantial reasons, or rather none at all.--E.]

"When the East India Company had attained to a certain extent of power

and grandeur, its interests came not only to clash with, but grew

absolutely opposite to those of the country. For, whereas the

advantage of the nation consists in the increase of manufactures,

commerce, and freight of ships; the interests of the Company are to

promote the sale of foreign manufactures, and that with the smallest

extent of traffic and navigation that can be contrived. Hence, if

the East India Company can gain more by importing Japan cloths, India

quilts, carpets, and chintzes, than by raw silk; or, if the Company,

by creating an artificial scarcity of nutmegs, mace, cloves, cinnamon,

and other spices, can raise their price so as to gain as much profit

by the sale of 100 tons, as it would otherwise gain by the sale of

1000 tons, we are not to expect that it will import raw silks, or be

at the expence of transporting 1000 tons of spice; though the former

would assist and encourage our manufactures at home, and the latter

would increase our navigation.

This chain of reasoning is so plain, and so evidently agrees with the

interests of all nations, as well as with those of Holland, that it

is impossible for any unprejudiced person not to discern that all

exclusive companies destroy, instead of promoting, the commerce of

the countries in which they are established. The same great statesman

already quoted observes, "That the more any country extends its

foreign conquests, the more of its stock must necessarily be spent,

for the preservation and defence of these conquests: And consequently,

by how much the greater are its dominions, so much the less is that

company able to prosecute the trade, for the promotion of which it was

erected."[6]--_Harris._

[Footnote 6: The remarks of Harris on this voyage are extended to a

far greater length than have been here adopted, and are many of them

loose and uninteresting; but some of those here inserted have a strong

reference to a most important subject now under consideration of the

legislature; and the notices respecting the Dutch West India Companies

are curious in themselves, as well as upon a subject very little known

in this country.

The subject of this voyage round the world is principally exhausted

in the _seven_ first sections; all those subsequent being chiefly a

detail of the Indian settlements of the Dutch East India Company, as

it was in the year 1722, almost a century ago. These certainly might

have been omitted on the present occasion, without injury to the

present article, as a _circumnavigation_: But, as conveying a

considerable mass of information, respecting the _Dutch possessions in

India_, now all belonging to Britain, and respecting which hardly any

thing has been published in the English language, it has been deemed

indispensable to preserve them.--E.]

SECTION I.

_Narrative of the Voyage from Holland to the Coast of Brazil._[1]

The small squadron of three ships, already enumerated, sailed

from Amsterdam on the 16th July, 1721, and arrived at the Texel in

thirty-six hours, where they were provided with every thing requisite

for so long a voyage. All things being in readiness, they sailed with

a fair wind on the 21st August; but, as the wind changed next day,

they were three days in beating to windward through the British

channel, after which they continued their course to the S.W. for the

coast of Barbary, but were opposed by a heavy storm which did them

considerable damage. To this a dead calm succeeded, during which the

water ran mountains high, owing to agitation they had been thrown into

by the storm. By the rolling of the ships during the calm, several

injuries were sustained, one of the vessels losing its main-top-mast

and mizen-mast; and the main-yard of the Commodore came down with such

force as to wound several of the people on deck. After two days the

wind freshened again, and they continued their course S.W. towards the

Canaries, amusing themselves with observing the manner in which the

flying-fish endeavours to escape from its enemies, the albicores and

bonitoes. The _flying-fish_ are not larger than a herring, and raise

themselves into the air by means of two long fins, one on each side,

not much unlike the wings of a bat in strength and texture. They are

considered as good eating, and the sailors are always well pleased

when they are met with in plenty. The _bonito_ is about two feet long,

of a greyish colour, finely streaked from head to tail; but the flesh

is hard, dry, and disagreeably tasted. The _albicore_ is generally

five or six feet long, and sometimes weighs 150 pounds. They saw

likewise several water-fowls, particularly _teal_, which the seamen

account a sign of land being near.

[Footnote 1: In the various steps of this voyage, the merely

uninteresting journal or log-book incidents have been materially

abbreviated.--E.]

While in lat. 28° N. and soon expecting to see the Canaries, a sail

was descried from the mast-head carrying English colours. On drawing

near she struck her colours and bore away, but re-appeared in about an

hour, having four sail more in her company, sometimes carrying white,

sometimes red, and sometimes black colours, which gave reason to

suspect that they were pirates. The Commodore immediately made the

signal for the line of battle, and all hands went to work in clearing

the ship for action, filling grenades, and preparing every thing for

the ensuing engagement, in which they fortunately had the advantage

of the weather-gage. Observing this, the pirates put themselves into

a fighting posture, struck their red flag, and hoisted a black one, on

which was a death's head in the centre, surmounted by a powder horn,

and two cross bones underneath. They likewise formed the line, and

commenced a smart action. The pirates fought very briskly for some

time, as believing the Dutch ships to be merchantmen; but after two

hours cannonade, perceiving the Commodore preparing to board the

vessel to which he was opposed, the pirates spread all their canvass,

and crowded away as fast as they could sail. Commodore Roggewein, on

seeing them bear away, called out, _Let the rascals go:_ In which he

strictly obeyed his instructions; as all the ships belonging to the

Dutch East and West India Companies have strict orders to pursue their

course, and never to give chase. In this action, four men were killed,

and nine wounded in the Commodore, the other two ships having seven

slain and twenty-six wounded. The carpenters also had full employment

in stopping leaks, and repairing the other damages sustained.

Continuing their voyage, they had sight of Madeira on the 15th

November, and in the neighbourhood saw a desert island which is much

frequented by the pirates, for wood and water and other refreshments.

They afterwards had sight of the Peak of Teneriffe, which is generally

esteemed the highest single mountain in the world, on which account

the geographers of Holland adopt it as the first meridian in their

maps and charts; while the French and English of late incline to

fix their first meridians at their respective capitals of Paris and

London. These differences are apt to create much confusion in the

longitudes of places, when not explained by the writers who use these

several modes of reckoning; on which account Lewis XIII. of France, by

edict in 1634, endeavoured to obviate this inconvenience, by directing

the first meridian to be placed in the island of Ferro, the most

westerly of the Canaries.[1] From these islands they directed their

course for the islands of Cape Verde, so named from Cabo Verde, or

the Green Cape, a point or mountain on the coast of Africa, called

_Arlinarium_ by Ptolemy.

[Footnote 1: The Royal Observatory at Greenwich is now the first

meridian in British maps and globes, from which St Paul's in London is

0° 5' 37" W. the observatory of Paris 2° 20' E. Teneriffe peak 16° 40'

W. and Ferrotown 17° 45' 50" W.]

This cape is bounded by two rivers, the Senegal and Gambia, called by

the ancients the _Garatius_ and _Stachiris_. It has an island to the

west, which is frequented by an infinite number of birds, the eggs of

which are frequently gathered by mariners going this way. This cape is

dangerous to land upon, because of a great many sunken rocks about

it. The continent is here inhabited by negroes, who trade with all

nations, and speak many languages, especially French and Portuguese.

Most of them go naked, except a piece of cloth about their middle, but

their princes and great men wear long garments of calico striped

with blue, and made like shifts; they hang also little square bags of

leather on their arms and legs, but we could not learn of them what

these bags contain.[2] They wear necklaces made of sea-horses teeth,

alternating with glass beads; and have caps of blue and white striped

calico on their heads. They are a prudent and wise people, cultivating

their soil, which bears good rice and other articles sufficient for

their maintenance; and the richer people keep cattle, which are very

dear, as being scarce. They have many good blacksmiths, and iron is

much, valued among them, being forged into fish-spears, implements for

cultivating the ground, and various weapons, as the heads of arrows,

darts, and javelins. Their religion seems to border on Mahometism, as

they are all circumcised; but they have little knowledge of the true

God, except among a few who converse with Christians. They are very

lascivious, and may have as many wives as they please; but the women

are seldom contented with one husband, and are passionately fond of

strangers. The whole country is under subjection to the governors

or head-men of the various towns and villages, who row on board such

ships as arrive, making them pay customs. Several Portuguese reside

here, who trade freely with all nations, but have no power or

authority, except over their own slaves and servants.

[Footnote 2: These are called _obi_, containing a variety

of ridiculous trash, and are held in superstitious esteem as

amulets.--E.]

Having the advantage of a strong N.E. wind, they took their departure

from Cape de Verde, and continued their course for six weeks, without

coming to anchor or handing a sail. In this long passage, they had

some days in which the heat was almost insupportable, and the crew

began to murmur excessively on account of being at short allowance of

water. On this occasion one of the swabbers got into the hold, and,

being extremely thirsty, pierced a cask of brandy, of which he pulled,

so heartily that he was soon intoxicated to a degree of madness. In

this condition he staggered into the cook-room, where he threw down a

pan of grease, and being sharply reproved by the cook, drew his knife

and rushed upon him. Some of the crew gathered about him and wrenched

the knife out of his hand, but not till he had drawn it two or three

times across the cook's face. For this they drubbed him soundly, which

he resented so deeply that he seized a knife as soon as he got loose,

and gave himself several stabs in the belly. The utmost care was taken

of his recovery, in order to make him a public example, to prevent

such actions in future among the crew; and after his recovery he

was punished in the following manner. Being declared infamous at

the fore-mast, he was thrice keel-hauled, and had 300 strokes on the

buttocks, after which his right hand was fastened to the mast with his

own knife. When he had stood some time in this condition, he was put

in chains on the fore-castle, being allowed nothing but bread and

water for some days; and was continued in irons to be set on shore at

the first barren island they came to.

Continuing their voyage till near the line, they were much incommoded

by the shifting of the wind; and by scarcity of water, many of the

crew falling ill of the scurvy. When it sometimes fell entirely calm,

the heat of the sun became more than ordinarily oppressive, owing to

which some of the men became quite distracted, others fell into high

fevers, and some had fits like the epilepsy. Their water, as it grew

low, stunk abominably, and became full of worms. The salt provisions

were in a manner quite spoiled, and served only to turn their stomachs

and increase their thirst. Hunger is said to be the greatest of

torments, but they had reason to consider thirst as the greatest

misery incident to human nature. At this time they often observed

towards evening that the sea appeared all on fire; and taking up some

buckets of water in this condition, they observed that it was full of

an infinite number of little globules, of the size, form, and colour

of pearls. These retained their lustre for some time when held in the

hand, but on pressure seemed nothing more than an earthy fat substance

like mud.

They at length crossed the line, with the loss only of one man, who

died of a high fever; and on getting into the latitude of 3° S. they

fell into the true trade-wind, before which they scudded along at a

great rate. In lat. 5° S. they had the sun directly vertical, so that

they were some days without any observation. In 6° S. they caught

many dorados and dolphins, both, in the opinion of the author of this

voyage, being the same fish, of which the dolphin is the male and

the dorado the female. Some of these are six feet long, but not of

proportional bulk. In the water they appear excessively beautiful,

their skins shining as if streaked with burnished gold; but lose their

splendid appearance on being taken out of the water. Their flesh is

very sweet and well flavoured, so that the seamen always feast when

they can procure plenty of this fish. They saw also abundance of

sharks, many of which are ten feet long. Their flesh is hard, stringy,

and very disagreeably tasted; yet the seamen frequently hang them up

in the air for a day or two, and then eat them: Which compliment the

surviving sharks never fail to return when a seaman falls in their

way, either dead or alive, and seem to attend ships for that purpose.

SECTION II.

_Arrival in Brazil, with some Account of that Country._

Coming near the coast of Brazil, their design was to have anchored

at the island _Grande_, but finding they had passed that island, they

continued their course till off Porto, in lat. 24° S. where they came

to anchor. Some of the ship's company of the commodore then got into

the boat in order to go shore, both for the purpose of procuring wood

and water and other refreshments, and in order to bury one of their

seamen who had died. Before they could get on shore, they descried a

body of Portuguese well armed moving along the coast, who seemed

to prevent them from landing, and beckoned the Dutch to keep off,

threatening to fire if they attempted to land: But, on shewing them

the dead body, they allowed them to land, and even shewed them a place

in which to inter their dead companion. Being desirous of procuring

some intelligence, the Dutch asked many questions about the country,

but could only get for answer, that Porto was an advanced port to St

Sebastian, not marked in the charts, and that they were inhabitants

of Rio Janeiro, which lay at the distance of eight miles.[1] The Dutch

endeavoured to persuade them to go on board the commodore, but they

refused, fearing they might be pirates, which frequently used to come

upon the coast, and, under pretence of getting fresh water, would land

and pillage any of the little towns near the sea.

[Footnote 1: There must be a considerable mistake here in regard to

the latitude of Porto, said to be in 21° S. as Rio Janeiro is in

lat. 22° 54' S. and must therefore have been eighty leagues distant.

Perhaps the eight miles in the text, as the distance to Rio Janeiro,

ought to have been eighty leagues or Dutch miles.--E.]

About six months before the arrival of Roggewein at this place, a

pirate had been there, and, while the crew were preparing to make a

descent, a French ship of force arrived, which sent her to the bottom

with one broadside. She sank in thirteen fathoms, and as she was

supposed to have seven millions on board,[2] they had sent for divers

from Portugal, in order to attempt recovering a part of her treasure.

However, by dint of entreaties and the strongest possible assurance of

safety, two of them were prevailed upon to go on board the commodore,

where they were very kindly treated, and had clothes given them, by

which they were induced to carry the squadron into a safe port, which

was most serviceable to men in their condition, almost worn out with

fatigues, and in a manner destroyed for want of water.

[Footnote 2: This is a most inconclusive mode of expression, perhaps

meaning Dutch florins, and if so, about £636,363 sterling.--E.]

The harbour of Porto affords good anchorage in from six to eight

fathoms. In entering it on the S.W. the main land is on the right, and

a large island on the left, all the coast appearing very high land,

consisting of mountains and intermediate vallies, overgrown with trees

and shrubs. Porto is in a pleasant situation, but at this time had

no inhabitants. They caught here both fish and tortoises of exquisite

flavour, and so very nourishing, that about forty of the people who

were ill of the scurvy, recovered very fast. Having remained there two

days, in which time they supplied themselves with wood and water, they

weighed anchor, and in six leagues sailing to the S.W. came into the

road of St Sebastian. Just when entering the mouth of the river a

violent storm arose, on which they had to drop their anchors, lest

they had been driven on the rocks, and to wait the return of the tide

in that situation. They entered the port next day, and came to anchor

just before the town, which they saluted, but without being answered,

either because the Portuguese guns were not in order, of because the

inhabitants were not pleased, with their arrival, suspecting them of

being pirates, though under the Dutch flag. In order to remove these

apprehensions, Roggewein wrote to the governor, informing him what

they were, and desiring to be furnished with cattle, vegetables,

fruits, and other refreshments for payment, also requesting the use

of a few huts on shore for the recovery of the sick men. The governor

made answer, that these things were not in his power, as he was

subordinate to the governor of Rio de Janeiro, to whom he should

dispatch an express that evening, and hoped the commodore would give

him time to receive the orders of his superior officer. But Roggewein

was by no means satisfied with this answer, giving the governor to

know, if he refused to deal with him by fair means and for ready money

as offered, be should be obliged to have recourse to force, though

much against his inclinations. Having learnt that there was a

Franciscan monastery in the town, Roggewein sent also to inform the

fathers of his arrival, accompanying his message by a present.

It happened fortunately for the Dutch, that a native of Utrecht, one

Father Thomas, belonged to this monastery, who came immediately on

board, accompanied by several other monks. He was so much delighted

at the sight of his countrymen, that he declared he should now die

in peace, having earnestly wished for twenty-two years to enjoy the

satisfaction he was now gratified with. The commodore gave him a kind

welcome, and presented him with whatever was deemed useful for the

monastery. The prior, who was of the party on this occasion, begged

the commodore to have patience till the return of the express from

Rio de Janeiro, and promised to use his interest with the governor, to

induce him to furnish the demanded refreshments, so that they parted

well satisfied with each other. In the mean time, the Portuguese came

down to the coast in large bodies well armed, posting themselves in

such places as they judged the Dutch might attempt to put their men on

shore; and at the approach of a Dutch pinnace, thought proper to fire

at her, by which one of the Dutchmen was dangerously wounded in the

shoulder. The boat's crew returned the fire by a general discharge of

their fire-arms, by which two of the Portuguese were brought down,

and the rest made a precipitate retreat. The Dutch then landed

immediately, filling what water they had occasion for, and returned on

board.

On the report of what had happened, which he deemed an act of

hostility, Roggewein made immediate dispositions for attacking the

town, ordering his smallest ship to go as near the place as possible,

while the Teinhoven was ordered to watch the coast, and the commodore

laid his own ship opposite the monastery, as if he had intended to

batter it down. All this was merely to frighten the Portuguese

into better behaviour, and it had the desired effect, as the

deputy-governor came soon after on board, and entered into a

treaty, granting every thing desired. He at the same time expressed

considerable doubts of being paid for what they might furnish, as

a French ship had been lately supplied with necessaries, and at its

departure the French captain threatened to burn the town about their

ears, if they insisted on payment according to agreement and his

promises on first coming in. The sick were now landed on the island,

and the whole of the ships companies were daily furnished by the

Portuguese with beef, mutton, fowls, vegetables, fruits, and every

thing else they wanted. The ships companies also had leave to go on

shore, and soon contracted acquaintance among the Portuguese, from

whom they obtained sugar, tobacco, brandy, and every thing else they

wished for, in exchange for European goods, although the governor had

strictly prohibited all commerce, under the strictest penalties. Thus,

in a very short time the Portuguese became so well satisfied of the

honesty and good intentions of the Dutch, that they brought back all

their rich effects, formerly carried out of town when the ships first

arrived. The Portuguese, however, complained loudly of the bad usage

they met with from the French, who came frequently to this place with

their ships, taking whatever they pleased by force, and plundering the

houses in which they were permitted to lodge the sick; owing to which

the Portuguese believed that all other Europeans would treat them in

the same manner.

The town of St Sebastians is situated in lat. 24° S. and long. 60°

W.[3] being a place of moderate extent, only indifferently fortified

by an inclosure of palisades, with a few cannon for its defence. The

church however is a beautiful building, and the palace of the governor

is very magnificent; but the houses of the inhabitants are only such

as are commonly met with among the Spanish and Portuguese colonists in

America. The Franciscan monastery stands on the S. side of the town,

and accommodates about thirty monks very conveniently. The prior

shewed to the commodore and his officers a curious idol, which he said

had been worshipped by the ancient natives of the place. It was the

image of a creature half tiger half lion, about four feet high and a

foot and a half round. Its feet resembled the paws of a lion, and

the head was adorned with a double crown, in which were stuck twelve

Indian darts, one of which on each side was broken. On each shoulder

there was a large wing like that of a stork. In the inside was seen

the statue of a man, completely armed in the manner of the country,

having a quiver of arrows at his back, a bow in his left hand, and an

arrow in his right. The tail of this strange idol was very long, and

twisted three or four times round the body of the man. It had been

called _Nasil Lichma_, by its worshippers, and the prior said that it

was made of gold; but the author of this voyage suspected it was

only gilded. The monks had also a numerous collection of European and

American curiosities, which they exhibited at the same time.

[Footnote 3: It is impossible to reconcile this longitude with any

of the first meridians mentioned in a former note, or indeed with any

known geographical principles. It is 45° 30' W. from Greenwich. If

reckoned from the meridian of Teneriffe, said to be that used by the

Dutch, this would place it 21° 10' too far west, as Teneriffe is 16°

40' W. from Greenwich. This place, in an island of the same name, has

to be carefully distinguished from the city of St Sebastian, now more

commonly known by the name of Rio de Janeiro.--E.]

The port, or river rather, of St Sebastian, is three or four leagues

in length, and about one league broad, having a very fine island on

the N.E. of about four miles round, and there are smaller islands on

all the other sides of this haven. The country of Brazil is very large

and rich, insomuch that the king of Portugal is said to draw as

great a revenue from hence, as the king of Spain from all his vast

possessions in America. Its capital is Bahia, or St Salvador, besides

which there are many other towns, as Siara, Olinda, Rio de Janeiro, St

Vincent, and others. The country was discovered in 1590; but even at

this day the Portuguese have not penetrated above eighty leagues

into the interior. The soil is good, and the country would doubtless

produce abundance of corn and wine for the use of its inhabitants;

but, from a principle of policy, the colonists are not permitted to

cultivate these productions, and are consequently supplied with them

from Portugal. It is the common opinion that the ancient inhabitants

were _anthropophagi_, or cannibals, and it is even said that human

flesh was sold in their markets, as commonly as beef and mutton, but

of this there is no authentic proof.[4]

[Footnote 4: There is no doubt that at least some of the tribes

roasted and eat their prisoners, like the Caribs of the West Indies.

But certainly they had not arrived to that state of civilization as

to have markets; and beef and mutton were unknown in America, till

carried there from Europe.--E.]

Such of the natives as were seen were large dark-complexioned men,

having thick lips, flat noses, and very white teeth. The Portuguese

are numerous in Brazil, both Creoles, and such as come from time to

time from Portugal, to repair their broken fortunes. A little time

before the arrival of Roggewein, the Portuguese had discovered a

diamond mine not far from St Sebastian, of which at that time they

were not in full possession, but were meditating an expedition against

the Indians, in order to become sole masters of so valuable a prize;

and with this view they invited the Dutch to join them, promising them

a share in the riches in the event of success. By these means, nine

of our soldiers were tempted to desert. I know not the success of this

expedition; but it is probable that it succeeded, as great quantities

of diamonds have since been imported from Brazil into Europe. They are

said to be found on the tops of mountains among a peculiar red earth

containing a great deal of gold; and, being washed down by the great

rains and torrents into the vallies, are there gathered in lavaderas

by negroes employed for the purpose.

Brazil abounds with numerous sorts of beasts, birds, and fish, both

wild and tame. They have tigers that do a great deal of mischief,

also elephants in great abundance, the teeth of which are of great

value.[5] There is no country on earth where serpents, and other

venomous reptiles, are more frequent, or of larger size. So far as

the Portuguese power and colonization extends, the popish religion is

established; but vast numbers of the indigenous natives of the country

remain unsubdued, and continue their original idolatry, being of such

cruel and vindictive dispositions, that when a Christian falls into

their hands, the best thing that can happen to him is to have his

throat cut, as they are, for the most part, put to death by means

of cruel tortures. The air of the country, though excessively hot at

certain times of the year, is extremely wholesome, as we experienced

by our speedy recovery from the scurvy and other distempers. About

St Sebastian there are vast quantities of venomous musquetoes, which

sting to such a degree that we were all covered over with blisters.

Our pilot, having drank too freely of the country rum, and afterwards

fallen asleep in the open air, had his head, face, arms, and legs so

severely stung, that his life was in imminent danger, and he recovered

after a long time, not without much care.

[Footnote 5: There are animals of the tyger kind in Brazil and

other parts of America, and the Jaguar, Owza, or Brazilian tyger, is

probably the one here meant. No elephants exist in America, and

their teeth, mentioned in the text, must have come from some of the

Portuguese African possessions.--E.]

While here, the commodore kept up a very strict discipline over his

people; and some of his sailors being complained against as having

maltreated some Indian women, he caused them to be severely punished,

and would never afterwards allow them to go on shore. The Dutch and

Portuguese agreed extremely well, but the governor was far from being

pleased with his visitors, more especially because he had learnt from

some of the deserters that the object of the expedition was to make

discoveries in the south. For this reason he practised every art he

could devise to hinder and distress them, and furnished them with

provisions only from day to day, that they might not increase their

sea-stores. He also frequently talked of there being five or six

Portuguese men-of-war in Rio de Janeiro, in order to put the Dutch in

fear of being attacked, and actually sent for the only ship that

was there at the time, to come to St Sebastian. Roggewein perfectly

understood the meaning of all this, of which he took no notice, and

complied exactly with the terms of the agreement entered into with the

deputy governor, saving part of the fresh provisions daily and salting

them, cleaned and repaired his ship in succession, and took on board

tobacco, sugar, and every thing else he wanted, till in a condition

to continue the voyage. He then fully satisfied the governor for every

thing procured at this place, making payment in fire-arms, hats, silk

stockings, linen, stock-fish, and other European articles, and made

him a considerable present besides. In return, the governor sent

him some black cattle, and gave him a certificate of his honourable

behaviour.

SECTION III.

_Incidents during the Voyage from Brazil to Juan Fernandez, with a

Description of that Island._

Every thing being settled at St Sebastian, Roggewein set sail towards

the S.W. and falling in with a desert island about three leagues from

the coast, he set on shore the swabber who had attempted to murder the

cook, pursuant to his sentence, as formerly related. Leaving the coast

of Brazil, the commodore proposed to have visited an island called

Aukes Magdeland, after the name of its supposed discoverer, who

is said to have seen a light on that island about an hundred years

before, but did not go on shore. This island was said to be situated

in the latitude of 30° S. and as being in the route of the navigation

towards the South Sea, and in a good climate, he proposed to have

settled a colony there for the service of such ships as might

afterwards be bound for the _Southern Indies_, the object he was now

in search of, where they might be supplied with wood, water, and other

refreshments. But after much pains, he could neither discover that

nor any other island in or near the latitude of 30° S. He therefore

altered his coarse, steering for those called the _New Islands_ by the

Dutch, and the _Islands of St Lewis_, by a French privateer who first

discovered them. Keeping always within forty or fifty leagues of

the American coast, the squadron prosecuted its course very happily,

having always the advantage of the land and sea-breezes; whereas, if

it had kept farther from land, it would infallibly have fallen in with

the western trade-wind.

On the 21st December, being in lat. 40°. S. they were assailed by a

hurricane, attended with thunder and lightning, during which storm

the Tienhoven parted company, and did not rejoin till three months

afterwards. The extreme violence of this hurricane only lasted about

four hours, during which they every moment expected to have been

swallowed up by the waves, which ran mountain-high. These hurricanes

are extremely dangerous, and are far more frequent in the American

seas than in the East Indies. They usually happen at that season of

the year when the west monsoon reigns, which is from the 20th July to

the 15th October, for which reason ships usually remain then in port

till they think the danger is over. Yet as storms of this kind are not

exactly periodical, ships that trust to such calculations are often

caught, as there are some years in which there are no hurricanes, and

others in which they are more frequent and violent, and at unusual

periods. The ordinary, or at least the surest sign of an approaching

hurricane, is very fair weather, and so dead a calm that not even a

wrinkle is to be seen on the surface of the sea. A very dark cloud is

then seen to rise in the air, not larger than a man's hand, and in a

very little time the whole sky becomes overcast. The wind then begins

to blow from the west, and in a short space of time, whirls round the

compass, swelling the sea to a dreadful height; and as the wind blows

now on one side and then on the other, the contrary waves beat so

forcibly on the ships that they seldom escape foundering or shipwreck.

On first perceiving the before-mentioned small cloud, the best thing

a ship can do is to stand out to sea. It is remarkable that the

hurricanes are less frequent as we approach the higher latitudes in

either hemisphere, so that they are not to be feared beyond the lat.

of 55° either S. or N. It is also remarked, that hurricanes rarely

happen in the middle of the wide ocean, but chiefly on the coasts of

such countries as abound with minerals, and off the mouths of large

rivers. Another surprising phenomenon at sea is what is called a

whirlwind water-spout, or syphon, which often carries up high into

the air whatever comes within the circle of its force, as fish,

grasshoppers, and other things, where they appear like a thick vapour

or cloud. The English fire at a water-spout or whirlwind, and often

succeed in stopping its progress; the circular motion ceasing, and all

that it had taken up falling immediately down, when the sea becomes

presently calm.

On the cessation of the hurricane, the commodore and his remaining

consort, the African galley, continued their course to the S.S.W. till

in the height of the Straits of Magellan. They here fell in with an

island of near 200 leagues in circumference, and about 14 leagues from

the mainland of America, and seeing no smoke, nor any boat, or other

kind of embarkation, they concluded that it was uninhabited. The west

coast of this island was discovered by a French privateer, and named

the Island of St Lewis; but being seen afterwards by the Dutch, who

fancied its many capes to be distinct islands, they called it _New

Islands_. Considering that, if ever it should be inhabited, its

inhabitants would be the antipodes of the Dutch, Roggewein gave it the

name of _Belgia Australis_. It is in the lat. of 52° S. and long. of

95° W.[1]

[Footnote 1: There is not the smallest doubt that the text refers

to the Falkland islands or Malouines, which consist of two principal

islands, called West and East Islands, besides a number of islets,

about 360 English miles from the continent of South America. The

centre of the west, or principal island, is in lat. 51° 25' S. and

long. 60° W. from Greenwich.--E.]

The land appeared extremely beautiful and very fertile, being

chequered with mountains and vallies, all of which were cloathed with

fine straight trees. The verdure of the meadows, and freshness of the

woods, afforded a delightful prospect, insomuch that all the people

believed they should have found abundance of excellent fruits. But the

commodore would not delay by permitting them to land, being anxious

to get round Cape Horn, and chose therefore to defer a thorough

examination of this new country till his return from discovering the

southern continent and islands: This, however reasonable, proved vain

in the sequel, as he was forced to return with his squadron by the

East Indies; and this fine island, therefore, is likely to continue in

a great measure unknown.

Quitting this island, they made for the Straits of Magellan, in order

to wait a wind favourable for their navigation, which took place in a

few days: for, if it had continued to blow from the west, they could

not possibly have got into the South Seas. They now resolved to

attempt the Straits of Le Maire, as infinitely more commodious than

the Strait of Magellan, in which latter the sea has but small depth,

and the meeting of the north and south currents occasion continual

rough seas. The bottom also of the Straits of Magellan is rocky,

affording no good anchorage; and the flows of winds from the mountains

on both sides are apt to endanger all ships that endeavour to pass

through these perilous straits. Having now a fair wind, they continued

their course to the south for the Straits of Le Maire, seeing on their

way abundance of whales and other large fish of that kind. Among the

rest, they were followed for a whole month by that kind of fish which

is called the _Sea Devil_ by the Dutch sailors, which they took the

utmost pains to catch, but to no purpose. It has a large head, a thick

short body, and a very long tail, like that which painters bestow on

the dragon.

Arriving in the lat. of 55° S. they soon after saw State Island, or

Staten-land, which forms one side of the Straits of Luttaire. The

fury of the waves, and the clashing of contending currents, gave such

terrible shocks to their vessels, that they expected every moment

their yards should have been broken, and their masts to come by the

board. They would gladly have come to anchor, especially on finding

the bottom to be good, but the weather and the sea were so rough that

they durst not. They passed through the straits, which are about ten

leagues long, by six over, with a swiftness not to be expressed, owing

to the force and rapidity of the current. After getting through, this

current, together with the westerly winds, carried them a great way

from the coast of America; and, that they might be sure to sail free

of Cape Horn, they sailed as high as the lat. of 62° 30' S. For three

weeks together, they sustained the most dreadful gusts of a furious

west wind, accompanied with hail and snow, and the most piercing

frost. While enveloped in thick mists, they were apprehensive of being

driven by the extreme violence of the winds upon mountains of ice,

where they must inevitably have perished.

Whenever the weather was in any degree clear or serene, they had

scarcely any night; for, being in the middle of January, 1722, the

summer was then in its height, and the days at their utmost length.

These mountains of ice, of which they were so much afraid, are certain

proofs that the southern countries extend quite to the pole, as well

as those under the north; for, without question, these vast hills of

ice cannot be produced in the sea, nor formed by the common force of

cold. It must therefore he concluded, that they are occasioned by the

sharp piercing winds blowing out of the mouths of large rivers.[2] It

is no less certain, that the currents discerned in this ocean must all

proceed from the mouths of large rivers, which, rolling down from

a high continent, fall with such impetuosity into the sea, as to

preserve a great part of their force long after they have entered

it.[3] The great quantity of birds seen here was an additional proof

that land was not far off. It may be asked, whether this land be

inhabited or not? For my part I believe it is. It may be again asked,

How men should live in such a climate, in the lat. of 70° S. where the

winter is so very long, the summer so short, and where they must be

involved for so great a portion of the year in perpetual night? To

this I answer, That such as dwell there come only in the fine season

in order to fish, and retire on the approach of winter, as is done by

many of the inhabitants of Russia and of Davis Straits, who, when they

have provided themselves with fish on the coasts of a frozen climate,

retire farther inland, and eat in their cabins during the winter

the fish they have caught in the summer. If the people who inhabit

Greenland and Davis Straits are to be believed, the country is

inhabited even as high as 70° N. both winter and summer; and what is

practicable in one country, cannot justly be reputed impracticable

when supposed in another.[4]

[Footnote 2: This is quite erroneous, as it is now well known that

the sea water freezes, when reduced to a sufficient degree of cold,

considerably lower than what is requisite for freezing fresh water. On

this occasion, the salt precipitates from the freezing water, and the

ice of sea water is sufficiently fresh for use when melted, if the

first running be thrown away, which often contains salt, either

adhering to the surface, or contained in cells.--E.]

[Footnote 3: This is poor reasoning to support a preconceived theory

of a southern continent, and might easily have been answered by

themselves, as the prodigious current which set them through the

Straits of Le Maire with such rapidity, could not have originated from

any such cause. Currents are well known to be occasioned by the

tides, the diurnal revolution of the earth, and by prevailing winds,

influenced and directed by the bendings of coasts, the interposition

of islands, and the position of straits. No such currents could

possibly come from rivers in an austral land, locked up in ever-during

frost, should any such land exist.--E.]

[Footnote 4: It might be asked, whence are these fishers to come?

Not surely from among the miserable inhabitants of Terra del Fuego.

A miserable hypothesis is thus often obstinately defended by wretched

arguments.--E.]

Being driven 500 leagues from the continent by the contrary winds, the

commodore now believed that he was beyond Cape Horn to the westwards,

and steered therefore N.E. by N. in order to fall in with the coast of

Chili. On the 10th March, being in lat. 37° 30' S. they discovered

the coast of Chili to their great joy, and anchored soon after on

the coast of the island of Mocha, which is three leagues from the

continent.[5] They were in hopes of finding on this island at least a

part of the refreshments of which they were in want, especially fresh

meat and vegetables, but were disappointed, by finding the island

entirely abandoned, all its inhabitants having removed to the main

land. They saw, however, in the island a multitude of horses and

birds, and found some dogs in two cabins near the shore. They also

discovered the wreck of a Spanish ship, from which they supposed the

dogs had got on shore. The horses were supposed to have been left here

to graze, and that the owners came at certain times from the main to

take them, as wanted. They here killed abundance of geese and ducks;

and finding the coast extremely rocky, and having no safe place of

anchorage, they resolved to put to sea. In a council of the officers,

it was determined to continue for some time longer on the coast of

Chili, in hopes of meeting with some port in which they could

safely anchor, in order to get some refreshments; but perceiving the

Spaniards to be every where on their guard, they steered W.N.W.

for the island of Juan Fernandez, which they reckoned to be at the

distance of ninety leagues in that direction. Although the coast of

Chili appears to be enormously high when seen from a distance, they

discovered, by sailing along shore, that it was not higher than the

coast of England, and that they had been deceived by the enormous

height of the inland mountains, the tops of which are hid in the

clouds, and cloathed in perpetual snow.

[Footnote 5: Mocha is in lat. 36° 20' S. and about 20 miles from the

coast of Chili.--E.]

Having a favourable wind, they made way at a great rate, and got sight

of the island of Juan Fernandez, on the fourth day after leaving the

coast of Chili, but could not get to anchor that day in the road,

owing to its falling calm. Next day, when ready to go in, they were

astonished by seeing a ship riding at anchor, which they conjectured

to be either a Spanish ship of force or a French interloper, but at

last concluded to be a pirate. While consulting what to do, they saw

the boat belonging to the ship coming towards them, carrying a Spanish

flag, on which they began to prepare for an engagement, but were

astonished beyond measure, on its nearer approach, to find that it

belonged to their consort the Tienhoven, which they concluded had

foundered. Captain Bowman was himself on board the boat, and shewed

how well he had followed his instructions, as, by the commodore's

orders in case of separation, this was to be the first place of

rendezvous; whence, after cruizing six weeks, they were to repair

to lat. 28° S. and cruize there a similar time: But, in case of not

meeting the commodore in either of these places, they were then to

open their sealed instructions, and follow them exactly. As soon as

Captain Bowman was on board the commodore, he made a signal agreed

on to his own ship, to acquaint them that the two ships were their

consorts, After this, the Eagle and African entered the harbour.

When leisure permitted, Captain Bowman gave an account of the dangers

he had encountered in passing the Straits of Magellan: That he had met

with many storms on the coast of America, and that his ship was in a

very bad condition, having only arrived at Juan Fernandez the evening

before his consorts, both of which he believed had been lost in

the hurricane at the time of their separation. The three captains

afterwards dined together very cheerfully in the Tienhoven, where they

recounted and reciprocally commiserated their past misfortunes, and

rejoiced at their present happy meeting. As it still continued a dead

calm, they were unable to come to anchor at the place intended, but

they next day got close beside the Tienhoven, anchoring in forty

fathoms, within musket-shot of the shore. The sick were now landed,

and proper persons sent ashore along with them to construct cabins

or huts for their accommodation; and to search for provisions and

refreshments.

According to the author of this voyage, the island of Juan Fernandez

is one of the finest and best situated in the world, having a

pleasant, wholesome, and temperate climate, fit to restore health to

the sick, and to give a constant flow of spirits to those who are

in health, which this author personally experienced, having here

recovered from a complication of disorders to perfect health. The

hills are covered with tall trees of various kinds, fit for all kinds

of uses; and the vallies are fertile, and able to produce all the

necessaries of life with very little cultivation. It abounds with

small streams and brooks, the banks of which are covered with

wholesome giants; and the waters which run down from the mountains,

though not in the least disagreeable to the taste, or injurious to

health, are so impregnated with some mineral particles, that they

never corrupt. On the east side of the bay in which the Dutch ships

anchored, there are three mountains, the middlemost of which resembles

the Table Mountains at the Cape of Good Hope. Behind these there

are many other mountains which rise to a prodigious height, and are

generally covered by very thick mist, especially in the mornings and

evenings, whence I am apt to suspect that these mountains may contain

rich mines. To give a just idea of the island in few words, it

resembles in all respects the country at the Cape of Good Hope.

This author also mentions the sea-lions and seals of other writers,

and adds, that there are sea-cows also of enormous size, some weighing

near half a ton. He also mentions the abundance and excellence of the

fish, of which the Dutch cured many thousands during their short stay,

which proved extraordinarily good, and were of great service during

the rest of the voyage. He mentions goats also on the island in

abundance, but says the Dutch were unable to catch them, and at a loss

how to get at their bodies when shot; but they were frightened from

this sport by an unlucky accident which happened to the steward of one

of the ships, soon after their arrival, who, rambling one evening in

the mountains, fell suddenly from the top of a rock and was dashed to

pieces. They found here the remains of a wreck, supposed by them to

have been of a Spanish ship; but it was more probably the vestiges of

the Speedwell, lost a year before, and from which, by diving, some of

the sailors recovered several pieces of silver plate.

Having attentively considered the advantageous situation and many

conveniences of this island, Roggewein conceived the design of

settling on it, as the most proper place that could be thought of

for ships bound, as he was, for the _Terra Australis_, or southern

islands, and was the more encouraged in this design by considering

the fertility of the island, which could not fail to afford sufficient

subsistence for six hundred families at least. He postponed this,

however, as also the settlement of _Belgia Australis_, or Falkland

islands, till his proposed return, owing to which they never were

settled. A settlement at the latter might have afforded a proper place

for ships to careen and refit at, and to procure wood and water, after

the long voyage from Europe, before entering the Straits of Magellan,

and Juan Fernandez would have afforded every convenience for repairing

any injuries that might have been sustained in passing through these

straits, or going round Cape Horn. Whatever nation may revive and

prosecute this plan, will certainly acquire in a few years as rich and

profitable a commerce as is now possessed by the Spaniards with Mexico

and Peru, or the Portuguese with Brazil.[6]

[Footnote 6: Britain once tried a settlement at Falkland islands, and

had nearly gone to war with Spain on the occasion; and there can be no

doubt that Spain could never have submitted to the settlement of Juan

Fernandez by any other power. There is now a fort and small garrison

kept in that island.--E]

SECTION IV.

_Continuation of the Voyage from Juan Fernandez till the Shipwreck of

the African Galley._

On leaving Juan Fernandez, Roggewein proposed to visit that part of

the southern lands which was reported to have been discovered by Davis

in 1680.[1] As the Dutch author of this voyage is rather dark on this

subject, I shall here insert Mr Wafer's account of this discovery, as

it is very short. Wafer was a man of sense and knowledge, who sailed

along with Davis when this discovery was made.

[Footnote 1: We have omitted a long, inconclusive, and uninteresting

discussion about the climate and productions of the proposed

discovery, the _Terra Australis_, which still remains _incognito_, or

rather has been clearly shewn to have no existence.--E.]

"We steered from the Gallapagos island S. by E. 1/2 E. until we came

into the lat. of 27° 20' S. when we fell in with a low sandy island,

and heard a great roaring noise right a-head of the ship, like that

of the sea beating on the shore. It being some hours before day, and

fearing to fall foul of the shore, the ship put about, and plied off

and on till next morning, and then stood in for the land, which

proved to be a small flat island, not surrounded by any rocks. To the

westwards, about twelve leagues by estimation, we saw a range of high

land which we took to be islands, as there were several partitions

in the prospect, and this land seemed to extend fourteen or sixteen

leagues. There came great flocks of fowls from that direction; and I

and more of the men would have made this land and gone on shore there,

but the captain would not consent. The small island bears 500 leagues

from Copaipo almost due W. and from the Gallapagos 600 leagues."[2]

[Footnote 2: There can be no doubt that the small low flat island was

Easter island, in lat. 27° 20' S. long. 110° 10' W. Its distance from

Copaipo, almost due W. is almost exactly 40° or 800 marine leagues.

The range of high land seen to the westwards, could be nothing but a

fog bank, so that Roggewein set out from Juan Fernandez in search of a

nonentity.--E.]

In prosecuting his voyage to the westwards, the first land seen by

Roggewein was the lesser island of Juan Fernandez, otherwise called

Massa-fuero, about ninety-five English miles direct west. This

appeared lower and less fertile from a distance, but they had not an

opportunity of landing. Having the benefit of a S.E. trade-wind, they

soon arrived in lat. 28° S. and the longitude of 251° E. where they

expected to have fallen in with the land seen by Davis, but no such

land was to be found. Continuing their voyage to the westwards, and

attended by a vast quantity of birds, they arrived on the coast of a

small island about sixteen leagues in extent, which they fell in with

on the 14th April, 1722, being Easter-day, and called it therefore

_Pascha_, or _Easter_ Island.

The African galley being the smallest ship, was sent in first to

examine this new discovery, and reported that it seemed to be very

fertile and well peopled, as abundance of smoke was to be seen in all

parts of the island. Next day, while looking out for a port, and when

about two miles from the shore, an Indian came off to the ships in a

canoe, who came readily on board and was well received. Being naked,

he was first presented with a piece of cloth to cover him, and they

gave him afterwards pieces of coral, beads, and other toys, all of

which he hung about his neck, together with a dried fish. His body was

painted all over with a variety of figures, through which the

natural colour of his skin appeared to be dark brown. His ears were

excessively large and long, hanging down to his shoulders, occasioned

doubtless by wearing large heavy ear-rings; a thing also practised

by the natives of Malabar. He was tall, well-made, robust and of a

pleasing countenance, and brisk and active in his manners, appearing

to be very merry by his gestures and way of speaking. They gave him

victuals, of which he eat heartily, but could not be prevailed on to

use a knife and fork; and when offered a glass of wine threw it away

to their great surprise, afraid of being poisoned, or offended by

the smell of strong liquor, to which he was unaccustomed. He was then

dressed from head to foot, and had a hat put on his head, with which

he did not seem at all pleased, but cut a very awkward figure, and

seemed uneasy. The music was then ordered to play, with which he

seemed much pleased, and when taken by the hand would leap and dance.

Finding it impossible to bring the ships to anchor that day, they

sent off the Indian, allowing him to keep all he had got in order to

encourage the rest to come on board. But, what was really surprising,

he had no mind to go away, and looked at the Dutch with regret, held

up his hands towards his native island, and cried in a loud voice

several times _Odorega!_ making appear by signs that he would much

rather have staid, and they had much ado to get him into his canoe.

They afterwards imagined he called upon his gods, as they saw

abundance of idols erected on the coast when they landed.[3]

[Footnote 3: It will be afterwards seen in the modern

circumnavigations, that there are several gigantic statues, having

a distant resemblance to the human figure, on this island, which are

perhaps alluded to in the text.--E.]

Next morning at day-break, the ships entered a cove or bay on the S.E.

side of the island, when _many thousands_[4] of the inhabitants came

down to meet them, bringing with them vast quantities of fowls and

roots; and many of them brought these provisions on board, while

the rest ran backwards and forwards on the shore, like so many wild

beasts. As the ships drew near, the islanders crowded down to the

shore to get a better view of them, and at the same time lighted

fires, and made offerings to their idols, probably to implore their

protection against the strangers. All that day the Dutch spent in

getting into the bay and mooring their ships. Next morning very early,

the islanders were observed prostrating themselves before their idols

towards the rising sun, and making burnt offerings. While preparations

were making for landing, the friendly native who had been before on

board came a second time, accompanied by many others, who had their

canoes loaded with living fowls and roots cooked after their manner,

as if to make themselves welcome. Among this troop of islanders there

was one man perfectly white, having round pendents in his ears as big

as a man's fist. He had a grave decent air, and was supposed to be a

priest. By some accident, one of the islanders was shot dead in his

canoe by a musket, which threw the whole into prodigious confusion,

most of them leaping into the sea in order to get the sooner ashore;

while the rest who remained in their canoes paddled away with all

their might.

[Footnote 4: This surely is a prodigious exaggeration, as the island

is utterly incapable to have supported any considerable number of

inhabitants, and there is not any other within 1500 miles.--E.]

The Dutch presently followed, and made a descent with 150 soldiers and

seamen, at the head of whom was Commodore Roggewein, accompanied by

the author of the voyage, who commanded the soldiers. The islanders

crowded so close upon them while landing, that they thought it

necessary to make their way by force, especially as some of the

natives were so bold as to lay hold of their arms; and the Dutch

accordingly fired, when a great number of the islanders were slain,

among whom was the friendly native who had been twice aboard ship.

This frightened and dispersed them; yet in a few minutes they rallied

again, but did not come quite so near the strangers as before, keeping

at the distance of about ten yards, as if they supposed that

were sufficient to ensure their safety from the muskets. Their

consternation was however very great, and they howled and lamented

dismally. After all, as if to employ every possible means to mollify

their invaders, the men, women, and children presented themselves in

the most humble postures, carrying branches of palm in token of peace

and submission, bringing plenty of provisions of all kinds, and even

pointing to their women, giving the Dutch to understand by signs that

these were entirely at their disposal, and that they might carry as

many of them on board ship as they thought proper. Softened by these

tokens of submission, the Dutch did them no farther harm, but

made them presents of coral beads and small looking-glasses, and

distributed among them sixty yards of painted cloth.

The natives now brought at once to the Dutch about 500 live fowls,

every way the same with the ordinary poultry of Europe, together with

a great quantity of red and white roots and potatoes, which these

islanders use instead of bread. They brought also several hundred

sugar-canes, and a great quantity of _pisans_, which are a sort of

figs as large as gourds covered by a green rind, the pulp of which is

as sweet as honey. The leaves of the tree on which these figs grow

are six or eight feet long and three broad, and there are sometimes an

hundred of these _pisans_ on one bough. The Dutch saw no quadrupeds of

any kind, yet supposed there might be cattle and other beasts in the

interior, as on shewing some hogs to the islanders, they expressed by

signs that they had seen such animals before. They used pots to dress

their meat in; and it appeared that every family or tribe among

them dwelt in a separate village. The huts or cabins composing these

villages were from forty to sixty feet long, by six or eight feet

broad, made of upright poles, having the interstices filled up with

loam or fat earth, and covered at top with palm leaves. They drew most

of their subsistence from the earth by cultivation, the land being

portioned out into small plantations very neatly divided and staked

out. While the Dutch were there, almost all the fruits and roots were

in full maturity, and the island seemed to abound in good things. In

their houses there were not many moveables, and those they had were

of no value, except some red and white quilts or cloths, which served

them in the day for mantles, and at night for coverlets. The stuff of

which these were composed felt as soft as silk, and was probably of

their own manufacture.

The natives of this island were in general a brisk, slender, active,

well-made people, very swift of foot, and seemed of sweet tempers, and

modest dispositions, but timorous and faint-hearted; for whenever they

brought fowls or other provisions to the Dutch, they threw themselves

on their knees, and immediately on delivering their presents retired

in all haste. They were mostly as brown-complexioned as Spaniards,

some among them being almost black, while others were white, and

others again had their skins entirely red, as if sun-burnt. Their ears

hung down to their shoulders, and some had large white bales hanging

to them, which they seemed to consider as a great ornament. Their

bodies were painted all over with the figures of birds and other

animals, on some much better executed than on others.[5] All their

women had artificial bloom on their cheeks, but of a much deeper

crimson than is known in Europe, and the Dutch could not discover what

this colour was composed of. They wore little hats on their heads

made of straw or reeds, and had no other covering than the quilts or

mantles formerly mentioned.[6] The women were by no means extremely

modest, for they invited the Dutchmen into their houses by signs,

and when they sat by them would throw off their mantles, as inviting

familiarity. It is very singular of these islanders, that the Dutch

saw no appearance whatever of arms among them; but, when attacked,

they fled for refuge to their idols, numbers of which were erected

all along the coast. These idols were all of stone, representing

the figures of men with great ears, their heads covered by the

representations of crowns; and all so nicely proportioned, and

so highly finished, that the Dutch were much amazed. Many of the

inhabitants seemed to be more frequent and more zealous worshippers

of these images than the rest, which induced the Dutch to believe that

these were priests; and that the more especially, as their heads were

close shaven, on which they wore caps of black and white feathers,[7]

and they had large white balls hanging at their ears.

[Footnote 5: _Tatooed_ in all probability, a practice so common

through the inhabitants of Polynesia, which will be minutely described

in an after division of this collection. It may suffice to say at

present, that this decoration is formed by pricking the skin with

sharp instruments till it just bleeds, and afterwards rubbing

some coloured powders into the punctures, which leave indelible

stains.--E.]

[Footnote 6: It is left ambiguous whether these straw hats and mantles

were worn by both sexes, or confined exclusively to the women.--E.]

[Footnote 7: A dissertation is here omitted on a fancied migration

of storks annually from Europe to this island and others in the

South-sea, as high as lat. 40° and 50° S. merely because the Dutch

thought the feathers in these caps resembled those of storks.--E.]

No appearance of government or subordination was observed among these

islanders, and consequently no prince or chief having dominion over

the rest. The old people wore bonnets made of feathers resembling

the down of ostriches, and had sticks in their hands. In some of the

houses, the father of the family was observed to have rule over all

its inhabitants, and was obeyed with the greatest readiness. In the

opinion of the Dutch author of this voyage, this island might be

settled to great advantage, as the air is very wholesome and the soil

rich; being proper for producing corn in the low lands, and its higher

grounds might be converted into vineyards. On the evening, after

returning on board, Roggewein proposed to land again next morning with

a force sufficient to make a strict survey of the whole island: But

during the night there arose so strong a west wind as drove them from

their anchors, and they were forced to put to sea, to avoid being

shipwrecked. After this misfortune, they cruized for some time in the

same latitude, seeking in vain for the land discovered by Davis, on

which Roggewein determined to bear away for the _Bad Sea of Schouten_,

keeping always a west course, in hopes of discovering some new land.

In this coarse, they soon found themselves in the height of the

island discovered by Schonten in 1615, to which he gave the name of

_Bad-water_, because all its waters were brackish; but, by changing

their course, they ran 300 leagues out of their way, and at least 150

leagues farther than Schonten.

In this wide sea, Roggewein sailed upwards of 800 leagues without

seeing land, though he frequently varied his course. At length, when

in lat. 15° 30' S. they discovered a very low island, the coast of

which was covered with a deep yellow-coloured sand, having in

the middle of the island a kind of pond, lake, or lagoon. All the

principal officers were of opinion that this was the island to which

Schonten gave the name of _Dog_ island, and did not therefore think

it necessary to go on shore for more particular examination.[8] The

author of this voyage was of a different opinion, conceiving it a new

discovery, and calling it _Carlshoff_,[9] which he says is in lat. 15°

45' S. and long. 280°. He describes it as a low flat island of about

three leagues in extent, having a lake in the middle.

[Footnote 8: In modern geography Dog island is placed in lat. 15° 10'

S. long. 137° 45' W. from Greenwich.--E.]

[Footnote 9: Carlshoff is laid down by Arrowsmith in lat. 15° 45' S.

as in the text, and long. 145° 28' W. The first meridian used for the

longitude in the text is quite inexplicable, and was probably assumed

on very erroneous computation. It is 190 marine leagues due west from

Dog island.--E.]

Leaving this island, the wind came about to the S.W. a sign that they

were near some coast, which had changed the current of the air; and

by this alteration of wind they were driven among some small islands,

where they found themselves considerably embarrassed. In this

situation the African galley led the way for the rest, as sailing best

and drawing least water; but she soon found herself in such danger,

that they fired repeated guns of distress, on which the other two

ships hastened to her assistance, when they found her stuck so fast

between two rocks that it was impossible to get her of? and were only

able to save her people. Roused by the noise of the signal guns, the

natives of the surrounding islands kindled many fires on their hills,

and flocked in crowds to the coasts; and the Dutch; not knowing what

might be their designs in the darkness of the night and in the midst

of their own confusion, fired upon them without ceremony, that they

might have as few dangers as possible to deal with at one time. In the

morning as soon as it was light, they had a clear view of the danger

all the ships had been in during the darkness of the past night,

finding themselves environed on all sides by four islands, with a

continued chain of steep rocks, and so close together that they could

hardly discern the channel by which they had got in, so that they had

much reason to be thankful for having been so wonderfully preserved

in the midst of so much danger. On this occasion only one seaman was

lost, who belonged to the Tienhoven, and who, in his eagerness to go

to succour his friends, dropt overboard and was drowned.

The danger was by no means over as soon as discovered, as it cost

the Dutch no less than five days to extricate themselves from their

perilous situation, during which time the commodore was separated from

the Tienhoven, and remained ignorant of the fate of the African. At

length, the boat of the Tienhoven, having sailed all round the group

of islands, brought information that the crew of the African had got

safe on shore; and that the natives, after being once fired on, had

retired into the interior in all haste. Roggewein now sent his boat to

bring off all those who had got on shore; and on mustering the crew of

the African on board the Eagle, it appeared that a quarter-master and

four seamen were missing. On enquiry, it was found that these men had

chosen to remain on the island, as they had mutinied against their

officers on getting ashore, because they had interposed to prevent

them from killing each other with their knives, and Captain Rosenthall

had threatened to have them all put to death when he got them aboard

the commodore, wherefore they had fled to avoid punishment. Being

unwilling to lose them, the commodore sent the author of this

narrative with a detachment of soldiers to bring them away, but he was

unable to succeed.

These islands are situated between the latitudes of 15° and 16° S.

about twelve leagues west from Carlshoff,[10] each of them appearing

to be four or five leagues in compass. That on which the African

was shipwrecked was named _Mischievous Island_, the two next it

the _Brothers_, and the fourth the _Sister_ All four islands were

beautifully verdant, and abounded in fine tall trees, especially

cocoas; and the crews found material benefit while here by refreshing

themselves on the vegetable productions of these islands, by which

many of them were surprisingly recovered from the scurvy. The Dutch

found here vast quantities of muscles, cockles, mother-of-pearls,

and pearl-oysters, which gave reason to expect that a valuable pearl

fishery might have been established here. These islands are extremely

low, so that some parts of them must be frequently overflowed; but the

inhabitants have plenty of stout canoes, as also stout barks provided

with sails and cables; and the Dutch found several pieces of rope on

the shore, that seemed made of hemp. The natives were of extraordinary

size, all their bodies being painted [or _tatooed_] with many colours,

and had mostly long black hair, though some had brown hair even

inclined towards red. They were armed with pikes or lances eighteen or

twenty feet long, and kept in bodies of fifty or an hundred together,

endeavouring to entice the Dutch to follow them into the interior, as

if to draw them into an ambuscade, on purpose to be revenged for the

loss they had sustained by the firing on the night of the shipwreck.

[Footnote 10: Pernicious islands, almost certainly the Mischievous

islands of the text, are placed in lat. 16° 5' S. and long. 148° 50'

W. about 20 leagues W. by S. from Carlshoff by Arrowsmith.--E.]

SECTION V.

_Continuation of the Voyage after the Loss of the African, to the

Arrival of Roggewein at New Britain._

The next morning after leaving Mischievous island, they saw a new

island eight leagues to the west, to which they gave the name of

_Aurora_ island, because observed first at break of day. At this time

the Tienhoven was so near, that if the sun had risen half an hour

later, she must have shared the same fate with the African, as she was

within cannon-shot of the shore when the danger was perceived, and she

then tacked and escaped with considerable difficulty. The fright which

this occasioned produced a mutiny, in which all the seamen insisted

with the commodore either to return immediately, or to give them

security for payment of their wages, in case they should be so

unfortunate as to suffer shipwreck. This request seemed just and

reasonable, being daily exposed to excessive fatigue in these stormy

and unknown seas, and at the same time ran the hazard of losing all

the reward of their labours, as it is the custom in Holland that the

seamen lose their wages if the ship is lost in which they sail.

The commodore listened to their complaints with much humanity, and

immediately gave them assurance upon oath, that they should have their

wages to the uttermost farthing, and kept his promise with the utmost

exactness; for, though the African was lost before, and both the other

ships were condemned at Batavia, yet every one of their respective

crews received their full wages on their arrival at Amsterdam.

The island of _Aurora_ was about four leagues in extent, the whole

being covered with delightful verdure, and adorned with lofty trees

interspersed with smaller wood. But, as the coast was found to be all

foul and rocky, they left this island also without landing. Towards

evening of the same day, they had sight of another island, to which

therefore they gave the name of _Vesper_.[1] This was about twelve

leagues in circuit, all low land, yet verdant and containing abundance

of trees of various sorts. Continuing their course to the west in

about the latitude of 15° S. they next morning discovered another

country; and, as it was covered with smoke, they concluded it

was inhabited, and made there all sail to come to it, in hopes of

procuring refreshments. On approaching nearer, some of the inhabitants

were seen diverting themselves off the coast in their canoes. They

also perceived by degrees, that what they had at first supposed to

be one country or large island, was in reality abundance of islands

standing close together, among which they had now entered so far, that

they found it difficult to get out again. In this situation, a man was

sent to the mast-head to look out for a passage, and as the weather

was quite serene, they had the good fortune to get out once more into

the open sea without injury; although in passing by several steep

ranges of rocks, they had reason to consider this as a great

deliverance. There were six of these islands, exceedingly beautiful

and pleasant in appearance, which altogether could not be less than

thirty leagues in circumference. They were about twenty-five

leagues west from Mischievous island, and the Dutch called them the

Labyrinth,[2] having difficultly got clear of them by numerous tacks.

[Footnote 1: Aurora and Vesper are called in modern geography

Roggewein's or Palliser's Islands, in lat. 15° 32' S, about 10 leagues

N. by W. of Pernicious Islands.--E.]

[Footnote 2: Perhaps Prince of Wales' islands are here alluded to, in

lat. 15° 50' S. and long. 148° 5' W. about 40 marine leagues W.N.W.

from Pernicious islands.--E.]

As it was very dangerous to anchor on the coast, and as none of the

inhabitants came off in their canoes, the Dutch did not think fit to

make any stay, but continued still a western course, and in a few days

discovered another island, which at a distance appeared very high

and beautiful; but, on a nearer approach they found no ground for

anchorage, and the coast appeared so rocky that they were afraid to

venture near. Each ship therefore embarked twenty-five men in their

boats, in order to make a descent. The natives no sooner perceived

their design than they came down in crowds to the coast to oppose

their landing, being armed with long spears, which they soon shewed

they knew how to use to the best advantage. When the boats drew near,

the shore was found to be so steep and rocky, that the boats could not

come to land, on which most of the sailors went into the water with

their arms in their hands, having some baubles fit for presents to the

natives tied upon their heads; while those who remained in the boats

kept up a continual fire to clear the shore. This expedient succeeded,

and the seamen got ashore without much resistance from the natives;

who were frightened by the fire of the musquetry, and retired up the

mountains, but came down again as soon as the Dutch ceased firing.

On the return of the islanders, the Dutch who had landed shewed them

small mirrors, beads, and other baubles, and the people came up to

them without fear, took their presents, and suffered them to search

where they pleased for herbs and sallading for the sick. They found

abundance of these, and soon filled twelve sacks, six for the Eagle

and six for the Tienhoven, the inhabitants even assisting them and

shewing them the best sorts. They carried their cargo of greens

immediately on board, which were more acceptable to the sick than if

they had brought them as much gold and silver. Next morning a larger

body of men were ordered on shore, both on purpose to gather herbs and

to examine the island. The first thing they did was to make a present

to the king or chief of a considerable assortment of trinkets, which

he received with an air of indifference and disdain, which did not

promise much good in their future intercourse, yet sent the Dutch

a considerable quantity of cocoa nuts in return, which were very

agreeable to them in their present circumstances. The chief was

distinguished from the ordinary inhabitants by wearing various

ornaments of pearls, as they judged to the value of 600 florins, or

L. 55 sterling. The women of the island seemed to admire the white men

much, and almost stifled them with caresses: But this was all employed

to lull the Dutch into security, that the plot contrived by the men

for their destruction might the more readily succeed.

When the Dutch had filled twenty sacks with greens, they advanced

farther into the country, till they came to the top of some steep

rocks, which hung over a large and deep valley, the natives going both

before and behind them, quite unsuspected of any evil intention.

At length, thinking they had the Dutch at an advantage, the natives

suddenly quitted them, and soon after prodigious numbers came pouring

out from caves and holes in the rocks, and surrounded the Dutch on all

sides, while they immediately formed in close order for defence. The

chief or king then made a signal for the Dutch to keep off, but as

they continued to advance, the chief made a signal of battle, which

was instantly followed by a prodigious shower of stones. The Dutch in

return made a general discharge of their fire arms, which did great

execution, and the chief was among the first who fell. Yet the

islanders continued to throw stones with great fury, so that most of

the Dutch were soon wounded and almost disabled, on which they retired

under shelter of a rock, whence they fired with such success that

great numbers of the islanders were slain. They still obstinately

maintained their ground, and the Dutch were at last forced to retreat,

having some of their number killed, and a great many wounded, most of

whom died not long after, in consequence of their scorbutical habit

of body, in spite of every care. As soon as they could disengage

themselves from the enemy, the Dutch retired on board ship, carrying

with them the sacks of greens which they had gathered. This rencounter

had so great an effect on the Dutch, that when it was proposed to

land again, not a man could be prevailed upon to make the dangerous

attempt.

They had given to this island, before this unfortunate affair, the

name of the _Island of Recreation_,[3] which is in lat. 16° S. and

long. 285°. It is about twelve leagues in compass, with a fertile

soil, producing a great number of trees, especially cocoa nuts, palms,

and iron-wood. The Dutch conceived that there might be rich mines

in the heart of the country, and other valuable things, but were not

allowed to search. The natives were of middle size, but robust

and active, having long black shining hair, which they anoint with

cocoa-nut oil, a practice very common among the Indians. They were

painted all over, like the inhabitants of Easter island; the men

wearing a kind of net-work round their middles, which they stick

up between their legs. The women were entirely covered by a kind of

mantles of their own manufacture, the stuff of which to the sight and

touch resembled silk;[4] and they wear long strings of pearls about

their necks and wrists.

[Footnote 3: By Arrowsmith, this island is placed in lat. 16° 32' S.

and long. 148° 50' W. The longitude in the text is inexplicable on any

supposition.--E.]

[Footnote 4: The cloth of the South-sea islands is a substance in

a great measure resembling paper, composed of the inner bark of the

paper mulberry, the preparation of which will be afterwards detailed

in the narratives of the modern circumnavigators--E.]

Roggewein thought proper to sail from this island without farther loss

of time, and before his departure held a council of his officers,

in which he stated his instructions, which were,--If no discovery of

importance could be made in the latitude and longitude in which they

then were, that he should return home. Some of the council were much

astonished at this, and remonstrated, That having already gone so

far, and met with such encouragement to hope for discoveries of great

importance, they thought it would betray a great want of spirit not

to proceed. To this Roggewein answered, That they had now been out ten

months, having still a long voyage to make to the East Indies; that

provisions began to grow scarce, and, above all, that the crews were

already so much diminished in number, and the survivors in so weak a

condition, that if twenty more were to die or fall sick, there would

not be a sufficient number remaining to navigate both ships. The true

reason, however, in the opinion of the author of this voyage, was the

anxiety to get to the East Indies before the change of the monsoon,

in which case they must have remained six months longer in these

seas. Some of the officers opposed this motion to the last, earnestly

entreating the commodore that he would rather winter at the land

mentioned by Ferdinand de Quiros, from which they could not now be

more than 150 leagues distant. They insisted that it was wrong to

think of going to the East Indies, that being directly contrary to

the design of their instructions: And that by continuing in the same

western course, they could not fail to fall in with some island, where

they might land and procure refreshments, remaining on shore till

all their sick men were recovered, and erecting a fort to defend

themselves against the natives. If this were complied with, they said

they might afterwards return home by an eastern coarse; and, by taking

time, might effectually complete the discoveries on which they were

sent.

These reasons were listened to with patience and civility, but had

not the weight they deserved; and a resolution was formed to continue

their coarse for New Britain and New Guinea, and thence to the East

Indies, by way of the Moluccas, being in hopes to procure there a

supply of provisions and necessaries, together with a reinforcement

of seamen, in case they should then be too weak for navigating their

ships home to Europe. In consequence of this resolution, an end was

put to all hope of visiting the land of Quiros, which the best seamen

on board thought might have been easily discovered, called by him

and Torres the _Islands of Solomon_, and reported to be beautiful

and fertile, and abounding in gold, silver, precious stones, and

spices.[5]

[Footnote 5: We have here omitted a long, uninteresting, and

inconclusive disquisition on the supposed Terra Australis, as

altogether founded on supposition and error.--E.]

Leaving the island of _Recreation_, Roggewein steered a coarse towards

the N.W. pursuant to the resolution of the council, in order to get

into the latitude of New Britain. On the third day, in lat. 12° S.

and long. 29° they discovered several islands which appeared very

beautiful at a distance, and, on a nearer approach, were seen to be

well planted with all sorts of trees, and produced herbs, corn,

and roots in great plenty, to which they gave the name of _Bowman's

Islands_, after the captain of the Tienhoven, by whom they were first

seen.[6] As soon as they were seen by the natives, they came off in

their canoes to the ships, bringing fish, cocoa-nuts, Indian figs,

and other refreshments, in return for which the Dutch gave them small

mirrors, strings of beads, and other trifles. These islands were very

fully peopled, as many thousands of men and women came down to the

shore to view the ships, most of the men being armed with bows and

arrows. Among the rest, they saw a majestic personage, who, from the

peculiar dress he wore, and the honours that were paid him, evidently

appeared to be chief or king of these islanders. This person soon

afterwards went into a canoe, accompanied by a fair young woman, who

sat close by his side, and his canoe was immediately surrounded by a

vast number of others, which seemed intended for his guard.

[Footnote 6: These appear to have been the most northerly of the

Society islands, about 70 marine leagues, or 3-1/2 degrees W. by N.

from Recreation island, in lat. 15° 20' S. long. 152° W.]

All the inhabitants of these islands were white, differing only from

Europeans in being sun-burnt, and they seemed a very harmless good

sort of people, of brisk and lively dispositions, behaving to each

other with much civility, and shewing no appearance of wildness or

savageness in their behaviour. Their bodies were not painted like

those of the islanders they had seen hitherto, but very handsomely

cloathed from the waist downwards, with a sort of silk fringes very

neatly arranged. On their heads they wore hats of a very neat-looking

stuff, very large and wide spreading, in order to keep off the sun,

and their necks were adorned with collars or garlands of beautiful

odoriferous flowers. The islands appeared quite charming, being

agreeably diversified with beautiful hills and intermediate vallies.

Each family or tribe appeared to have its separate district, and

to compose a separate government or community, all the land being

regularly laid out into regular and fair plantations, as had formerly

been observed at _Pasch_, or _Easter_ island. In all respects, the

natives were the most civilized and best disposed people they had seen

in the South Seas. Instead of shewing any terror or apprehension at

the arrival of the Dutch, the natives expressed the utmost joy and

satisfaction, treating them with the utmost kindness and respect, and

manifested the most sincere and deep concern at their departure. Many

of the Dutch also felt a similar regret, and would have been well

pleased to have made a longer stay in this delightful and plenteous

country, among so kind a people, as, by the help of the excellent

provisions in great abundance with which these good islands furnished

them, all their sick people would have been perfectly recovered in

a month. These islands had also one convenience greatly superior to

those they had met with before, as there was good anchorage almost

every where along their coasts, where they rode in the utmost safety,

in from fifteen to twenty fathoms.

So many advantageous circumstances ought to have induced Roggewein

and his officers to have remained here longer; but their heads were

so full of proceeding for the East Indies, that they were fearful of

missing the favourable monsoon, while they afterwards discovered, to

their cost, that they were two months too early, instead of two months

too late. By this indiscreet step, they sacrificed the health and

strength of their crew to such a degree, that they were at length

hardly able to navigate their ships, and at one time were on the

point of burning one of their ships, that they might be better able to

manage the other: All of which inconveniences might have been avoided,

had they embraced this opportunity afforded them by Divine Providence,

and been contented to remain in a place of safety, plenty, and

pleasure, till their sick were recovered, instead of wilfully seeking

new dangers which they were so little able to encounter.

Leaving Bowman's islands, and continuing their course towards the N.W.

they came next morning in sight of two islands, which they took to

be _Coccos_ and _Traitor's_ islands,[7] so called by Schouten, who

discovered them. The island of Coccos, at a distance, for Roggewein

would not stop to examine it, seemed very high land, and about eight

leagues in circuit. The other seemed much lower, composed of a red

soil, and destitute of trees. They soon after saw two other islands

of large extent, one of which they named _Tienhoven_,[8] and the other

_Groninguen_; which last many of their officers were of opinion was

no island, but the _great southern continent_ they were sent out to

discover. The island of _Tienhoven_ appeared a rich and beautiful

country, moderately high, its meadows or low lands, by the sea,

exceedingly green, and the interior well provided with trees. They

coasted along this island for a whole day without reaching its

extremity, yet noticed that it extended semi-circularly towards the

island of Groninguen, so that those which they took for islands might

be contiguous lands, and both of them parts of the _Terra Australis

incognita_.

[Footnote 7: There must be here an enormous error in the text; Coccos

and Traitor's islands are almost directly west from Recreation

island, and the northermost of the Society islands, supposed to be the

Bowman's islands of the text, and not less than 23°10' farther west

than these last, or 463 marine leagues, which could not well be run in

less than a week or ten days.--E.]

[Footnote 8: These were probably the _Fee-jee_, or Bligh's islands, in

lat. 17° 20' S. long. 181° 30' W. but the narrative is too

incomplete to ascertain this and many other points with any tolerable

certainty.--E.]

A great part of the company were for anchoring on this coast, and

making a descent, but the officers were so intent on proceeding

for India, that they alleged it might be very dangerous to attempt

landing, lest any of the men might be cut off, and they should not

have enough left to carry on the ships. They continued in their

course, therefore, not doubting that they should soon see the coasts

of New Britain or New Guinea: But, after sailing many days without

seeing any land at all, they began to see the vanity of these

calculations, and could not forbear murmuring at their effects, as

the scurvy began to cut off three, four, or five of their best hands

daily. At this time nothing was to be seen but sick people, struggling

with inexpressible pains, or dead carcasses just relieved from their

intolerable distress. From these there arose so abominable a stench,

that even those who were yet sound often fainted away, unable to

endure it. Cries and groans were incessantly heard in all parts of the

ships, and the sight of the poor diseased wretches who were still able

to crawl about, excited horror and compassion. Some were reduced to

such mere skeletons that their skins seemed to cleave to their bones,

and these had this consolation, that they gradually consumed away

without pain. Others were swelled out to monstrous sizes, and were so

tormented with excruciating pain, as to drive them to furious madness.

Some were worn away by the dysentery, and others were racked with

excruciating rheumatism, while others again dragged their dead limbs

after them, having lost feeling through the palsy. To these

numerous and complicated diseases of the body, many had superadded

distemperature of the mind. An anabaptist of twenty-five years old

called out continually to be baptized, and when told with a sneer that

there was no parson on board, he became quiet, and died with great

resignation. Two papists on board gave what little money they had to

their friends, beseeching them, if they ever got back to Holland, to

lay it out in masses to St Anthony of Padua for the repose of their

souls. Others again would listen to nothing that had the smallest

savour of religion, for some time before they died. Some refused

meat and drink for twenty-four hours before death, while others were

suddenly carried off in the midst of conversation.

All these various appearances of disease are attributed by the author

of this voyage principally to the bad quality of their provisions;

their salt meat being corrupted, their bread full of maggots, and

their water intolerably putrid. Under these circumstances medicines

were of no avail, being utterly unable to work a cure, and could at

best only defer death for a little, and protract the sufferings of

the sick. Though as well as any one in either ship, the author of this

journal had the scurvy to such a degree that his teeth were all loose,

his gums inflamed and ulcerated, and his body all over covered with

livid spots. Even such as were reputed in best health, were low, weak,

and much afflicted with the scurvy. Nothing could effectually relieve

or even alleviate their sufferings, except fresh meat, vegetables,

and sweet water. At length it pleased God to put a period to their

miseries, by giving them sight of the coast of New Britain, the joy of

which filled the sick with new spirits, and encouraged those who were

still able to move, with the enlivening hope of once more revisiting

their native land. Our author was fully of opinion, that if they

had been many days longer at sea, they must all have perished by the

continuance and necessary increase of the miseries which they endured,

which no description can possibly express in any thing like adequate

terms.

SECTION VI.

_Description of New Britain, and farther Continuation of the Voyage

till the Arrival of Roggewein at Java._

The country of New Britain, and all the islands in its neighbourhood,

is composed of very high land, many of the mountains hiding their

heads in the clouds. The sea coasts are however both pleasant and

fertile, the low lands being cloathed in perpetual verdure, and the

hills covered with a variety of trees, mostly bearing fruit. It is

in lat. between 4°and 7° S.[1] and both in regard to situation and

appearance, no country can promise better than this. After some

consultation, it was resolved to go on shore here at all events,

though now so much reduced by the long-continued sickness, that they

could hardly muster a sufficient number of men from both ships to man

a boat, and leave men enough, in case they were cut off, to navigate

one ship home, supposing them even to sacrifice one of the ships. Yet

such was the ardent desire of all to get on shore, and so urgent was

the necessity for that measure, that it appeared indispensable

to venture on landing, let the consequences be what they might.

Accordingly, our author was ordered into the boat, with as many men

as could be spared, with orders to get on shore at any rate, by fair

means if possible, and with the consent of the inhabitants, for whom

he carried a great number of baubles to distribute among them as

presents. If, however, these had no effect, he was then to use force,

as the circumstances to which they were reduced made it as eligible to

die by the hands of barbarians as to perish gradually by disease and

famine.

[Footnote 1: No account is given of this voyage from Bowman's islands,

perhaps the Fee-jees, as already mentioned, to New Britain, neither

indeed is it any way expressed on what part of New Britain they had

now arrived. They probably steered a course N.W. or N.W. by W. from

the Fee-jees, and fell in with the N.E. part of New Britain, now known

to be a separate island, and called New Ireland; and by the lower

latitude mentioned, in the text, they appear to come first to the

eastern part of New Ireland; but it is impossible to say whether they

went to the N. or S. of Solomon's island.--E.]

The nearer they drew towards the coast, the more they were delighted

with its appearance, as giving them a nearer prospect of the

wished-for refreshments. The inhabitants came down in multitudes to

the coast, but in such guise as did not by any means increase their

satisfaction, as they were all armed with bows and arrows and slings,

and demonstrated sufficiently by their gestures that the Dutch were

by no means welcome visitors, and that they were not to expect being

permitted to land peaceably. As the boat approached the shore, the

natives seemed to become frantic with despair, made frightful faces,

tore their hair, and howled in a horrible manner; and at length, as

borrowing courage from the increase of danger, they hurried into

their canoes and put off from the shore, as if to meet that danger the

sooner which was evidently unavoidable. As the Dutch continued their

way towards the land, the natives discharged a flight of arrows at the

boat, which they followed by throwing their spears or javelins,

after which they threw in a shower of stones discharged from slings.

Convinced now that there was nothing to be trusted to but force, the

Dutch opened their fire, and kept it up with such effect, that many of

the natives were slain, and the rest so terrified, that great numbers

of them leapt into the water to swim ashore, and at last all the

survivors followed the example, by turning their canoes towards the

land. But such was their confusion and dismay, that they were now

unable to distinguish the proper channels by which to get back to the

coast, but ran them on the rocks and shoals. This circumstance almost

deprived the Dutch of all hopes of being able to attain the coast.

While thus embarrassed, there arose a violent storm, of that kind

which the Dutch call _traffat_, and which in the east is named a

_tuffoon_, which usually arises suddenly in the midst of a calm, and

when the air is perfectly clear and serene, and which, by its extreme

violence, often brings the masts by the board, and whirls the sails

into the air, if they are not furled in an instant. By this sudden

tempest, the two ships were forced out to sea, and the poor people in

the boat were left without relief, and almost devoid of hope. The boat

was forced on a sand-bank, where she was for some time so beaten by

the winds and waves, that there seemed no chance of escaping almost

instant destruction. But despair often lends strength and spirits to

men beyond their usual powers; and, by dint of great exertions, they

dragged their boat clear of the bank, and got to land, where all got

safe on shore without hurt, but almost exhausted by fatigue. The first

thing they did was to look out for some place of retreat, where they

might be safe from any sudden assault of the natives; but night came

on before any such could be found, so that they were forced to rest

contented with making a fire on the shore, in order to dry and warm

themselves, which in some measure revived their spirits. The light

of the fire enabled them to discover several huts or cabins of the

natives in the neighbourhood of where they were, on which they felt

inclined to examine them, but found neither inhabitants nor household

goods of any kind, all that they met with worth taking away being a

few nets of curious workmanship. They also saw abundance of cocoa-nut

trees, but, having no hatchets, were unable to come at any of the

fruit, and had to pass a most comfortless night, during which they

were perpetually disturbed and alarmed by the frightful noise of the

natives in the adjoining wood, whence they naturally concluded they

were every moment about to attack them. About midnight they heard a

signal from the ships, which had been able to come back to that

part of the coast, on which they immediately hastened on board, and

immediately continued their voyage along the coast of New Britain,

making their way with considerable difficulty through among numerous

islands. They named that part of the coast on which they landed,

_Stormland_, which was probably the same called _Slinger's bay_ by

Dampier, on account of the dexterity of the natives in the management

of that instrument.

This country of New Britain seems to be extremely fertile, and to

abound in fruits of many sorts. The inhabitants are a tall well-made

people, perfect mulattoes in their complexions, with long black hair

hanging down to their waists, being extremely nimble and vigorous,

and so dexterous in the management of their weapons, that in all

probability they live in a state of continual warfare with their

neighbours. The sea along the coast is studded with numerous islands,

so that they had great difficulty in getting a passage through them.

Notwithstanding the dangers they had already experienced, they

resolved to make another descent upon the coast on the first

opportunity, though they had not now ten men in both vessels in

perfect health, but their necessities admitted of no other remedy.

The stock-fish, on which they had lived for some time past, was now

so full of worms, and stunk so abominably, that, instead of eating

it, they were unable to come near it. The officers were unable now

to pacify the men with stories of relief in the East Indies, for

they unanimously declared that immediate death on shore would be more

welcome than living longer at sea in this dreadful condition. In

this forlorn condition they arrived in the lat. of 2° S. where they

fortunately fell in with the islands of _Moa_ and _Arimoa_, [2]

formerly discovered by Schouten, and immediately determined upon

endeavouring to procure relief from Arimoa, the larger of these

islands. The natives, on perceiving the approach of the two ships,

came immediately off to meet them in their canoes, of which they

had prodigious numbers. All of these people were armed with bows and

arrows, even their women and children; but they brought with them

various refreshments, as cocoa-nuts, _pisans_, or Indian figs, with

various other fruits, and different kinds of roots, rowing directly to

the ships without any signs of fear or distrust. The Dutch gave them

such kind of trifles as they had by way of presents, and in return

for these refreshments; but on shewing more of these, and giving the

islanders to understand, by signs, that such was the merchandize they

had to give in barter for refreshments, they looked at them coolly,

as if they had no desire to trade for such commodities. Next day,

however, they returned with great quantities of similar articles of

provision; and the Dutch having endeavoured to express by signs

that they wished them to bring some hogs, the natives mistook their

meaning, and brought two or three dogs the day following, to the great

disappointment of the Dutch.

[Footnote 2: It is utterly impossible to ascertain what islands are

here meant, as the indications of the voyage are so entirely vague. In

the indicated latitude, off the mouth of the Great bay, in New Guinea,

there are two considerable islands, named Mysory, or Schouten's

island, and Jobie, or Long-island, which may possibly be Arimoa and

Moa. Perhaps Jobie of our modern maps includes both, as in some more

recent maps it is laid down as two contiguous islands, and it is more

exactly in the indicated latitude, while Mysory is rather less than

one degree from the line.]

These refreshments were very seasonable, and greatly amended the

health of many of the sick people in the two ships; and our author is

convinced that most of them would have perfectly recovered in a few

days, if they could have ventured to live on shore. The islanders

never failed to invite them ashore every time they came off; but being

greatly weakened, as for some days they had thrown four or five of

their people overboard, they did not think it prudent to run so great

a hazard; more especially as, even in the midst of their civility, the

air, look, and language of these people seemed to savour of perfidy,

and besides the island was extremely populous. The Dutch noticed that

these islanders, always on coming on board their ships, carried a

piece of stick to which some white stuff was fixed, as if in the

nature of a flag of truce, whence they supposed they were often at

war with some neighbouring nation or tribe, and especially with the

inhabitants of _Moa_, particularly as none of their canoes ever went

ashore on that island, but always, on the contrary, passed it with

evident precipitation. These remarks furnished the Dutch with a

new project by which to acquire a considerable stock of provisions

speedily, by a sudden descent on Moa, which appeared to be but thinly

peopled, though as pleasant and fertile as the other, hoping to carry

off at once enough of provisions to enable them to prosecute their

voyage, without the risk of falling again into the distress they had

so lately endured.

This bold scheme required much prudence, and it was thought expedient

to land in different places at once, one party being directed to

advance into the country, while the others should be at hand to

support them, and to secure their retreat. This was accordingly very

happily effected; for, although the natives formed an ambush behind

the trees and bushes, and discharged their arrows at the principal

party as soon as they began to cut down the cocoa-trees, the Dutch

fortunately remained uninjured, and laid many of the natives dead by

discharges of their fire-arms. This so frightened the rest that they

took refuge in their canoes, whence they endeavoured by cries

and shouts to alarm the rest of their countrymen to come to their

assistance: But the Dutch were so judiciously posted as to constrain

them to remain in the mountains, by which means the main party were

enabled to carry off about 800 cocoa-nuts to their boats, with which

booty they rejoined their ships.

The _cocoa-tree_ is a species of palm, found in most parts of the East

and West Indies. The trunk is large, straight, and lofty, tapering

insensibly to the top, whence the fruit hangs in bunches united by a

tendril, not unlike the twig of a vine, but stronger. The flowers are

yellow, resembling those of the chesnut. As it produces new bunches

every month, there are always some quite ripe, some green, some

just beginning to button, and others in full flower. The fruit is

three-lobed and of a greenish hue, of different sizes, from the size

of an ordinary tennis-ball, to that of a man's head, and is composed

of two rinds. The outer is composed of long tough fibres, between red

and yellow colour, the second being a hard shell. Within this is a

thick firm white substance or kernel, lining the shell, tasting like

a sweet almond; and in a central hollow of this kernel there is a

considerable quantity of a clear, bright, cool liquor, tasting like

sugared water. The natives of the countries in which these trees grow,

eat the kernel with their victuals instead of bread; and likewise

extract from it, by pressure, a liquor resembling milk of almonds

in taste and consistence. When this milk is exposed to the action of

fire, it changes to a kind of oil, which they use as we do butter

in dressing their victuals, and also burn in their lamps; and they

likewise employ it for smearing their bodies. They also draw from the

tree a liquor called _sura_ by the Indians, and which the Europeans

name _toddy_, or palm-wine. For this purpose, having cut one of the

largest twigs about a foot from the body of the tree, they hang to

this stump a bottle or calabash, into which the sap distils. This

_sura_ is of a very agreeable taste, little inferior to the Spanish

white wine; but being strong and heady, is generally diluted with

fresh clear water got from the nut It does not however keep, as it

becomes sour in about two days; when, by exposure to the sun, it is

converted into excellent vinegar. When boiled in its recent state,

it is converted into another liquor, called _orraqua_ by the Indians;

from which they distil a spirituous liquor called arrack, which many

people prefer to the other liquor of the same name distilled from rice

in India, which is so well known and so much esteemed in Europe.

Besides cocoa-nuts, the Dutch found in Moa great plenty of

pomegranates of exquisite taste, and abundance of _pisans_ or Indian

figs. These refreshments were of infinite service to them, as without

them the whole of both ships companies must have inevitably perished;

and immediately on returning to their ships, they began to prepare

for resuming their voyage. While engaged in these preparations, the

inhabitants of Moa came off to the ships in about 200 canoes, which

they exchanged with the Dutch for various articles, apparently doing

this to prevent the Dutch from making a second descent on their

island: But on this occasion, though the Dutch received them kindly,

and treated them with fairness in purchasing their provisions, they

would only admit a few of them into the ships at once; and when the

islanders attempted to rush on board in crowds, they fired upon them.

On these occasions, the natives all ducked their heads, and when they

raised them again broke out into loud laughter. This exchange was no

sooner over than they weighed anchor and proceeded on their voyage.

The author of this narrative remarks, that such of the sick as had any

strength remaining recovered surprisingly at these islands, through

the excellent refreshments they procured there, while those who were

already quite exhausted soon died.

Leaving these islands of _Moa_ and _Arimoa_, they continued their

voyage through a part of the sea so very full of islands, that finding

it difficult or impossible to count them, they gave them the name of

_Thousand Isles_.[3] Their inhabitants were negroes, of a short squat

make, and their heads covered with thick curled wool, being a bold,

mischievous, and intractable race of savages. They were all naked,

men, women, and children, having no other ornaments except a belt

about two fingers broad, stuck fall of teeth, and bracelets of

the same; and some of them wore light straw hats, adorned with the

feathers of the _Bird-of-Paradise_. These birds are said to be found

no where else but in these islands. Such of these islands as are

situated near the west point of New Guinea are still called the

_Islands of the Popoes_ or _Papuas_, the continent itself being called

the _Land of Papua_, till Schouten imposed upon it the name of _New

Guinea_, chiefly because of its being in the same latitude with _Old

Guinea_.[4]

[Footnote 3: These appear, by the sequel, to have been the islands

at the N.W. extremity of Papua or New Guinea, and from thence to

Celebes--E.]

[Footnote 4: More probably because of its inhabitants being

negroes.--E.]

When the inhabitants of these islands go to Ternate, Banda, Amboina,

or any of the Moluccas, in order to sell their salt pork, amber,[5]

gold-dust, and other merchandise, they always carry some of these

_Birds-of-Paradise_, which they constantly sell dead, affirming that

they find them so, and that they know not whence they come or where

they breed. This bird is always seen very high in the air. It is

extremely light, as its bulk consists mostly of feathers, which are

extremely beautiful, rendering it one of the greatest curiosities in

the world. The plumage of the head is as bright as burnished gold;

that of the neck resembles the neck of a drake; and those of the wings

and tail are like those of a peacock. In beak and form, this bird

comes nearest to a swallow, though considerably larger. Such as deal

in them endeavour to persuade strangers that they have no feet, and

that they hang themselves, when they sleep, to the boughs of trees by

means of their feathers. But, in reality, these traders cut off their

feet, to render them the more wonderful. They also pretend that the

male has a cavity on his back, where the female lodges her young till

they are able to fly. They always cut off the feet of these birds so

close to the body, that the flesh dries in such a manner that the skin

and feathers perfectly unite, making it impossible to perceive the

smallest scar. They also assert, that these birds are perpetually on

the wing, subsisting on birds and insects, which they catch in the

air. The feathers of the male are much brighter than those of the

female. In the east, this bird is usually called _Mancodiata_, or the

Bird-of-God. Great numbers of them are sent to Batavia, where they

generally sell for three crowns each. The Moors, Arabians, and

Persians are anxious to procure these birds, with which they adorn

their saddles and housings, often mixing with them pearls and

diamonds. They wear them also in their turbans, especially on going

to war, having a superstitious notion that they act as a charm or

talisman, capable of preserving them from wounds. Formerly, the Shah

and Mogul used to present their favourites with one of these birds, as

a mark of esteem or favour.

[Footnote 5: Perhaps ambergris ought to be here understood.--E.]

Besides their girdle and bracelets, formerly mentioned, the _Popoes_,

or inhabitants of the Thousand Isles, wear a bit of stick, the size of

a tobacco-pipe and the length of a finger, thrust through the gristle

of the nose, which they think renders them terrible to their enemies,

as some Europeans consider mustachios. They are the worst and most

savage people in all the South Seas. The continent of _New Guinea_

appeared a high country, extremely full of trees and plants of a vast

variety of kinds, so that, in sailing 400 leagues along its coast,

they did not observe one barren spot. Our author thinks that it

probably contains many precious commodities, as rich metals and

valuable spices, especially as most of the countries hitherto

discovered under the same parallel are not deficient in such riches.

He was afterwards assured, that some of the free burgesses in the

Moluccas go annually to New Guinea, where they exchange small pieces

of iron for nutmegs. Schouten and other navigators conceived high

ideas of this country, and represented it as one of the finest and

richest in the world; but they were unable to penetrate any way into

the interior, which could not be done with a small force, as it is

extremely populous, and the natives are mostly well armed, and of a

martial disposition.

Roggewein and his officers were at this time in considerable doubts,

whether to prosecute the route formerly followed by Dampier, or to go

by Ternate, Tidore, and Bacian, as the less dangerous passage. To

gain time, however, they chose the former, as they most otherwise

have coasted round the last-mentioned islands, in their way to the

Moluccas. In this view, they steered along shore, or rather through an

innumerable chain of small islands, extending from the western point

of New Guinea to the island of Gilolo, making their passage with much

difficulty and danger, and were greatly delighted and astonished on

getting sight of the island of _Bouro_, in lat. 2° S. [3° 30' S. and

long. 127° E.] the most eastern country in which the Dutch East-India

Company, maintain a factory. This island is mostly pretty high land,

and abounds every where with trees and shrubs of various kinds. On

their arrival upon its coast, they were spoken with by a small vessel,

in which were two white men and several blacks. The white men examined

them very strictly to whom they belonged, whence they came, and

whither they were bound. To which they answered, that they came from

New Guinea, and were going to Batavia, but wisely concealed belonging

to the West-India Company, knowing that the East-India Company

permitted no vessels, except their own, to navigate these seas, and

had given strict orders to capture all strange vessels that might

appear there. Yet, in spite of these precautions, the English

sometimes find their way among these islands, to the no small

displeasure of the Dutch company, although they keep ships cruizing

here during both monsoons, to preserve their monopoly of spices.

The island of _Bouro_ is about forty or fifty leagues in

circumference, and is indifferently fertile, formerly producing

abundance of clove-trees; but a detachment of Dutch soldiers is sent

yearly to grub them up, as they do also in the other Molucca islands,

because Amboina is thought to produce enough of that commodity to

maintain their commerce. Formerly also the Dutch had a strong fort

here, which the natives took and demolished after a long siege,

putting all the garrison to the sword. At present, [in 1721,]

the company only sends a detachment of soldiers to root out the

clove-trees, for which the inhabitants receive some present. The two

whites who were on board this Dutch bark were the first Christians

seen by Roggewein for the space of ten months, or since leaving the

coast of Brazil. Continuing their course for the island of _Bootan_,

in hopes of meeting with refreshments, of which they were now in

extreme want, they arrived there in lat 4° S.[6] and sailed along its

coast for a whole day, in hopes of finding the strait for which they

sought, and at length found they were eight leagues to leeward of

it, and the monsoon now blew too strong to be able to bear up for the

intended port. They had now no hopes of being able to find any port

for refreshments till they should arrive at the island of Java; as,

wherever they might attempt to land, they well knew that their ships

would be confiscated, in consequence of the invariable maxims of the

East-India Company. All men therefore, but especially the sick and

feeble, cast an anxious look on the fertile island now left behind

them, presaging the melancholy effects which must necessarily attend

so pernicious a measure.

[Footnote 6: The northern end of Bootan is in lat. 4° 40' S.]

The situation of the island of _Bootan_ is remarkably advantageous,

being in from 4° to 6° of S. latitude, and nearly equal in size to the

island of _Bouro_. It is extremely fertile, especially in rice, and

has abundance of cattle and fish. It would also produce plenty both

of clove and nutmeg trees, if they were permitted to grow. The king

of the island has a very strong fort, on which the Dutch standard is

displayed, though there is no Dutch garrison; the company contenting

itself with sending deputies yearly to see the spice trees destroyed,

in consideration of which the king receives a considerable sum

yearly from the company. This nation is the most faithful of all the

inhabitants of the Indian islands to the India company, having not

only assisted them in expelling the Portuguese, but also against the

inhabitants of the Moluccas, whenever they have attempted to revolt;

by which means the company has acquired the whole trade of this part

of the world. In consideration of this, the inhabitants of Bootan

enjoy many privileges that are denied to all other Indians: As, for

instance, they are allowed to come into any of the Dutch forts armed,

which is never allowed even to the natives of the countries in which

the forts are situated. Some time before this voyage, the king of

Bootan sent his eldest son ambassador to the governor-general

of Batavia, where he was received with every mark of honour and

distinction. It would not have been easy to have known this prince for

an Indian, had he not worn a triple-rowed turban, richly adorned

with gold and precious stones, as the rest of his dress was entirely

European, and he wore a sword instead of a cutlass, which no Indian

had done before. His train was numerous and splendid, all dressed

in the Indian manner: Twelve of them were armed with cuirasses and

bucklers, carrying each a naked sword resting on his shoulder. At this

time there was a prodigious mortality in Batavia, which carried off

500 of the attendants of this prince, and destroyed no less than

150,000 persons in one year, besides vast numbers of beasts. This

mortality was occasioned by a malignant pestilential fever, which

attacked indiscriminately all the inhabitants of Batavia, Europeans,

natives, Chinese, and blacks. It spread also through Bengal and all

the dominions of the Great Mogul, where it made incredible ravages,

and extended even to Japan in the most extreme violence, where numbers

fell down dead in the streets, who had left their houses in perfect

health. This dreadful malady was supposed to have arisen from

excessive drought, as no rain had fallen during the space of two

years, whence it was conceived that the air was surcharged with

mineral vapours.

Leaving the island of Bootan, and passing through the channel of

the Moluccas, or between the S.W. leg of Celebes and Salayr

islands, during which course the crews of the two vessels suffered

inexpressible miseries, by which the greatest part of them were

carried off, Roggewein arrived on the coast of Java towards the close

of September 1722.

SECTION VII.

_Occurrences from their Arrival at the Island of Java, to the

Confiscation of the Ships at Batavia._

Roggewein came to anchor immediately in the road of Japara, and

saluted the city and fort, after which the boats were hoisted out to

go on shore, where they were astonished to find that it was Saturday,

whereas on quitting their ships they conceived it to be Friday

morning. This was occasioned by having come round from the east

along with the sun, by which they had lost a day in their reckoning.

Roggewein immediately waited upon Ensign Kuster, a very civil and

well-behaved gentleman, who commanded there on the part of the

East-India Company, to whom he gave an account of his motives for

coming to this place. Kuster immediately assembled a council, to

consider what measures were to be taken on this occasion, and all

were much moved at the recital of the miseries which Roggewein and

his people had endured. In truth, never were men more worthy of

compassion. Only ten persons remained in any tolerable health, and

twenty-six were down in various sicknesses, by which, exclusive of

those who had been slain in their different engagements with the

Indians, they had lost seventy men during the voyage. Their next care

was to get the sick men on shore, which was done with all care and

diligence, slinging them in their hammocks into the boats. Four of

these poor people were in so low a condition that it was thought

impossible they could bear removal, and they were therefore left on

board, the very thoughts of which, after their companions went ashore,

soon killed them. Those who were carried on shore were lodged under

tents in an island, where they had every necessary afforded them that

the country produced, yet many of them died.

Mr Kuster sent an immediate account of their arrival to the

commandant of the coasts of Java, who instantly forwarded it to Mr

_Swaardekroon_, at that time governor-general of the East Indies. He

sent a favourable answer, promising every assistance in his power, and

adding, that they had nothing to do but to get to Batavia as soon as

possible. While waiting the answer of the governor-general and the

recovery of their sick, they passed their time agreeably enough at

Japara, as their countrymen used them with all imaginable kindness.

In a few days, the seamen became as frolicsome and gay as if they had

made a pleasant and fortunate voyage; insomuch, that those who, only

a few days before, were weeping, sighing, praying, and making warm

protestations of leading new lives, if God in his mercy were pleased

to save them, now ran headlong into the greatest extravagances;

spending their whole time in debauched houses, and in swearing and

drinking. This our author attributed to the bad example of those among

whom they lived, all the lower people at Japara being as lewd and

profligate as could be imagined; insomuch, that the first question

they put to strangers from Europe is, if they have brought over any

new oaths.

The town of _Japara_ is seated at the bottom of a mountain of moderate

height, is of a middling size, and is inhabited by Javans, Chinese,

and Dutch; and was of more considerable extent than now, when in the

hands of the Portuguese. Before getting possession of Jacatra, now

Batavia, the Dutch East-India Company had their principal magazines

for trade at this place, which was their chief factory, and on which

all the other factories in Java were dependent; but it has fallen much

in importance since the factory was transferred to Samarang. The port

of Japara is both safe and commodious, and is defended by a fort,

built mostly of wood, on the top of the mountain at the foot of which

the town is seated. This fort is called the _Invincible Mountain_,

because the Javanese were constantly defeated in all their attempts to

get it into their hands, when in possession of the Portuguese; and its

guns command the whole road.

The king of Japara mostly resides at a place called _Kattasura_, about

twenty-nine leagues up the country, where the Dutch have a strong

fort with a good garrison, serving at the same time to secure their

conquest, and to guard the king. This prince is a Mahomedan, and is

served entirely by women, of whom he takes as many as he pleases,

either as wives or concubines. Some of his priests are obliged to

go every year on pilgrimage to Mecca, in order to make vows for the

safety and prosperity of the king and royal family. His subjects are

extremely faithful, and devoted to his service; the principal persons

of his court having to approach him on their knees, every time they

have an audience; but in time of war, this slavish custom is dispensed

with. Such as commit the slightest fault, are poniarded on the spot by

a kriss or dagger; this being almost the only punishment in use among

them, as the smallest faults and the greatest crimes are all equally

capital. The natives of this country are mostly of a very brown

complexion, tolerably well shaped, and having long black hair, which

however many of them cut short. Their noses are all flat and broad,

and their teeth very black, owing to the incessant chewing of betel

and faufel.

The _faufel_ or _areka_ is a kind of nut, not much unlike a nutmeg,

but smaller, and in a great measure tasteless, but yielding a red

juice when chewed, which juice also is used by the Indians in painting

chintzes, so much admired in Europe. The tree which bears this nut is

very straight, and has leaves like those of the cocoa-nut tree. The

_betel_ is a plant producing long rank leaves, shaped like those of

the citron, and having an agreeable bitter taste. The fruit of this

plant resembles a lizard's tail, and is about an inch and half long,

having a pleasant aromatic flavour. The Indians continually carry

the leaves of this plant, which also are presented at all ceremonious

visits. They are almost continually chewing these leaves, and they

mostly qualify their extreme bitterness by the addition of the faufel

or areka-nut, and the powder of calcined oyster-shells, which give

them a very agreeable taste; though some mix their betel leaves with

shell lime, ambergris, and cardamom seeds, while others use Chinese

tobacco. After all the juice is chewed out, they throw away the

remaining dry mass. Many Europeans have got into the habit of chewing

betel, so that they cannot leave it off, though it has proved fatal to

some of them; for the natives are very skilful in preparing betel so

as to do a man's business as effectually as a pistol or a dagger.

The prevailing diversion among these people is called _tandakes_,

which are a kind of comedies, acted by women very richly dressed, and

consists chiefly in singing and dancing, accompanied by music, not

very pleasant to European ears, the only instruments being small

drums, on which they beat with much dexterity. Their dancing is mostly

of a grotesque kind, in which they are very dexterous, throwing

their bodies into all sorts of postures with astonishing agility, and

expressing by them the passions of the mind so comically, that it is

impossible to refrain from laughing. The men also practise a kind

of war dance, in which the king and grandees bear a part. They also

practise cock-fighting, like the English, and bet such considerable

sums on this sport as often beggars them.

The country abounds in all the necessaries of life, having abundance

of beeves and hogs, and amazing quantities of fowls. The only thing

scarce is mutton, chiefly owing to the richness of the pasture,

which is very apt to burst the sheep. As to wild animals, they have

buffaloes, stags, tygers, and rhinoceroses; which last animal is

hunted by the Indians chiefly for the sake of its horns, of which they

make drinking cups that are greatly valued, owing to a notion that

they will not contain poison, but break immediately on that being

poured into them. The high price of these tends to shew that the

Javanese are addicted to the infamous practice of poisoning. The land

is every where extremely fertile, producing vast abundance of pepper,

ginger, cinnamon, rice, cardamoms, and other valuable articles. Of

late they have planted coffee, and with such success as to have a

reasonable hope of rendering it a principal commodity of the country.

Cocoa-nuts, figs, and a variety of other excellent fruits grow every

where in the greatest profusion; and as the trees on which they grow

are verdant during the whole year, and are planted in rows along the

rivers, they form the most agreeable walks that can be conceived.

Sugar-canes also abound in Java. They have also plenty of vines, which

produce ripe grapes seven times every year, but they are only fit

for making raisins, and not wine, being too hastily ripened by the

climate. The sea, and all the rivers, furnish an infinite variety of

the finest fish. Thus, taking it altogether, it may be safely affirmed

that Java is one of the most plentiful and pleasantest islands in the

world.

Having refreshed at Japara for about a month, Roggewein began to

think of proceeding to Batavia, encouraged by the fine promises of the

governor-general. Every thing being ready, the voyagers spent two

days in taking leave of their kind friends, who supplied them with all

sorts of provisions, much more than sufficient for so short a voyage,

and they at length departed, feeling a sensible regret at parting with

those who had treated them with so much kindness, relieving all their

wants with so much generosity, and had enabled them to spend several

weeks in peace and plenty, after a long period of sickness and misery.

Steering from thence about seventy leagues to the westwards, with a

fair wind, they entered the road of Batavia, where they saluted the

fort, and anchored close to the ships that were loading for the voyage

home, believing that all their distresses were now over, and that they

should speedily accompany these other ships homewards. As soon as

the ships were safely anchored, Roggewein went along with the other

captains into his boat, meaning to have gone ashore to Batavia, but

had not proceeded far from the ship when he met a boat having the

commandant of Batavia on board, together with the fiscal, and some

other members of the council, by whom he was desired to go back to his

ship, which he did immediately; and, when the two boats came within

hearing of the ships, the fiscal proclaimed, with a loud voice, that

both ships were confiscated by order of the governor-general. At this

time both ships were so environed by other large vessels belonging

to the East India Company, that it was impossible to have escaped,

if they had so inclined; and soon afterwards several hundred soldiers

came on board, taking possession of both ships, and placing their

crews under safe custody. Taught by so many and such unlooked-for

misfortunes, Roggewein now thoroughly repented having proposed to

return home by way of the East Indies, but was now wise behind hand.

He had neglected prosecuting the discovery on which he had been

sent, for which he now suffered a just punishment from the East India

Company, however unjust in itself the sentence might be considered. By

the sentence, both ships were declared legal prizes, and all the goods

they contained were confiscated; and to prevent all trouble and delay

from representations, reclamations, or memorials, every thing was

immediately exposed to public auction, and sold to the highest

bidders. The crews of both ships were divided, and put on board

several of the homeward-bound ships.

SECTION VIII.

_Description of Batavia and the Island of Java, with some Account of

the Government of the Dutch East India Company's Affairs._

The city of Batavia lies in the lat. of 6° 20' S. and long. 107° E.

from Greenwich, being the capital of all the vast dominions belonging

to the Dutch East India Company, serving also as the emporium of

its prodigious trade, where all the merchandise and riches of that

princely and wealthy company are laid up. It fell into the hands of

the Dutch company in 1618, till which time it was known by the name of

_Jacatra_, and soon afterwards they built a fort in the neighbourhood

of that native city, to which they gave the name of Batavia. By the

time this was hardly well finished, the natives of the island attacked

it, animated and assisted by the English, and repeated their attempts

several times, but always unsuccessfully, and to their great loss.

The last time, they kept it blockaded for a considerable time, till

succoured by a powerful squadron from Europe under Admiral Koen, when

the siege was immediately raised, and the natives obliged to retire

with the utmost precipitation. The Dutch had now leisure to consider

the excellent situation of the fort, and the many advantages it

possessed for becoming the centre of their East Indian trade and

dominion, on which they resolved to build a town in the neighbourhood

of the fort. With this view they demolished Jacatra, and erected on

its ruins this famous commercial city, which they named Batavia.

This city arrived at perfection in a short time, by the extraordinary

diligence bestowed upon its construction, in spite of the many

obstacles it met with from the two kings of Matarana and Bantam; the

former of whom laid siege to it in 1629, and the latter in 1649. It

is surrounded by an earthen rampart of twenty-one feet thick, faced on

the outside with stone, and strengthened by twenty-two bastions, the

whole environed by a ditch forty-five yards wide, and quite full of

water, especially in spring-tides. All the approaches to the town are

defended by several detached forts, all of which are well furnished

with excellent brass cannon. Six of these are so considerable as

to deserve being particularly mentioned, which are, Ansiol, Anke,

Jacatra, Ryswyk, Noordywyk, and Vythock. The fort of _Ansiol_ is

seated on a river of the same name, to the eastwards, and about 1200

yards from the city, being built entirely of squared stone, and always

provided with a strong garrison. _Anke_ is on a river of the same

name, to the westwards, about 500 yards from the city, and is built

like the former. _Jacatra_ lies also on a river of the same name, and

is exactly like the two former, being 500 paces from the city. The

road to this fort lies between two regular rows of fine trees, having

very fine country houses and gardens on each side. The other three

forts are all built of similar materials on the inland side of the

city, and at small distances; the two first-named serving to secure

the city on the side of the sea, and the other four to defend the

approaches towards it from the land, and at the same time to protect

the country houses, plantations, and gardens of the inhabitants.

By these, all enemies are prevented from coming upon the city by

surprise, as on every side they would be sure to meet a formidable

resistance; and besides, no person is allowed to pass the forts, even

outwards, unless with a passport.

The river of Jacatra passes through the middle of the city, and

supplies water to fifteen canals, all faced with freestone, and

adorned on each side with ever-green trees, affording a charming

prospect. Over these canals, which are all within the city, there are

fifty-six bridges, besides others without the town. The streets are

all perfectly straight, and are in general thirty feet broad on each

side, besides the breadth of the canals. The houses are built of

stone, mostly of several stories high, like those in the cities of

Holland. The city of Batavia is about a league and a half in circuit,

but is surrounded by a vast number of houses without the walls, which

may be considered as forming suburbs, and in which there is ten times

the population that is within the city. It has five gates, including

that leading to the port, near to which there is a boom, or barrier,

which is shut every night at nine o'clock, and at which there is a

strong guard of soldiers night and day. There were formerly six

gates, but one of these has since been walled up. There is a very fine

stadt-house, or town-hall, and four churches for the Calvinists. The

first of these, named _Kruist-kirk_, or Cross-church, was built in

1640, and the second in 1672, and in both of these the worship is

in the Dutch language. The third church belongs to the _protestant_

Portuguese, and the fourth is for the Malays who have been converted

to the reformed Christian religion. Besides these, there are abundance

of other places of worship for various sorts of religions.

They have likewise in this city a _Spin-hays_, or house of correction

for the confinement of disorderly women; an orphan-house, and arsenal

of marine stores, and many magazines for spiceries: Also many wharfs,

docks, rope-walks, and other public buildings. The garrison usually

consists of from two to three thousand men. Besides the forts formerly

mentioned, the famous citadel or castle of Batavia is a fine regular

fortification, having four bastions, situated at the mouth of the

river opposite to the city; two of its bastions fronting towards the

sea and commanding the anchorage, while the other two face towards

the city. There are two main gates to the citadel, one called the

Company's gate, which was built in 1636, to which leads a stone bridge

of fourteen arches, each of which is twenty-six feet span, and ten

feet wide. The other is called the Water-gate. Besides which, there

are two posterns, one in the east curtain, and the other in the

west, neither of which are ever opened except for the purposes of the

garrison. In this citadel the governor-general resides, having a brick

palace two stories high, with a noble front of Italian architecture.

Opposite to this palace is that of the director-general, who is next

in rank to the governor. The counsellors and other principal officers

of the company have also their apartments within the citadel, together

with the chief physician, chief surgeon, and chief apothecary. There

in also a remarkably neat and light small church, and there are many

magazines and store-houses well furnished with ammunition and military

stores; and in it are the offices in which all the affairs of the

company are transacted, and archives for containing all the records.

Besides many Dutch, all of whom are either in the service of the

company or free burgesses, the city is inhabited by a vast number

of people of many different Indian nations, besides many Portuguese,

French, and other Europeans, established here on account of trade. The

Portuguese are mostly descendants of those who lived formerly here or

at Goa, and who, finding their account in living under the government

of the Dutch, did not think proper to remove after the Dutch had

reduced the country; but far the greater number of these are now of

the reformed religion. The Indian inhabitants consist of Javanese, or

natives of the island, Chinese, Malays, negroes, Amboinese, Armenians,

natives of the island of Bali, Mardykers, Macassars, Bougis, and

others. It is a very curious thing to see so great a multitude of

different nations all living in the same great city, and each nation

according to their own manners. Every moment one sees new customs,

strange manners, varieties of dresses, and faces of different colours,

as black, white, brown, yellow, and olive-coloured; every one living

as he pleases, and all speaking their different languages. Yet, amidst

all this variety of people and customs so opposite to each other,

there is a surprising unity among the citizens, occasioned by the

advantages of commerce, the common object of all, so that they live

harmoniously and happily under the gentle and prudent laws established

by the company. All enjoy perfect liberty of conscience, whatever may

be their religion or sect, only that none are permitted the public

exercise of their religion except the Calvinists, any more than in

Holland, so that priests and monks must not walk the streets in the

habits of their respective orders. All are however allowed to live

here in peace, and may exercise the rites of their religion within

doors. Jesuits are, however, excluded, for fear of their intrigues;

and the Chinese religion, because of its abominable idolatry, is

obliged to have its pagoda, or idol temple, about a league from the

city, where also they bury their dead.

Every Indian nation settled at Batavia has its chief or head, who

watches over the interests of his nation, but is not allowed to decide

upon any thing of importance, his chief functions being those of

religion, and to decide slight controversies among his countrymen. The

_Japanese_ chiefly addict themselves to agriculture, ship-building,

and fishing. These people, for the most part, only wear a kind of

short petticoat, reaching to their knees, all the rest of their

bodies being naked, having also a sort of scarf or sash across their

shoulders, from which hangs a short sword. On their heads they wear

small bonnets. Their huts or cabins are remarkably neater than those

of the other Indians, built of split bamboos, with large spreading

roofs, under which they sit in the open air.

The _Chinese_ are very numerous, as it is reckoned there are at least

five thousand of them in the city and its suburbs. These people seem

naturally born for trade, and are great enemies to idleness, thinking

nothing too hard or laborious that is attended with a prospect of

gain. They can live on very little, are bold, enterprising, possessed

of much address, and indefatigably industrious. Their sagacity,

penetration, and subtilty, are so extraordinary as to make good their

own saying, "That the Dutch have only one eye, while they have two;"

but they are deceitful beyond measure, taking a pride in imposing on

those who deal with them, and even boast of that cunning of which they

ought to be ashamed. In husbandry and navigation they surpass all the

other nations of India. Most of the sugar-mills around Batavia belong

to them, and the distillery of arrack is entirely in their hands. They

are the carriers of eastern Asia, and even the Dutch often make use

of their vessels. They keep all the shops and most of the inns of

Batavia, and farm all the duties of excise and customs. Generally

speaking, they are well-made men, of an olive complexion, their heads

being peculiarly round, with small eyes, and short flat noses. They

do not cut their hair, as all in China are obliged to do since the

Tartars conquered the country; and whenever any one comes to Batavia

from China, he immediately suffers his hair to grow, as a token

of freedom, dressing it with the utmost care; their priests only

excepted, whose heads are all close shaven.

The Chinese go always bare headed, carrying an umbrella in their hands

to keep off the sun; and they suffer their nails to grow immoderately

long, which gives them prodigious dexterity in slight of hand, an art

of considerable importance as they use it. Their dress here differs

materially from what they wear in their own country, their cotton

robes being very ample, and their sleeves very wide. Below this they

have a kind of breeches reaching to their ancles, having a kind

of little slippers on their feet instead of shoes, and never wear

stockings. Their women, who are very brisk, lively, impudent, and

debauched, wear very long cotton robes. In general, the Chinese have

no distinction of meats, but eat without ceremony of any animal that

comes to hand, be it even dog, cat, or rat, or what it may. They are

amazingly fond of shows and entertainments. Their feast of the new

year, which they celebrate in the beginning of March, commonly lasts

a whole month; during which they do nothing but divert themselves,

chiefly in dancing, which they do in a strange manner, running round

about to the sound of gongs, flutes, and trumpets, which do not form a

very agreeable concert. They use the same music at their comedies,

or theatrical diversions, of which they are extremely fond: These

comedies consist of a strange mixture of drama, opera, and pantomime,

as they sometimes sing, sometimes speak, and at other times the whole

business of the scene consists in gesture. They have none but _women_

players,[1] who are brought up to this employment from their infancy;

but many of them act male parts, using proper disguises for the

purpose. Whenever they act a comedy, the city receives fifty crowns

for a licence. They erect the theatre in the street, in front of the

house of him who is at the expence of the play, the subject of

which always turns on the exploits of their ancient heroes, or the

austerities of their old saints.

[Footnote 1: This may possibly have been the case at this time in

Batavia; but we are assured by recent travellers in China, that they

have there none but _men_ players, the female parts being acted by

youths.--E.]

The funerals of the Chinese are very singular, as well as very rich

and pompous, forming grand and solemn processions, in which sometimes

at least 500 persons of both sexes assist, the women being all

cloathed in white. At these funerals they employ music to heighten the

shew, together with coloured umbrellas and canopies, carrying their

principal idol, which they call _Joostie de Batavia_, under one of

their canopies. Their tombs are some of them very magnificent. They

follow the idolatrous religion of their native country, and have a

pagoda, or idol temple, about the distance of a league from the

city, where they assemble for worship. They are perhaps the grossest

idolaters, and the most ridiculous in their opinions, of all the

pagans of the east, as they openly profess to worship and adore the

devil. This does not proceed from their ignorance or unbelief in a

God, but rather from mistaken notions in their belief concerning him.

They say that God is infinitely good and merciful, giving to man every

thing he possesses, and never doing any hurt; and therefore that there

is no need to worship him. But with the devil, the author of all ill,

they are desirous to live upon good terms, and to omit nothing that

can entitle them to his good graces. It is the devil therefore whom

they represent by the idol above mentioned, and in whose honour they

have frequently great feasts and rejoicings.

Like the Javans, the Chinese are extravagantly addicted to gaming

and laying wagers; and this humour, especially at cock-fights and the

new-year's feasts, drives them sometimes into downright madness.

They will not only stake and lose their money, goods, and houses, but

sometimes their wives and children; and when these are all lost, will

stake their beards, nails, and winds; that is, they bind themselves

not to shave their beards, pare their nails, or go on board ship to

trade, till they have paid their game debts. When reduced to this

condition, they are forced to hire themselves as the bond slaves of

some other Chinese. Under such misfortunes their only resource is,

that some relative, either at Batavia or China, pays their debts out

of compassion, and by that means reinstates them in their property and

freedom.

The _Malays_ who live at Batavia usually employ themselves in fishing,

having very neat and shewy vessels, the sails of which are most

ingeniously constructed of straw. These are a most wicked and

profligate people, who often commit atrocious murders for very

trifling gain. They profess the Mahomedan religion, but are so

absolutely devoid of moral principle, that they even make a boast and

merit of cheating Christians. Their last chief was publicly whipped

and branded for his frauds and villainies, his goods confiscated, and

he himself banished to Ceylon; since when they have been ashamed

to elect another chief. Their habits are of silk or cotton, the men

wearing a piece of cotton round their heads, and their black hair tied

into a knot behind.

The blacks or negroes at Batavia are mostly Mahomedans, who come

chiefly from Bengal, dressing like the Malays, and living in the same

quarter of the city. Some of them work at different mechanic trades,

and others are a kind of pedlars; but the most considerable of them

trade in stones for buildings, which they bring from the neighbouring

islands.

The _Amboinese_ are chiefly employed in building houses of bamboos,

the windows of which are made of split canes, very nicely wrought in

various figures. They are a bold boisterous race, and so turbulent

that they are not permitted to reside in the city, but have their

quarter near the Chinese burying ground. The chief of their own

nation, to whom they pay the utmost submission, has a magnificent

house in their quarter, well furnished after their manner. Their arms

are chiefly large sabres and long bucklers. The men wear a piece of

cotton cloth wrapped round their heads, the ends of which hang down

behind, and adorn this species of turban with a variety of flowers.

Their women wear a close habit, and a cotton mantle over their

shoulders, having their arms bare. Their houses are built of boards,

thatched with leaves, usually two or three stories high, the ground

floor especially being divided into several apartments.

The _Mardykers_ or _Topasses_ are idolaters from various Indian

nations, and follow various trades and professions; and their

merchants, under licences or passports from the company, carry on

considerable commerce among the neighbouring islands. Some of these

people are gardeners, others rear cattle, and others breed fowls. The

men of this mixed tribe generally dress after the Dutch fashion, but

the women wear the habits of other Indians. These people dwell both

in the city and country, their houses being better than those of the

other Indians, built of stone or brick, several stories high, and very

neat. There are also some _Macassers_ at Batavia, so famous for their

little poisoned arrows, which they blow from tubes. This poison is

made of the juice of a certain tree, which grows in Macasser and the

_Bougis_ islands, into which they dip the points of the arrows and

allow them to dry. The wound inflicted by these arrows is absolutely

mortal. The _Bougis_ are natives of three or four islands near

Macasser, and since the conquest of that island have settled at

Batavia. They are very bold and hardy fellows, for which reason they

are employed as soldiers by the company. Their arms are bows and

arrows, with sabres and bucklers. Besides these enumerated nations,

which contribute to form the population of Batavia, there are several

Armenians and some other Asiatics who reside there occasionally for

the sake of trade, and stay no longer than their affairs require, All

the inhabitants around Batavia, and for a track of about forty leagues

along the mountains of the country of Bantam, are immediately subject

to the governor-general, who sends _drossards_ or commissaries among

them, to administer justice, and to collect the public revenues; and

the chief men of the several districts resort at certain times to

Batavia, to give an account of the behaviour of these commissaries.

The city of Batavia, and all the dominions possessed by the company in

the East Indies, are governed by two supreme councils, one of which is

named the Council of the Indies, and the other the Council of Justice,

both of which are fixed at Batavia, the capital of the dominions

belonging to the company. To the first of these belong all matters

of government, and the entire direction of public affairs, and to

the other the administration of justice in all its branches. The

governor-general always presided in the former of these councils,

which is ordinarily composed of eighteen or twenty persons, called

counsellors of the Indies; but it seldom happens that these are all

at Batavia at one time, as they are usually promoted to the seven

governments which are at the disposal of the company. This council

assembles regularly twice a-week, besides as often extraordinarily as

the governor pleases. They deliberate on all affairs concerning the

interest of the company, and superintend the government of the island

of Java and its dependencies: But in affairs of very great importance,

the approbation and consent of the directors of the company in Europe

must be had. From this Council of the Indies, orders and instructions

are sent to all the other governments, which must be implicitly

obeyed. In this council, all letters addressed to the governor or

director-general are read and debated, and answers agreed upon by a

plurality of voices.

The Council of Justice consists of a president, who is generally a

counsellor of the Indies, together with eight counsellors of justice,

a fiscal or attorney-general for affairs of government, another fiscal

for maritime affairs, and a secretary. The first fiscal has a vote

along with the counsellors, and receives a third part of all fines

below an hundred florins, and a sixth part of all above that sum.

The duty of his office is to observe that the laws are obeyed, and to

prefer informations against those who break them. The fiscal of the

sea has jurisdiction over all frauds committed in commerce, in cases

of piracy, or in whatever tends to disturb the settled rules of

maritime affairs. Besides these sovereign tribunals, there is a

council of the city of Batavia, consisting of nine burgomasters or

aldermen, including a president, who is always a member of the Council

of the Indies, and a vice-president. The bailiff of the city, and the

commissary of the adjacent territory, have also seats in this council,

to which likewise there is a secretary.

The governor-general is head of the empire belonging to the company in

India, being as it were stadtholder, captain-general, and admiral of

the Indies. By his office he is president of the supreme council, in

which he has two voices. He has the keys of all the magazines, and

directs every thing belonging to them, without being accountable to

any one. He commands by his own proper authority, and every person is

bound to obey him, so that his authority equals, and even surpasses,

that of several European sovereigns. But he is accountable to, and

removeable by the directors at home. In cases, however, of being

guilty of treason, or any other enormous crime, the Council of Justice

have a right to seize his person and call him to account. In case the

governor-general dies or resigns his office, the Council of the Indies

meets and elects a successor, when they immediately write to the

directors at home, desiring them to confirm and approve their choice.

They also write to the same purpose to the states-general of the

United Provinces, who have reserved to themselves the power of

confirming or excluding a governor-general. It is usual, however, for

the directors and the state to confirm the choice of the council, and

to send him letters patent, conformable to the desire of the council;

yet there have been some instances of the directors rejecting the

governor-general thus elected, and sending out another.

The salary allowed by the company to the governor-general is 800

rix-dollars, with other 500 dollars for his table, and also pay the

salaries of the officers of his household. But these appointments form

a very small portion of his revenue; as the legal emoluments of his

office are so great that he is able to amass an immense fortune in

two or three years, without oppressing the people or burdening his

conscience. Being the head and apparent sovereign of all the countries

belonging to or dependent upon the company, he is allowed a court and

most of the honours usually paid to crowned heads, in compliance with

the customs of the east. When he goes from his palace to his country

seat, he is preceded by the master of his household, at the head

of six gentlemen on horseback. A trumpeter and two halberdeers on

horseback go immediately before the coach. The master of the horse and

six mounted halberdeers ride on the right; and he is followed by

other coaches carrying his friends and retinue. The whole cavalcade is

closed by a troop of forty-eight dragoons, commanded by a captain and

three quarter-masters, and preceded by a trumpeter richly clothed. If

this office be considerable for its honour, power, and emolument,

it is also very fatiguing, as the governor-general is employed from

morning to night in giving audiences, in reading letters, and in

giving orders in the service of the company; so that he seldom can

allow above half an hour for dinner, and even dispatches pressing

affairs while at table. He has also to receive all Indian princes and

ambassadors who come to Batavia, and of these many arrive every year.

The director-general is the next in authority after the

governor-general, and is the second person in the council of the

Indies. This employment requires great care and attention, as he has

the charge of buying and selling all the commodities that enter into

or go out from the Company's warehouses. He gives orders for the kinds

and quantities of all goods sent to Holland or elsewhere, keeps the

keys of all the magazines, and every officer in the service of the

Company makes a report to him daily of every thing committed to their

charge. He has the supreme direction of every thing relative to the

trade and commerce of the Company, both at Batavia and all other

places; and the members of all the factories belonging to the Company

are accountable to him for their conduct.

The third person in the government is the Major-general, who has the

command of all the forces under the governor-general. The number of

regular troops in the service of the Company throughout the Indies may

be about 12,000 men, exclusive of the militia, which amount to about

100,000 more, and are well disciplined, and always called out in time

of danger. The entire military and naval strength of the Company by

land and sea is about 25,000 men, including officers, soldiers,

and sailors. For the support of its commerce, the Company keeps

in constant employment about 180 ships, of from 30 to 60 pieces of

cannon, and in cases of emergency are able at any time to fit out

forty of the largest size.

The ecclesiastical government at Batavia, or consistory, consists of

eleven persons; viz. the five ministers of the two Dutch churches in

the city, and that in the citadel, besides the minister who resides

in the island of _Ourust_, together with the three ministers of the

Portuguese churches, and the two belonging to the Malay church. These

last five are all Dutchmen-born, though they preach in the Portuguese

and Malay languages. As it is deemed necessary that the state should

be informed of all that passes among their clergy, the eleventh person

is nominated by the government, whose especial business is to see

that they do nothing contrary to the laws or to the regulations of the

Company. Besides these, the consistory also consists of eight elders

and twenty deacons. One principal branch of business confided to the

consistory, is to provide ministers for the subordinate governments;

where they are relieved after a certain term of years, and either

return to Batavia or to Holland, to enjoy the fruits of their labours.

Our author relates that one of these ministers went home in the same

ship with him, who had made such good use of his time, that he bought

a _noble fief_ on his return, and became a man of quality. In

the smaller places belonging to the Company, where there are no

established ministers, an itinerant is sent once in three or four

years, to marry, baptize, and dispense the communion; which is

necessary, since the synods do not permit the propagation of any other

except the reformed religion in the territories of the Company.

For a long time the Lutherans have solicited for permission to have a

church in Batavia, but have constantly been refused, though certainly

a just and reasonable demand, especially in a place where Mahomedans

and Pagans are freely tolerated in the exercise of their religion,

and where the Chinese are even permitted to worship the devil.

This ecclesiastical consistory has also dependent upon it all the

schoolmasters, consolators of the sick, and catechists. Of these last

there are many in the service of the Company in their ships; their

duty being to say prayers every day, and to instruct such as embrace

the Christian religion; and as they are mostly natives, and speak

several languages, they are the better able to give instructions, and

to teach the confession of faith to so many different nations. Such

as are converted are baptized and receive the communion; and, for the

better preservation of uniformity in doctrine, an annual visitation of

all the new converts is made by the ministers. In consequence of

these regulations, the reformed religion has made amazing progress,

especially among the blacks, of whom our author says he has seen 150

at a time present themselves to receive baptism. This however is not

rashly granted, as all who receive it must be well instructed, and be

able to make their confession of faith. The Chinese are well known

to be so obstinately addicted to their great Confucius, as not to be

easily induced to embrace any other religion; yet some even of them

from time to time have abjured their idolatry, and embraced the

protestant faith. Yet our author seems to doubt their sincerity,

alleging that the Chinese are seldom sincere in any thing; and he

tells us, that a Chinese, on renouncing idolatry; said he was about to

embrace the religion of the Company.

The country around Batavia is extremely beautiful, and it may be said

that nature and art seem to strive which shall have the greatest share

in adorning it. The air is sweet and mild, the land extremely fertile,

and the face of the country finely diversified with hills and vallies,

all laid out in regular plantations, beautiful canals, and whatever

can contribute to render the country pleasant and agreeable. The

island of Java is about 300 leagues in circumference, divided into

several kingdoms and principalities, all dependent upon the emperor

who resides at _Kattasura_, except the kings of Bantam and Japara,[2]

who do not acknowledge his authority. The country produces in

abundance all the necessaries of life, as also great quantities of

those valuable productions which form its commerce. It is interspersed

by many mountains, rivers, and woods, to all of which nature has

bestowed her treasures with a bountiful hand. There are gold-mines in

some parts of the country, and for some years the government caused

the mountains of _Parang_ to be wrought, in hopes of reaping profit;

but, after expending a million, the marcasites were found not to

be fully ripened.[3] Those who directed this enterprise were much

censured, and the works have been long discontinued. Some are

thoroughly satisfied that the natives find considerable quantities

of gold in several places, which they carefully conceal from the

knowledge of the Dutch. During the last war in Java, which continued

from 1716 to 1721, the inhabitants of some parts of the country were

so often plundered that they were reduced to absolute beggary; yet,

after a year's peace, they were observed to have grown excessively

rich, having plenty of gold, both in dust and ingots.

[Footnote 2: There is some strange error here, which we do not presume

to correct or explain. In the former section, the king of _Japara_ is

said to reside chiefly at _Kattasura_, which in the present instance

is said to be the residence of the emperor. In an after division of

this collection, more ample and distinct accounts will be found of

this rich island, now subject to Britain.--E.]

[Footnote 3: In plain English, the mineral, or ore, was so poor as not

to defray the expence of extracting the metal.--E.]

The mountains of Java are very high, so that many of them can be seen

at the distance of thirty or forty leagues. That which is called the

_Blue Mountain_ is by far the highest, being seen from the greatest

distance at sea. Java is subject to frequent and terrible earthquakes,

which the inhabitants believe are caused by the mountain of Parang,

which is full of sulphur, salt-petre, and bitumen, which take fire by

their intestine commotions, causing a prodigious struggle within the

bowels of the earth, whence proceeds the earthquake; and they assert

that it is common, after an earthquake, to see a vast cloud of smoke

hanging over the top of that mountain. About thirty years before

Roggewein was in Batavia, Mynheer Ribeck, then governor-general, went

with many attendants to the top of this mountain, where he perceived

a large cavity, into which he caused a man to be let down, to examine

the inside. On his return, this man reported that the mountain was

all hollow within, that he heard a most frightful noise of torrents of

water on every side, that he here and there saw flames bursting out,

so that he was afraid of going far, from apprehension of either being

stifled by the noxious vapours, or falling into one of the chasms. The

waters in the neighbourhood of this mountain are unwholesome, and even

those in the neighbourhood of Batavia are impregnated with sulphur,

those who drink much of them being liable to several disorders,

particularly the dysentery. But when boiled, their water is entirely

freed from the sulphur, and does no manner of harm, though drank

copiously.

The fruits and plants of Java are excellent and numberless. Among

these the cocoa-nut tree is by far the most valuable, as besides

its fruit already described, the bark makes a kind of hemp which is

manufactured into good ropes and cables; the timber serves to build

houses and ships, and the leaves serve to cover the former. It is said

that the father of a family in this country causes a cocoa-nut tree

to be planted at the birth of each of his children, by which each may

always know his own age, as this tree has a circle rising yearly on

its stem, so that its age may be known by counting these circles: and

when any one asks a father the ages of his children, he sends them to

look at his cocoa trees.

There are numerous woods or forests in different parts of the

island, in which are abundance of wild beasts, as buffaloes, tigers,

rhinoceroses, and wild horses. These also abound in serpents, some

of which are of prodigious size. Crocodiles are numerous and large in

this island, being mostly found about the mouths of the rivers; and,

being amphibious animals, delight much in marshes and savannahs. Like

the tortoise, this creature deposits its eggs in the hot sands,

taking no farther care of them, and the sun hatches them in the proper

season, when they immediately betake themselves to the water. A short

time before the arrival of Roggewein at Batavia, a crocodile was

taken in the mouth of the river to the east of the city, upwards of

thirty-three feet long, and proportionally large. They have fowls of

all kinds, and exquisitely good; particularly peacocks, partridges,

pheasants, and wood-pigeons. The Indian bat is a great curiosity,

differing little in form from ours, but its extended wings measure a

full yard, and its body is as large as a rat.

There are great numbers of excellent fish of different sorts to be had

in the adjoining sea, and so plentiful and cheap that as much may be

bought for three-pence as will dine six or seven men. Tortoises or

sea-turtle also are abundant, their flesh resembling veal, and there

are many persons who think it much better. The flat country round

Batavia abounds in all kinds of provisions; and to prevent all danger

of scarcity, vessels belonging to the Company are continually employed

in bringing provisions, spiceries, and all other necessaries, from the

most distant parts of the island, together with indigo, rice, pepper,

cardamoms, coffee, and the like. In the magazines and store-houses,

there are always vast quantities of rich and valuable commodities, not

of Java only, but of all parts of India, ready to be transported to

other parts of the Company's dominions, in the ships which return

annually to Holland.

The homeward-bound ships sail five times every year from Batavia. The

first fleet sails in July, generally consisting of four or five sail,

which touch on their way at the island of Ceylon. The second, of six

or seven vessels, sails in September. The third usually consists

of from sixteen to twenty ships, and leaves Batavia in October. The

fourth, of four or five vessels, sails in January. And the fifth,

being only a single ship, generally sails in March, but not till the

arrival of the fleet from China which brings the tea, of which the

principal part of the cargo of this ship consists, wherefore it is

usually called the _tea-ship_: The common people call it also the

_book-ship_ as it carries home the current account of the whole year,

by which the Company is enabled to judge of the state of its trade

in India. It is to be observed that these ships, laden with the rich

commodities of many countries, all sail from this single port of

Batavia; the ships from Mokha which carry coffee, being the only

vessels in the service of the Dutch East India Company that are

allowed to proceed directly home without going to Batavia.

SECTION IX.

_Description of Ceylon._

The next best government belonging to the Dutch East India Company,

after Batavia, is that of the island of Ceylon. The governor of this

island is generally a member of the council of the Indies, and has

a council appointed to assist him, framed after the model of that in

Batavia, only that the members are not quite such great men. Though

the governor of Ceylon be dependent upon the Council of the Indies at

Batavia, he is at liberty to write directly to the directors of

the Company in Holland, without asking permission from the

governor-general, or being obliged to give any account of his conduct

in so doing. This singular privilege has had bad effects, having even

tempted some governors of Ceylon to endeavour to withdraw themselves

from their obedience to the Company, in order to become absolute

sovereigns of the island. There have been many examples of this kind,

but it may be sufficient to mention the two last, owing to the

tyranny of two successive governors, Vuist and Versluys, which made a

considerable noise in Europe.

When Mr Rumpf left the government of Ceylon, his immediate successor,

Mr Vuist, began to act the tyrant towards all who were not so

fortunate as to be in his good graces, persecuting both Europeans and

natives. Having from the beginning formed the project of rendering

himself an independent sovereign, he pursued his plan steadily, by

such methods as seemed best calculated to insure success. He thought

it necessary in the first place to rid himself of the richest persons

in the island, and of all having the reputation of wisdom, experience,

and penetration. In order to save appearances, and to play the

villain with an air of justice, he thought it necessary to trump up a

pretended plot, and caused informations to be preferred against such

persons as he intended to ruin, charging them with having entered into

a conspiracy to betray the principal fortresses of the island into the

hands of some foreign power. This scheme secured him in two ways, as

it seemed to manifest his great zeal for the interest of the Company,

and enabled him to convict those he hated of high treason, and to

deprive them at once of life and fortune. To manage this the more

easily, he contrived to change the members of his council, into

which he brought creatures of his own, on whose acquiescence in his

iniquities he could depend upon. The confiscations of the estates and

effects of a number of innocent persons whom he had murdered by these

false judicial proceedings, gave him the means of obliging many, and

gained him numerous dependants.

Vuist was born in India of Dutch parents, and had a strong natural

capacity which had been improved by assiduous application to his

studies. His dark brow, and morose air, shewed the cruelty of his

disposition: Yet he loved and protected the Indians, either from a

natural disposition, or because he deemed them fit instruments to

forward his designs. In order to gain the natives in his interest, he

preferred them to many vacant offices under his government, in direct

opposition to repeated instructions from the Company, to bestow the

principal offices on Dutchmen or other Europeans. After carrying on

his designs with much dexterity, and having acquired by gifts a vast

number of dependants, ready to support his purposes, some of the

faithful servants of the Company sent such clear and distinct

information of his proceedings to Holland, as sufficiently evinced his

real intentions, in spite of all his arts to conceal them. At length

the Company sent out Mr Versluys to supersede him in the government

of Ceylon, with orders to send him prisoner to Batavia. As soon as he

arrived there, abundance of informations were preferred against him,

for a variety of crimes both of a private and public nature, into

all of which the council of justice made strict inquisition, and were

furnished with abundant proofs of his guilt. In the end, he freely

confessed that he had caused nineteen innocent persons to be put to

death, having put them all to the torture, extorting from all of them

confessions of crimes which they had never even dreamt of committing.

He was accordingly sentenced to be broken alive on the wheel, his body

to be quartered, and his quarters burnt to ashes and thrown into the

sea.

Such was the deserved end of the traitor and tyrant Vuist; yet

Versluys, who was sent expressly to amend what the other had done

amiss, and to make the people forget the excesses of his predecessor

by a mild and gentle administration, acted perhaps even worse than

Vuist. Versluys was by no means of a cruel disposition, wherefore,

strictly speaking, he shed no blood, yet acted as despotically and

tyrannically as the other, though with more subtilty and under a

fairer appearance. His great point was not the absolute possession of

the country, but to possess himself of all that it contained of value.

For this purpose, immediately on getting possession of the government,

he raised the price of rice, the bread of the country, to so

extravagant a height that the people in a short time were unable

to purchase it, and were soon reduced to beggary and a starving

condition. Their humble representations of the great and general

misery which reigned among all ranks of people throughout the island

made no impression on his avaricious disposition; but all things went

on from bad to worse, till an account of his nefarious conduct was

transmitted to Holland. When informed of the distressed situation of

the inhabitants of Ceylon, the States-general sent out Mr Doembourgh

as governor, with orders to repair all past errors, and to treat the

natives with all possible tenderness and indulgence. On his arrival,

Versluys, after beggaring the whole nation, took it into his head that

they would defend him against his masters, and absolutely refused to

resign the government; and had even the insolency to fire upon

the Company's ships as they lay at anchor in the road of Columbo.

Doembourgh, however, immediately landed, and his authority was readily

recognised by all the Company's servants, and submitted to by the

people. He caused Versluys to be immediately arrested and sent to

Batavia, where a long criminal process was instituted against him, but

which was not concluded when our author left India.

Of all the Asiatic islands, Ceylon is perhaps the fairest and most

fertile. It lies to the S.E. of the peninsula of India on this side of

the Ganges, between the latitudes of 5° 30' and 9° N. and between

the longitudes of 79° 45' and 82° 12' E. so that it extends 70 marine

leagues from N. to S. and 49 leagues from E. to W. It is so fertile

and delicious, that many have believed it to have been the seat of the

terrestrial paradise; and the natives certainly believe this, for they

pretend to shew the tomb of Adam, and the print of his foot on the

mountain named the Peak of Adam,[1] one of the highest mountains

in the world. On another mountain there is a salt-lake, which the

inhabitants affirm was filled by the tears shed by Eve, while she wept

incessantly an hundred years for the death of Abel.

[Footnote 1: This gross absurdity is not worth contesting; but the

fact is, that the real natives, the idolaters of the interior, refer

both the tomb and the footmark to their false god, or lawgiver,

Bodh.--E.]

The principal places in Ceylon are Jafnapatam, Trinkamaly, Baracola,

Punta de Galla, Columbo, Negombo, Sitavaca, and Candy. The Dutch East

India Company are possessed of all the coasts of the island, and ten

or twelve leagues within the land, and most of the before-mentioned

towns, except the two last. While the Portuguese had possession, they

built abundance of forts for their security, so that the Dutch found

it a difficult matter to dislodge them; but having contracted a secret

treaty with the king of Candy, the Portuguese were attacked on all

sides, by sea and land, and were driven by degrees out of all their

possessions. Since then, the Dutch have taken much pains to cultivate

a good understanding with that native sovereign, from whom they have

obtained almost every thing they demanded. They send every year an

ambassador to him with various presents; in return for which his

Candian majesty sends to the company a casket of jewels, of such value

that the ship which carries it home is reckoned to be worth half the

fleet.

Punta de Galle and Columbo are the two principal places in the

island, the latter being the residence of the governor, and the other,

properly speaking, is only the port of that city. Though extremely

hot, the air of Ceylon is reckoned healthy, and the country abounds

with excellent fruits of many kinds. The sea and the rivers afford

plenty of various kinds of fish. There are also on the land great

abundance of fowls, both wild and tame, and many wild animals,

particularly elephants that are larger than any other country in Asia,

also tygers, bears, civet cats, monkeys, and others. _Cinnamon_ is the

production for which this island is peculiarly famous, as that which

is procured here is estimated far superior to any other. The Dutch

East India Company have the entire monopoly not only of this, but of

all the other spices, with which they supply all parts of the world.

Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tree resembling the orange, the

flowers of which very much resemble those of the laurel both in size

and figure. There are three sorts of cinnamon. The finest is taken

from young trees; a coarser sort from the old ones; and the third is

the _wild cinnamon_, or cassia, which grows not only in Ceylon, but

in Malabar and China, and of late years in Brazil. The company also

derives great profit from an essential oil drawn from cinnamon, which

sells at a high price; and it also makes considerable gain by the

precious stones found in this island, being rubies, white and blue

sapphires, topazes, and others.

Off the coast of this island, at Manaar and Tutecorin, there is a fine

pearl fishery, which brings in a large revenue, being let twice a-year

in farm to certain black merchants. The oysters are at the bottom of

the sea, and the fishery is only carried on in fine weather, when the

sea is perfectly calm. The diver has one end of a rope fastened round

his body below the arm-pits, the other end being tied to the boat,

having a large stone tied to his feet, that he may descend the

quicker, and a bag tied round his waist to receive the oysters. As

soon as he gets to the bottom of the sea, he takes up as many oysters

as are within his reach, putting them as fast as possible into the

bag; and in order to ascend, pulls strongly at a cord, different from

that which is round his body, as a signal for those in the boat to

haul him up as fast as they can, while he endeavours so shake loose

the stone at his feet. When the boats are filled with oysters, the

black merchants carry them to different places on the coast, selling

them at so much the hundred; which trade is hazardous for the

purchasers, who sometimes find pearls of great value, and sometimes

none at all, or those only of small value.

The inhabitants of Ceylon are called _Cingolesians_, or Cingalese, who

are mostly very tall, of a very dark complexion, with very large ears,

owing to the numerous large and heavy ornaments they wear in them.

They are men of great courage, and live in a hardy manner, and

are therefore excellent soldiers. They are, for the most part,

Mahomedans,[2] though there are many idolaters among them who worship

cows and calves. The inhabitants of the interior do not greatly

respect the Dutch, whom they term their _coast-keepers_, in derision;

but the Dutch care little about this, endeavouring to keep in good

correspondence with the king of Candy, whose dominions are separated

from theirs by a large rapid river, and by impenetrable forests. The

Ceylonese are remarkable for their great skill in taming elephants,

which they employ as beasts of burden in time of peace, and render

serviceable against their enemies in war.

[Footnote 2: The author has probably confounded the original natives

of Ceylon, who are idolaters, with the Malays, who are Mahomedans, and

of whom a considerable number are settled on the coast country.--E.]

SECTION X.

_Some Account of the Governments of Amboina, Banda, Macasser, the

Moluccas, Mallacca, and the Cape of Good Hope._

The third government under the East India Company is that of Amboina,

one of the Molucca islands, which was formerly the seat of the

governor-general till the building of Batavia, when it was transferred

there on account of its advantageous situation, in the centre of the

company's trade and settlements, while Amboina lay too far to the

east. The island of Java also is vastly more fertile than Amboina,

producing all the necessaries of life in abundance, so that it has

no dependence for provisions on any other country, while they had

provisions to search for in all other places, at the time when the

government was established at Amboina. This island is one of the

largest of the Moluccas, being situated in the _Archipelago of St

Lazarus_, in lat. 3 40' S. and long. 128° 30' E. 21° 30' or 430 marine

leagues east from Batavia. It was conquered in 1519 by the Portuguese,

who built a fort there to keep the inhabitants under subjection, and

to facilitate the conquest of all the adjacent islands. This fort was

taken by the Dutch in 1605, but they did not entirely reduce the whole

island of Amboina and the neighbouring islands till 1627, by which

conquest they acquired entire possession of the clove trade, whence

these islands are termed the _gold-mine_ of the company, owing to the

vast profit they draw from them, and it is so far superior to

other gold-mines, that there is no fear of these islands being ever

exhausted of that commodity. A pound weight of cloves or nutmegs, for

the company has the entire monopoly of both, does not in fact cost the

company much more than a half-penny, and every one knows at what rate

the spices are sold in Europe. Amboina is the centre of all this rich

commerce; and to keep it more effectually in the hands of the company,

all the clove-trees in the other islands are grubbed up and destroyed;

and sometimes, when the harvest is very large at Amboina, a part even

of its superfluous produce is burnt.

This valuable spice grows only in Amboina and the other five Molucca

islands, and in the islands of Meao, Cinomo, Cabel, and Marigoran. The

Indians call cloves _calafoor_, while the inhabitants of the Moluccas

call them _chinke_. The clove-tree is much like the laurel, but its

leaves are narrower, resembling those of the almond and willow. Even

the wood and leaves taste almost as strong as the cloves themselves.

These trees bear a great quantity of branches and flowers, and each

flower produces a single clove. The flowers are at first white, then

green, and at last grow red and pretty hard, and are properly the

cloves. While green, their smell is sweet and comfortable, beyond all

other flowers. When ripe, the cloves are of a yellow colour, but

after being gathered and dried, they assume a smoky and black hue. In

gathering, they tie a rope round each bough, and strip off the whole

of its produce by force, which violence injures the tree for the next

year, but it bears more than ever in the following season. Others beat

the trees with long poles, as we do walnut-trees, when the cloves fall

down on cloths spread on the ground to receive them. The trees

bear more fruit than leaves, the fruit hanging from the trees like

cherries. Such cloves as are sold in the Indies are delivered just as

procured from the trees, mixed with their stalks, and with dust and

dirt; but such as are to be transported to Holland are carefully

cleaned and freed from the stalks. If left ungathered on the tree,

they grow large and thick, and are then termed _mother-cloves_, which

the Javanese value more than the others, but the Dutch prefer the

ordinary cloves.

No care is ever taken in propagating or planting clove-trees, as the

cloves which fall to the ground produce them in abundance, and the

rains make them grow so fast that they give fruit in eight years,

continuing to bear for more than an hundred years after. Some are of

opinion that the clove-tree does not thrive close to the sea, nor when

too far removed; but seamen who have been on the island assert that

they are found everywhere, on the mountains, in the vallies, and

quite near the sea. They ripen from the latter end of August to the

beginning of January. Nothing whatever grows below or near these

trees, neither grass, herb, or weed, as their heat draws all the

moisture and nourishment of the soil to themselves. Such is the hot

nature of cloves, that when a sackful of them is laid over a vessel

of water, some of the water is very soon wasted, but the cloves are no

way injured. When a pitcher of water is left in a room in which cloves

are cleaned, all the water is consumed in two days, although even the

cloves have been removed. Cloves are preserved in sugar, forming an

extraordinary good confection. They are also pickled. Many Indian

women chew cloves to give them a sweet breath. A very sweet-smelling

water is distilled from green cloves, which is excellent for

strengthening the eyes, by putting a drop or two into the eyes. Powder

of cloves laid upon the head cures the headache; and used inwardly,

increases urine, helps digestion, and is good against a diarrhoea, and

drank in milk, procures sleep.

A few days after the cloves are gathered, they are collected together

and dried before the fire in bundles, by which operation they lose

their natural beautiful red colour, changing into a deep purple or

black. This is perhaps partly owing to their being sprinkled with

water, which is said to be necessary for preventing worms from getting

into them. Those persons who are sent for this commodity in the

company's ships, practise a fraud of this nature, in order to conceal

their thefts: For, having abstracted a certain quantity or proportion

from the cloves received on board, they place two or three hogsheads

of sea-water among those remaining, which is all sucked up in a few

days by the cloves, which that recover their former weight. By this

contrivance, the captain and merchant or supercargo agreeing

together, find a way to cheat the company out of part of this valuable

commodity. Yet this fraud, though easy and expeditious, is extremely

dangerous as when detected it is invariably punished with death,

and the company never want spies. Owing to this, cloves are commonly

enough called galgen kruid, or gallows-spice, as frequently bringing

men to an ill end.

The king of Amboina has a pension from the company, and a guard of

European soldiers, maintained at its expence. The inhabitants of the

island are of middle stature, and of black complexions, being all

extremely lazy and given to thieving; yet some of them are very

ingenious, and have a singular art of working up the cloves while

green into a variety of curious toys, as small ships or houses,

crowns, and such like, which are annually sent to Europe as presents,

and are much esteemed. Those of the Amboinese who acknowledge the

authority of the king are Mahomedans, but there are many idolaters who

live in the mountains, and maintain their independence, considering

themselves as free men, but the king and the Hollanders reckon them

savages; and as they are guilty of frequent robberies and murders,

they are always reduced to slavery when caught, and are treated with

the utmost rigour, and employed in the hardest labour. On this

account a most excessive hatred subsists between them and the other

inhabitants of the island, with whom they are perpetually at war,

and to whom they hardly ever give quarter. Their arms are bucklers;

swords, and javelins or pikes.

The garrison kept in the fort of Amboina is numerous, and constantly

maintained in excellent order, being composed of the best troops in

the company's service. The fort is so strong, both by nature and

art, as to be reckoned impregnable, and so effectually commands the

harbour, that no vessel can possibly go in or out without being sunk

by its cannon. Although the rich commerce in cloves might make a

sufficient return to the company for the charges of this island, yet

of late years coffee has been ordered to be cultivated here, and

is likely to turn out to advantage. While this island was under

the government of Mr Barnard, it was discovered that considerable

quantities of gold-dust were washed down by the torrents in some parts

of the mountains, and by tracing up the auriferous streams to their

sources, the mine has at last been found. Amboina also produces a red

kind of wood, which is both beautiful and durable, and is naturally

embellished in its grain with abundance of curious figures. Of this

wood they make tables, cabinets, writing-desks, and other beautiful

pieces of furniture, which are sent as presents to the principal

persons in the government, the rest being sold at extravagant prices

all over India.

The fourth government under the company is _Banda_, an island about

fifty leagues from Amboina towards the east, and to the southward

of the Moluccas. The governor, who is generally an eminent merchant,

resides at _Nera_, the capital of the country, and has several other

neighbouring islands under his jurisdiction, in the government of

all which he is assisted by a council, as at Amboina. In some

representations sent home, and published by the company, this island

is set forth as being very expensive to the company, and so thinly

inhabited as to take off very little goods, while it is so barren as

to require large supplies of provisions. All this is pure artifice;

for, though Banda is a very small island in comparison with Amboina,

being only about twelve leagues in circumference, it certainly affords

as great profits, which arise from the important commerce in nutmegs,

which grow here in such prodigious quantities as to enable the Dutch

company to supply all the markets in Europe.

This admirable and much-valued fruit grows in no other part of the

world except Banda and a few other small islands in its neighbourhood,

named Orattan, Guimanasa, Wayer, Pulo-wai, and Pulo-rion. The

nutmeg-tree is much like a peach-tree, but the leaves are shorter and

rounder. The fruit is at first covered by two skins or shells, the

outer one being tough and as thick as one's finger, which falls off

when the fruit ripens. This outer rind when candied has a fine taste

and flavour. When this falls off, the next is a fine smooth skin or

peel, which is the mace, or flower of the nutmeg; and below this is a

harder and blackish shell, much like that of a walnut; and on opening

this shell, the nutmeg is found within, being the kernel. The mace is

at first of a fine scarlet colour; but, when ripe, it falls off the

shell, and is then of an orange colour, as it comes to Europe. They

preserve whole nutmegs in sugar, which make the best sweetmeat in

India. The Bandanese call nutmegs _palla_, and mace _buaa-palla_.

There are two sorts of nutmegs; the one being of a long shape, called

males, and the other round and reddish, called females, which latter

have better taste and flavour than the other. When gathered and the

mace carefully preserved, the shells are removed and the nutmegs

dried, being first thrown among quicklime, as otherwise worms would

breed in and destroy them.

There are several islands in the neighbourhood of Banda in which the

nutmeg-trees grow, but these are carefully destroyed every year, which

at first sight may seem extraordinary, as, if once destroyed, one

would imagine they would never grow again. But they are annually

carried by birds to these islands. Some persons allege that the birds

disgorge them undigested, while others assert that they pass through

in the ordinary manner, still retaining their vegetative power. This

bird resembles a cuckoo, and is called the nutmeg-gardener by the

Dutch, who prohibit their subjects from killing any of them on pain

of death. The nutmeg is a sovereign remedy for strengthening the

brain and memory, for warming the stomach, sweetening the breath,

and promoting urine; it is also good against flatulence, diarrhoea,

head-ach, pain of the stomach, heat of the liver, and amenorrhoea.

Oil of nutmegs is a powerful cordial. Mace is an effectual remedy

for weakness of the stomach, helps digestion, expels bad humours,

and cures flatulence. A plaister of mace and nutmegs in powder,

and diluted with rose-water, greatly strengthens the stomach. Being

peculiar to Banda, merchants from Java, Malucca, China, and all parts

of the Indies, come to Nera and the other towns of Banda to purchase

mace and nutmegs; and immediately on their arrival, they all purchase

wives to keep house for them and dress their victuals during their

stay, which is usually two or three months, and when they go away

again, they give liberty to these temporary wives to go where they

please.

The island of Banda is very hilly, yet fertile, the government

among the natives being a kind of commonwealth, administered by the

Mahomedan priests, who are very strict and severe. The population

of the whole island may be about 12,000 persons of all ages, of whom

about 4000 are fighting men. It is so well fortified as to be deemed

impregnable, yet there is always a numerous squadron of small vessels

on the coast for farther security. The garrison is numerous, but in

a worse condition than those of any other garrison, belonging to the

company, owing to the scarcity of victuals, as the island is of a

barren sandy soil,[1] wherefore the soldiers eat dogs, cats, and

any other animal they can find. For six months of the year they have

tolerable abundance of turtle or sea-tortoises, and after this they

are glad to get a little sorry fish, now and then. Their bread is made

from the juice of a tree, which resembles the grounds of beer when

first drawn, but grows as hard as a stone when dried: Yet, when put

into water, it swells and ferments, and so becomes fit to eat, at

least in this country, where nothing else is to be had.[2] Butter,

rice, dried fish, and other provisions, are all imported from Batavia,

and are much too dear to be purchased by the soldiers, at least in any

great plenty. Thus the inhabitants are none of the happiest; but, to

do them justice, they live fully as well as they deserve, as there is

not an honest man on the island.

[Footnote 1: This is contradictory, having been before described as

hilly, yet fertile.--E.]

[Footnote 2: This account of the matter is not easily understood, and

seems to want confirmation. Perhaps it is an ignorant or perverted

report of sago: Yet there may possibly be some tree or plant affording

a considerable quantity of fecula or starch by expression.--E.]

According to the Dutch, the original natives of this island were so

cruel, perfidious and intractable, that they were forced to root them

out in a great measure for their own security, and to send a Dutch

colony to occupy the island: But such a colony as has not much mended

the matter, being entirely composed of a rascally good-for-nothing

people, who were either content to come, or were sentenced to be sent

here, almost to starve, not being able to live elsewhere. Their misery

at this place does not continue long, as they are usually soon carried

off by the dry gripes or twisting of the guts, which is the endemic,

or peculiar disease of the country. Hence, and because wild young

fellows are sometimes sent here by their relations, the Dutch at

Batavia usually call this _Verbeetering Island_, or the Island of

Correction.

Macasser, or the island of Celebes, is considered as the fourth best

government after Batavia. This island lies between Borneo and the

Moluccas, 260 leagues or 13° E. from Batavia. It is a singularly

irregular island, consisting in a manner of four long peninsular

processes, two projecting eastwards, and two towards the south,

reaching from lat. 1° 30' N. to 5° 45' S. and from long. 119° to 125°

20', both E. It is called, and with great reason, the key of the spice

islands, and the form of its government is much the same as in the

other islands, consisting of a governor and council. Since the Dutch

conquered these islands from the Portuguese, they have carefully

fortified the sea-coast, and have always a very numerous garrison

in the fort of Macasser, where the governor resides; which is

particularly necessary, as the island is very populous, and the

natives are beyond comparison the bravest and best soldiers in India.

This nation long gave inexpressible trouble to the Dutch, but was at

length, subdued, and stands now in as much awe of the company as any

other nation: But, till very lately, the expences of the troops at

this place were so large, that the company derived very little gain

from the conquest, although the slave-trade here is very profitable.

Before the last Macasser war, which ended in the entire subjugation of

the prince of this country, he was able to procure great quantities

of mace, nutmegs, and cloves, which he sold to the English and other

nations, at much more reasonable rates than they could procure them

from the Dutch. For which reason the Dutch were at great pains and

expence to reduce this island to entire subjection, that it might

become the bulwark of the Moluccas, and secure their monopoly of the

spice-trade: But, for similar reasons, the other European powers ought

to have supported the king of Macasser in his independence. The

island of Celebes is very fertile, and produces abundance of rice, and

articles of great value in the Indies. The inhabitants are of middle

stature, and have yellow complexions, with good features, and are of

brisk and active dispositions: But are naturally thieves, traitors,

and murderers to such a degree, that it is not safe for an European to

venture beyond the walls of the fort after dark, or to travel at any

time far into the country, lest he be robbed and murdered. Yet many of

the natives live under the protection of the Dutch forts, being

free burgesses, who carry on considerable trade. There are also a

considerable number of Chinese residents, who sail from hence in

vessels of their own to all parts of the company's dominions, and who

acquire immense wealth by means of extensive commerce.

The inland country is under the dominion of three different princes,

who, fortunately for the Dutch, are in continual opposition to each

other; for, if united, they might easily drive the Dutch from the

island. One of these princes is styled the _Company's King_, as

he lives in good correspondence with the Dutch, and promotes their

interest as far as he can. On this account the Dutch make him presents

of considerable value from time to time, such as gold chains, golden

coronets set with precious stones, and the like, in order to keep him

steady in his allegiance, and to prevent him from uniting with the

other two princes of the island. Some little time before the arrival

of Roggewein at Batavia, a rich gold-mine was discovered in Celebes,

to which a director and a great number of workmen were sent from

Batavia; but how far this has been attended with success, our author

was unable to say.

_Ternate_ is the fifth government at the disposal of the company, and

the farthest east of all belonging to the Dutch dominions in India, so

that it is a kind of frontier. The governor is always a merchant, and

has a council, like all the others already mentioned. This is one of

the largest of the Molucca islands, and the king of Ternate is the

most valuable of all the allies of the company; as, although his

island would abound in cloves, he causes them to be rooted out

annually, for which the company allows him a pension of eighteen

or twenty thousand rix dollars yearly. He has likewise a numerous

life-guard, with a very strong fort well garrisoned, all at the

expence of the company. The kings of Tidore and Bachian are his

tributaries. Ternate is very fertile, and abounds in all sorts of

provisions, and in every thing that can contribute to the ease and

happiness of life, yet its commerce is of no great importance, hardly

amounting to as much as is necessary to defray the charges of the

government. It was at this time, however, expected to turn out to

better account, as a rich gold-mine had been recently discovered. The

natives are a middle-sized people, strong and active, more faithful

than their neighbours, and better affected towards the Europeans. In

religion they are mostly Mahometans or Pagans; but of late many of

them had become Christians, chiefly occasioned by their king having

declared himself of that religion, a point of great consequence

towards the conversion of the people. The inhabitants of Ternate

make a species of palm wine, called _Seggeweer_, which is excessively

strong. There are here many most beautiful birds, having feathers

of all sorts of colours, charmingly diversified, which are sent to

Batavia, where they are sold at high prices on account of their beauty

and docility, as they may be taught to sing finely, and to imitate the

human voice. Many Birds-of-Paradise are also brought from this island.

There are several sorts of these birds. The most common kind is

yellow, having small bodies, about eight inches long exclusive of the

tail, which is half a yard long, and sometimes more. The second kind

is red, the third blue, and the fourth black. These last are the

most beautiful and most in request, being called the King of the

Birds-of-Paradise. This kind has a crown or tuft of feathers on the

top of its head, which lies flat or is raised up at pleasure. In this

they resemble the _cadocus_ or cockatoo, a bird entirely white, with a

yellow crown on its head.

The sixth government is Malacca, which city is the capital of a

small kingdom of the same name, inhabited by Malayans or Malays. The

governor here is a merchant, and is assisted by a council like all the

others. This kingdom of Malacca is the south part of the peninsula of

India beyond the Ganges, being divided from the island of Sumatra by

a strait, named the strait of Malacca. This city is of considerable

size, and carries on an extensive commerce, for which it is admirably

situated, and is the storehouse or emporium of all that part of India.

It is also the rendezvous of all the homeward-bound ships from Japan,

which make at this place a distribution of their merchandise into

various assortments, which are sent from hence to all the settlements

of the company in India. It is however subject to the great

inconvenience of scarcity of provisions, having nothing of that kind

except various sorts of fish. The princes of the adjacent countries

and their subjects are all notorious pirates, and give much

disturbance to the trade of India; but are particularly inimical to

the Dutch company, and omit no opportunity of doing all the evil

in their power to its subjects. These people suffered formerly some

severe reverses from the Portuguese, who were formerly established

here, and since from their successors the Dutch, which has gradually

reduced their power, so that they are now much less able to carry

on their depredations. The natives of Malacca are of a very dark

complexion, but brisk and active, and greatly addicted to thieving.

Some are idolaters but they are mostly Mahometans.

When the Portuguese were masters of Malacca, they had no less than

three churches and a chapel within the fortress, and one on the

outside. That which is now used for worship by the Dutch stands

conspicuously on the top of a hill, and may be seen for a great

distance up or down the straits. It has a flag-staff on the top of its

steeple, where a flag is always displayed on seeing a ship. The fort

is large and strong. A third part of its walls is washed by the sea:

A deep, narrow, and rapid river covers its western side; and all the

rest is secured by a broad, deep ditch. The governor's house is both

beautiful and convenient, and there are several other good houses,

both in the fort and the town. But, owing to the shallowness of the

sea at this place, ships are obliged to ride above a league off,

which is a great inconvenience, as the fort is of no use to defend the

roads. The straits here are not above four leagues broad, and though

the opposite coast of Sumatra is very low, it may easily be seen in

a clear day: Hence the sea here is always quite smooth, except

in squalls of wind, which are generally accompanied with thunder,

lightning, and rain. These squalls, though violent, seldom last more

than an hour.

The country of Malacca produces nothing for exportation, except a

little tin and elephants teeth; but has several excellent fruits and

roots for the use of its inhabitants, and the refreshment of strangers

who navigate this way. The pine-apples of Malacca are esteemed the

best in the world, as they never offend the stomach; while those of

other places, if eaten in the smallest excess, are apt to occasion

surfeits. The _mangostein_ is a delicious fruit, almost in the shape

of an apple. Its skin is thick and red, and when dried is an excellent

astringent. The kernels, if they may be so called, are like cloves of

garlic, of a most agreeable taste, but very cold. The _rambostan_ is

a fruit about the size of a walnut, with a tough skin beset with

capillaments,[3] and the pulp within is very savoury.

[Footnote 3: This uncommon word is explained by Johnson, as "small

threads or hairs growing in the middle of flowers, adorned with little

knobs."--Here it may be supposed to mean that the fruit is hairy.--E.]

There is a high mountain to the N.E. of Malacca, whence several rivers

descend, that of Malacca being one of them, and all these have small

quantities of gold in their channels. The inland inhabitants, called

_Monacaboes_, are a barbarous and savage people, whose chief delight

is in doing injury to their neighbours. On this account, the peasantry

about Malacca sow no grain, except in inclosures defended by thickset

prickly hedges or deep ditches: For, when the grain is ripe in the

open plains, the Monacaboes never fail to set it on fire. These inland

natives are much whiter than the Malays of the lower country; and the

king of Johor, whose subjects they are or ought to be, has never been

able to civilize them.

When the Dutch finally attempted to conquer Malacca from the

Portuguese, in alliance with the king of Johor, and besieged it both

by sea and land, they found it too strong to be reduced by force, and

thought it would be tedious to reduce it by famine. Hearing that the

Portuguese governor was a sordid, avaricious wretch, much hated by the

garrison, they tampered with him by letters, offering him mountains of

gold to betray his trust, and at length struck a bargain with him for

80,000 dollars, and to convey him to Batavia. Having in consequence of

his treachery got into the fort, where they gave no quarter to any one

found in arms, they dispatched the governor himself, to save payment

of the promised bribe.

The seventh government bestowed by the company is that of the Cape of

Good Hope. The governor here is always one of the counsellors of the

Indies, and has a council to assist him. This colony was taken from

the Portuguese by the Dutch in 1653, and is justly esteemed one of the

most important places in the hands of the company, though the profits

derived from it are not comparable to what they derive from some of

the islands in the East Indies. Formerly things were still worse, as

the revenues of this settlement fell short of its expences. Yet the

company could hardly carry on the trade to India, were it not in

possession of this place, as here only the ships can meet with water

and other refreshments on the outward and homeward-bound voyages; and

these are indispensably necessary, especially for such ships as are

distressed with the scurvy. This place so abounds in all sorts of

provisions, that there never is any scarcity, notwithstanding the vast

yearly demand, and all ships putting in here are supplied at moderate

rates. These refreshments consist of beef, mutton, fowls, fruit,

vegetables, wine, and every thing, in short, that is necessary, either

for recovering the sick on shore, or recruiting the sea-stores for

the continuance of the voyage out or home. In the space of a year, at

least forty outward-bound ships touch here from Holland alone, and

in these there cannot be less than eight or nine thousand people. The

homeward-bound Dutch ships are not less than thirty-six yearly, in

which there are about three thousand persons; not to mention

foreign vessels, which likewise put in here, and have all kinds of

refreshments furnished to them at reasonable rates. There are almost

always some ships in this road, except in the months of May, June, and

July, when the wind usually blows with great violence at N.W. and then

the road is very dangerous.

SECTION XI.

_Account of the Directories of Coromandel, Surat, Bengal, and Persia._

Having now given a short view of the governments in the disposal of

the Dutch East-India Company, which are a kind of principalities, as

each governor, with the advice and assistance of his council, is a

kind of sovereign, and acts without controul through the whole extent

of his jurisdiction, we are now to consider the other establishments

of the company in India, for carrying on this extensive trade. In all

the countries where their affairs require it, they have factories, in

each of which there is a chief, with some title or other, having also

a council to assist him in regard to matters of policy or trade. Among

these, the directories of Coromandel, Surat, Bengal, and Persia are

all of great importance, and the direction of them is attended with

great profit. The directors have the same power with the governors,

within their respective jurisdictions; only that they cannot execute

any criminal sentences within the countries in which they reside, so

that all criminals are executed on board ship, under the flag of the

company.

The directory of Coromandel is the first of the four, and has all the

forts and factories belonging to the Dutch on that coast under

his jurisdiction. Besides Negapatnam, on the southernmost point of

Coromandel, and the fort of _Gueldria_, in which the director resides,

they have factories at Guenepatnam, Sadraspatnam, Masulipatnam,

Pelicol, Datskorom, Benlispatnam, Nagernauty, and Golconda. The Dutch

director is a principal merchant, and if he discharges his office with

reputation, he is commonly in a few years promoted to be one of

the counsellors of the Indies. It is not uncommon for a governor

or director in the Indies, in the space of a few years, to amass a

fortune equal to the original capital of the company, or six millions

and a half of guilders, or nearly £600,000 sterling.

Formerly, the country of Coromandel was divided into a great number of

principalities, and the little princes and chiefs imposed such heavy

duties, and gave such interruptions to trade in other respects, as

rendered the company very uneasy. But after the war of Golconda, which

cost the company a great deal of money, yet ended to their advantage,

these princes grow more tractable. At present, the kings of Bisnagar

and Hassinga,[1] who are the most powerful in Coromandel, live in

tolerably good terms with the Dutch and other European nations; the

English and Danes having also a share in Coromandel, with several good

fortresses for the protection of their trade.

[Footnote 1: This seems to be a misprint for Narsinga, otherwise the

Carnatic.--E.]

The great trade carried on here is in cotton goods, as muslins,

chintzes, and the like; in exchange for which the Dutch bring them

spices, Japan copper, steel, gold-dust, sandal and _siampan_ woods.

In this country, the inhabitants are some Pagans, some Mahomedans, and

not a few Christians. The country is very fertile in rice, fruits,

and herbs, and in every thing necessary to the support of man; but

the weather is exceedingly hot during the eastern monsoon. All the

manufactures of this country, purchased by the Dutch, are transported

first to Batavia, whence they are sent home to Holland, and are thence

distributed through all Germany and the north of Europe.

The second and third directories are established at Hoogly on the

Ganges, and at Surat on the western coast of India, both in the

territories of the Great Mogul, and the two most important places

of trade in all Asia. The Dutch, English, French, and other European

natives trade to both, and have erected forts and magazines for their

security and convenience. The best part of the trade is carried on by

black merchants, who deal in all sorts of rich goods; such as opium,

diamonds, rich stuffs, and all kinds of cotton cloths. The empire of

the Great Mogul is of prodigious extent, and the countries under his

dominion are esteemed the richest in the world. The air is tolerably

pure, yet malignant fevers are common, generally attacking strangers

as a kind of seasoning sickness, in which, if the patient escape the

third day, he generally recovers.

Most of the inhabitants of this country are tall black robust men, of

gay and lively dispositions. In point of religion, many of them are

idolaters, more of them Mahometans,[2] and some of them Christians.

The idolaters are split into numerous sects, some of whom believe

firmly in the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls; for which

reason they will not take away the life of any living creature, not

even daring to kill a fly or a flea. They have even hospitals for

worn-out oxen and old cows, where they are fed and attended till they

die of age or disease. These people are in general very industrious,

but covetous, false, and perfidious. They employ themselves, such as

reside in towns, in the manufactures of silk and cotton; and those

who live in the country are very diligent cultivators, so that they

annually expect from hence vast quantities of grain to Batavia.

[Footnote 2: This is an obvious mistake, as by far the greater part of

the population is idolatrous.--E.]

The Great Mogul is one of the richest and most powerful princes in the

world, having a most magnificent court, and a numerous army always

on foot. The directors at Bengal and Surat know perfectly well how

to deal with him, and, by making shewy presents, procure valuable

diamonds and other precious stones in return. Surat is a town of no

great antiquity, yet very large and immensely rich. It is in compass

about five miles within the walls, and is computed to contain about

200,000 inhabitants. The Moorish and even the Indian merchants

here are many of them prodigiously rich. The former chiefly addict

themselves to the diamond trade, which is very precarious; for

sometimes a small stock produces an immense fortune, while at other

times, a man wastes immense sums without finding stones of any great

value: For, at the diamond-mines, the adventurers purchase so many

yards square at a certain price, employing slaves to dig and lift the

earth, taking whatever stones are found in that spot; which sometimes

are of great value, and sometimes so few and small as not to pay

costs. Other Moorish merchants deal largely in foreign trade, and

as the Mogul is a very easy master, some of them acquire prodigious

wealth, and carry on commerce to such an extent as can scarce be

credited in Europe. About twenty years ago, [that is, about the year

1700,] there died a Moorish merchant at Surat, who used yearly to

fit out twenty sail of ships, from three to eight hundred tons, the

cargoes of each of which were in value from ten to twenty thousand

pounds, and who always retained goods in his warehouses equal in

value to what he sent away. The customs of Surat amount every year to

upwards of L. 160,000 sterling, and, as the merchants pay three per

cent. at a medium, the value of the goods must exceed five millions

yearly.

The fourth and last factory under a director, is that of Gambroon or

Bendar-abassi on the coast of Persia. The director here is always a

principal merchant, having a council and a fiscal to assist him. As

this city stands on the Persian gulf or sea of Basora, being the only

port of Persia on the Indian sea, and lies at a great distance from

Batavia, this direction is not so much sought after as others; and

besides, the heat at this place is greater than in any part of the

world, and the air is excessively unwholesome. To balance these

inconveniences, the director at Gambroon has an opportunity of making

a vast fortune in a short time, so that in general, in four or five

years, he has no farther occasion to concern himself in commerce.

There are several other European nations settled here besides the

Dutch, but they have by far the best factory, and have fortified it so

effectually, that the inhabitants of the neighbouring mountains, who

are a crew of bold and barbarous robbers, have never been able to gain

possession of it, though they have made frequent attempts. The king

of Persia, who reigned about 1722, came sometimes to Gambroon, and

distinguished the Dutch above the other European nations by many marks

of his favour, and by the grant of many privileges. Some time before

that period, he sent a gold saddle very richly wrought, and adorned

with precious stones, a present to the governor of Batavia, desiring

in return an European habit for himself and another for his queen.

Gambroon is a disagreeable place to live in, as in August it is

unbearably hot; and yet the winter is so cold that they wear English

cloth lined with furs. They have here beeves, sheep, goats, poultry,

and fish, all good of their kinds, and tolerably cheap. They have also

grapes, melons, and mangoes in the utmost perfection, and excellent

wine, which is esteemed superior to that of all other countries,

insomuch that it still preserves its flavour after being diluted with

four times its quantity of water. At the time when our author was in

India, intestine wars raged to such a degree in Persia, that a ship

had to be constantly stationed at Gambroon to bring off the factory,

in case of danger. Another inconvenience to the trade on this

coast proceeded from the multitude of pirates on those seas, mostly

Europeans, who, having run away with the ships of their owners,

subsisted by robbing all nations. Among these at this time was a stout

ship named the Hare, which had been sent from Batavia to Persia: But

the crew mutinied, and forced their officers to turn pirates. After

committing many depredations on this coast, they sailed to the

Red-Sea, where they attacked and plundered many Arabian pirates. At

length, being short of provisions, and not daring to put into any

port, they resolved to return; and finding themselves also in want

of water, they resolved to supply themselves at an island. With this

view, most of them crowded into the pinnace and put off from the ship,

which gave an opportunity to the officers to resume their authority;

wherefore they cut the cable, and brought the ship into the harbour

of Gambroon, by which means the ship and cargo were restored to the

Company.

In 1701, the Ballorches, who rebelled against the Shah, attempted

to make themselves masters of the English and Dutch factories at

Gambroon, with a body of four thousand men, but were beat off at both

places; but a warehouse belonging to the Dutch, at some distance from

the factory, fell into their hands, in which were goods to the value

of twenty thousand pounds. A short time afterwards, the famous rebel

_Meriweys_ made himself master of Ispahan, where he plundered both the

English and Dutch factories, taking from the former goods to the value

of half a million, and from the latter to the value of two hundred

thousand pounds.

SECTION XII.

_Account of the Commanderies of Malabar, Gallo, Java, and Bantam._

In such subordinate places as were not thought of sufficient

consequence to require a governor or director, the Dutch East India

Company has established another principal officer, with the title of

chief or commander. If the person entrusted with this authority be a

merchant, he is accountable for his conduct to the civil government,

but if a captain, to the military establishment. A chief or commander,

in conjunction with his council, has nearly the same authority with

a governor, except that he cannot execute any capital judgment on

criminals, till the case has been reviewed and confirmed by the

council at Batavia.

At the time when our author was in India, the commander at the fort of

Cochin on the Malabar coast, was Captain Julius de Golints, a native

of Mecklenburg, from whom he received great civilities. Malabar was

the first country discovered by the Portuguese in India, and in which

they established themselves, not without great effusion of blood, nor

were they many years in possession till they were driven out by the

Dutch. These conquerors, in their turn, found it very difficult to

support themselves against the natives, who attacked them with great

spirit and success, and had infallibly driven them out of the country,

but for the courage and conduct of Major John Bergman, who preserved

their establishments with much difficulty.

Though very warm, the climate of Malabar is very healthy, and the soil

is fertile in rice, fruit, and all sorts of herbs. It is divided into

many principalities, among which the following are reckoned kingdoms;

Cananore, Calicut, Cranganore, Cochin, Calicoulan, Porcaloulang, and

Travancore. As the capital of the Dutch possessions in Malabar was the

city of Cochin, it may be proper to describe this little kingdom as

at that period. It reaches from _Chitway_ in the north, and extends

twenty-four leagues to the southwards along the coast, being divided

into a multitude of small islands by the streams which descend from

the mountains of _Gatti_, [the Gauts.] These rivers have two great

or principal mouths, one at Cranganore in the north, and the other at

Cochin, in the south, distant thirty marine leagues from each other.

The Portuguese were the first European nation who settled here, where

they built a fine city on the river about three leagues from the sea;

but the sea has since so gained on the land, that it is now not above

an hundred paces from the city. This place is so pleasantly situated,

that the Portuguese had a common saying, "That China was a good place

to get money in, and Cochin a pleasant place to spend it at." The

great number of islands formed by the rivers and canals, make fishing

and fowling very amusing; and the mountains, which are at no great

distance, are well stored with wild game. On the island of _Baypin_

[Vaypen], there stands an old fort called _Pallapore_, for the purpose

of inspecting all boats that pass between Cranganore and Cochin:

And five leagues up the rivulets, there is a Romish church called

_Varapoli_ [Virapell], served by French and Italian priests, and at

which the bishop takes up his residence when he visits this part of

the country. The _padre_, or superior priest at Virapell can raise

four thousand men on occasion, all Christians of the church of Rome;

but there are many more Christians of the church of St Thomas, who do

not communicate with the Romanists.[1] About two leagues farther

up than Virapell, towards the mountains, there is a place called

_Firdalgo_,[2] on the side of a small but deep river, where the

inhabitants of Cochin annually resort in the hot months of April and

May to refresh themselves. The banks and bottom of the river here are

clean sand, and the water is so clear that a small pebble stone may be

seen at the bottom, in three fathoms water.

[Footnote 1: A very interesting account of the remnant of an ancient

Christian church in the Travancore country, a little to the southward

of Cochin, has been lately published by Dr Buchanan, in a work named

Christian Researches in India, which will be noticed more particularly

in an after division of our Collection.--E.]

[Footnote 2: Perhaps Bardello, about the distance mentioned in the

text.--E.]

All the water along this low flat coast, to the south of Cranganore,

has the very bad quality of occasioning swelled legs to those who

drink it. This disease sometimes only affects one leg, but sometimes

both, and the swelling is often so great as to measure a yard round at

the ancles. It occasions no pain, but great itching, neither does

the swelled leg feel any heavier than that which occasionally remains

unaffected. To avoid this disease, the Dutch who reside at Cochin,

send boats daily to Virapell, from which they bring water in small

casks of about ten or twelve gallons, to serve the city. This water is

given free to the servants of the Company, but private persons have to

pay six-pence for each cask-full, which is brought to their houses

at that price. Still, however, both Dutch men and women are sometimes

afflicted with this disease, and no means have hitherto been found

out for prevention or cure. The old legend imputes this disease to the

curse laid by St Thomas upon his murderers and their posterity, as

an odious mark to distinguish them: But St Thomas was slain by the

_Tilnigue_[3] priests at Miliapoor in Coromandel, above four hundred

miles from this coast; and the natives there have no touch of this

malady.

[Footnote 3: This word ought assuredly to have been Telinga.--E.]

Cochin is washed by the greatest outlet on this coast, and being

near the sea, its situation is strong by nature, but art has not been

wanting to strengthen it. As built by the Portugueze, it was a mile

and a half long by a mile in breadth. The Dutch took it in 1662, when

Heitloff van Chowz was commander of the forces by sea and land. The

insolence of the Portuguese had made several of the neighbouring

princes their enemies, who joined with the Dutch to drive them out of

that country, and the king of Cochin in particular assisted them with

twenty thousand men. Not long after the Dutch had invested the town,

Van Chowz received notice of a peace having been concluded between

Portugal and Holland, but kept the secret to himself and pushed on the

siege. Having made a breach in the weakest part of the fortifications,

he proceeded to a furious assault, which was kept up for eight days

and nights incessantly, relieving the assailants every three hours,

while the Portuguese were kept on continual duty the whole time, and

were quite worn out with fatigue. Finding the city in danger of being

taken by storm, the Portuguese at length capitulated and gave up the

place. There were at this time four hundred topasses in the garrison,

who had done good service to the Portuguese, but were not comprehended

in the capitulation. On discovering this omission, and knowing the

cruel and licentious character of the Dutch soldiery in India, they

drew up close to the gate at which the Portuguese were to march out,

and the Dutch to enter, declaring, unless they had equally favourable

terms granted them with the Portugueze, they would massacre them all,

and set fire to the town. The Dutch general not only granted them all

they asked, but even offered to take those who had a mind into the

Dutch pay, to which many of them assented. The very day after the

surrender, a frigate came from Goa, with the articles of peace, and

the Portuguese loudly complained of having been unfairly dealt with by

Van Chowz; but he answered, that the Portuguese had acted in the same

manner with the Dutch, only a few years before, in the capture of

Pernambuco in Brazil. The English had at that time a factory in

Cochin, but the Dutch ordered them immediately to remove with all

their effects, which they accordingly did to their factory at Paniany.

On gaining possession of Cochin, the Dutch thought it too extensive,

and therefore contracted it to the size it is now, being hardly a

tenth part of what it was before. It measures about 600 paces long,

by 200 in breadth, and is fortified with seven large bastions and

intermediate curtains, all the ramparts being so thick that they are

planted with double rows of trees, to give shade in the hot season.

Some of the streets built by the Portuguese still remain, together

with a church, which is now used for the Dutch worship, the cathedral

being converted into a warehouse. The house of the commandant is the

only one built in the Dutch fashion, which is so near the river that

the water washes some part of its walls. The flag-staff is placed on

the steeple of the old cathedral, on a mast seventy-five feet high,

above which is the staff, other sixty feet in length, so that the flag

may be seen above seven leagues off at sea. The garrison of Cochin

usually consists of three hundred men; and from Cape Comoras upwards,

in all their forts and factories, they have five hundred soldiers,

and an hundred seamen, all Europeans, besides some topasses and the

militia. They procure their store of rice from Barcelore, because the

Malabar rice will not keep above three months out of the husk,

though it will keep twelve with the husk on. This part of the country

produces great quantities of pepper, but it is lighter than that which

grows more to the northwards. The forests in the interior affords good

teak-wood for ship-building, and two woods, called _angelique_ and

_prospect_, which make beautiful chests and cabinets, which are sent

all over the coasts of western India. They have also iron and steel

in plenty, and bees-wax for exportation. The sea and the rivers afford

abundance of excellent fish of various kinds, which are sold very

cheap.

_Cranganore_, a little to the north of Cochin, stands upon a river

about a league from the sea, and at this place the Dutch have a

fort. This place is remarkable for having formerly been the seat of a

_Jewish government_, and that nation was once so numerous here as to

consist of 40,000 families, though now reduced to 4000. They have a

synagogue about two miles from the city of Cochin, not far from the

palace of the rajah, and in it they carefully preserve their records,

engraven upon plates of copper in the Hebrew language; and when any

of the characters decay, they are cut anew, so that they still possess

their history down from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar to the present

day. About the year 1695, _Mynheer van Reede_ had an abstract of this

history translated from Hebrew into the Dutch language. They assert

themselves to be of the tribe of Manasseh, a part of which was sent

by Nebuchadnezzar to the most easterly province of his large empire,

which is alleged to have reached Cape Comorin. Twenty thousand of them

travelled from Babylon to this place in three years, and were civilly

and hospitably treated by the inhabitants of Malabar, who allowed

them liberty of conscience in religion, and the free exercise of their

reason and industry in the management of their secular affairs. Having

increased in numbers and riches, they at length, by policy or wealth,

became masters of the small kingdom of Cranganore: And a particular

family among them being much esteemed for wisdom and riches, two of

that family were chosen by their elders and senators to govern the

commonwealth, and to reign jointly over them. At length one of the

brothers invited his colleague to a feast, at which he basely killed

him, thinking to reign alone; but a son of the deceased slew the

fratricide, after which the state fell into a democracy, which still

continues among the Jews here. Their lands have, however, reverted for

many years into the hands of the Malabars, and poverty and oppression

have occasioned many of them to apostatise.

Between Cranganore and Cochin there is an island called Baypin,

[Vaypen] four leagues long, but in no part above two miles broad.

The Dutch do not allow any vessels or boats to enter or go out at

Cranganore, obliging all to use the river of Cochin, which is a

quarter of a mile broad, and very deep, but has a bar on which there

is no more than fourteen feet water at spring-tides. The inhabitants

of this country are mostly idolaters, over whom the bramins or

priests exercise great authority, which they much abuse, of which

the following abominable custom is a strong instance. When any man

marries, he is prohibited from bedding with his wife the first night,

which function is performed in his stead by one of the bramins, or, if

none of these be at hand, by some other man. Foreigners used formerly

to be often employed on these occasions, as the Malabars made choice

of them instead of their own countrymen, often making large presents

to the substitutes, sometimes to the value of forty or fifty pounds.

But of late the bramins have become so very religious, that they

never fail to execute this duty themselves. Besides this, the bramins

frequent the company of the women so much, that no one of their

religion can pretend to know his own father with any certainty. For

which reason, by the laws of this country, sons or daughters never

inherit from the husbands of their mothers, but the heritage always

goes, to nephews and nieces, by sisters of the deceased born of the

same mother, as certainly of his blood. This rule is observed also

in the order of succession in their royal families, and is a glaring

proof of the strange effects of boundless superstition.[4]

[Footnote 4: This strange custom has been differently related

formerly, and we believe more accurately, as prevalent only in the

Nayra tribe, in which the women are allowed several husbands at the

same time, and may change them at pleasure.--E.]

The next commandery is _Gallo_, or Point de Galle, on the island of

Ceylon, at the distance of about twenty leagues from Columbo, the

Dutch capital of that island. Gallo was the first place in Ceylon

taken from the Portuguese by the Dutch, and still is a place of

considerable trade. The commander at this place is entirely

dependent upon the governor of Ceylon, and can do nothing without his

approbation. About the year 1672, Lewis XIV. sent out a squadron of

eight frigates, with orders to make themselves master of this place,

this project having been proposed to the court of France by one

Mynheer Jan Martin, who had served the Dutch East India Company for

many years, and had quitted their service on some disgust. When

the royal orders came to be opened at sea, Martin found that the

government was to be vested in another person, in case the place were

taken, on which he took such measures as frustrated the object of the

expedition. Mynheer van Cosse, who then commanded the Dutch fleet,

soon arrived on the coast, and the French retired without venturing

an engagement. They went to _Trankamala_, or _Trinconomalee_, and

anchored in the bay of that name, meaning to force the garrison of

that small fort to surrender: But Van Cosse soon followed them, and

brought them to action while disadvantageously situated in the bay,

and either sank or burnt half of the French fleet. The rest fled to

St Thomas, on the coast of Coromandel, intending to have formed a

settlement there; but Van Cosse again followed them to that place and

seized all their ships, many of their guns having been carried ashore,

as were at this time a great number of their officers and men. The

French who were on shore capitulated with the Dutch to quit India, on

being allowed shipping to carry them home, which Van Cosse agreed to,

giving them his flag-ship, the _Groote Britanye_, and two others, for

that purpose. Martin was detained and carried to Batavia, where he was

confined for life on an allowance of a rix-dollar a-day.

The next commandery is that of Samarang, on the island of Java, and

he who commands here has the direction of all the factories in that

island, except those which depend immediately on the government of

Batavia. _Kuttasura_, which is the residence of the emperor of Java,

is within his jurisdiction. In the year 1704, a war broke out in Java

between the brother and son of the deceased emperor, as competitors

for the succession, which lasted twenty years. The Dutch sided with

the former, but the affections of the natives were with the latter,

who drew over to his party a great number of the native soldiers who

had served under the Dutch, and who, being well disciplined, behaved

gallantly on all occasions, and gave the Dutch much trouble.

At _Bantam_, on the same island, the Dutch have a strong fort with a

numerous garrison, to keep the people in awe, who are very mutinous,

and far from being well affected to the Dutch government. The king,

or rajah of Bantam, has also a fort only a few hundred paces from that

belonging to the Dutch, in which be keeps a numerous garrison for the

security of his person. The only commodity of this part of the country

is pepper, of which they are able to export 10,000 tons yearly. The

king is obliged to supply the company with a certain quantity of

pepper yearly; but in all other respects they treat him kindly enough.

His dominions are extensive and well peopled, and his subjects are

hardy and enterprising, but perfidious and revengeful, and mortally

hate all Christians. The bay of Bantam is safe and pleasant, having

many islands, which still retain the names given them by the English,

who had a fine factory here, from which they were expelled in 1683.

The territory of Bantam is very fertile, abounding in rice, pepper,

fruits, and cattle. In the interior of the country the natives

sometimes find precious stones of great value, of which however the

Dutch rarely get possession, as the people fear they might be

induced to extend their conquests, by which they are already greatly

oppressed. The head of the factory at this place has the title of

chief.

Another Dutch chief resides at _Padang_, on that part of the coast of

Sumatra which is called the _gold-coast_. This chief has a council

and fiscal like all the rest, and his post is considered as both

honourable and profitable. Sumatra is a very large fine island,

separated from the continent of Asia by the Straits of Malacca,

and from the island of Java by the Straits of Sunda, and is justly

esteemed one of the richest and noblest islands in all India. The

Dutch have a factory at Palambaugan, about eight leagues from the sea,

on the banks of a very large river, which empties itself into the

sea by four different channels. The great trade of this part of the

country is in pepper, which the Dutch company wish to monopolize, as

they have done cloves, nutmegs, mace, and cinnamon; and are at great

expence in keeping several armed barks cruising at the mouths of this

river, to prevent what they are pleased to call smuggling. It must

be allowed, however, that they have a contract with the king of this

country to take all the pepper in his dominions, at the rate of ten

dollars the bahar of 400 pounds weight, which is a fair price.[5] They

have, however, a clause in the contract, by which half the price is to

be paid in cloth, at such rates as greatly reduce the cost.

[Footnote 5: Exactly five farthings and two-fifths of a farthing the

pound.--E.]

The interior of the island is very mountainous, but most of the

mountains abound in mines of gold, silver, lead, and other metals. The

company possesses some mines of gold, said to be very rich, and great

care is taken to secure and conceal the profits. Gold-dust is found

in great quantities in all the rivers and rivulets of the country,

especially when the western monsoon reigns, when the torrents roll

down from the mountains with great rapidity. Abundance of copper

is also found here, of which they make very good cannon. There are

likewise found several sorts of precious stones. There is a burning

mountain on the island, which continually throws forth flame and

smoke, like Etna in Sicily; and there is said to be a fountain of

balsam, or petroleum. This island abounds also in spice and silk; but

the air is not very wholesome, especially to strangers, owing to the

great numbers of rivers, standing waters, and thick forests, which

every where abound. It produces no wheat, nor any other of the grains

which grow in Europe; but has plenty of rice, millet, and fruits,

which afford good and sufficient nourishment for the inhabitants. It

produces also, in great abundance, honey, bees-wax, ginger, camphor,

cassia, pepper, and many Other valuable articles. It is of great

extent, being 310 leagues long from N.W. to S.E. and about 50 leagues

across at an average. The greatest sovereign in the island is the king

of _Acheen, Atcheen_, or Achem, who resides in a city of that name

at the N.W. end of the island. It was formerly always governed by a

woman, and it is not above forty years ago since the government fell

into the hands of a man, since which several attempts have been made

to restore the old constitution. Acheen is a free port, to which the

English, Dutch, Portuguese, and Chinese resort, and in short all the

trading nations of Europe and Asia. The goods brought there are rich

brocades, silks of all kinds, muslins of all sorts, raw silk, fish,

butter, oil, and ammunition, for which the payments are mostly made in

gold, the great commodity of the country, and remarkably fine.

During the western monsoon, the rains fall here with prodigious

violence, attended with terrible storms of thunder and lightning, and

frequent earthquakes; but the people, being used to them, are not much

alarmed. The nations are, generally speaking, Mahometans, and are very

expert in making all sorts of plate and ornaments in gold, with very

few tools, yet with such inimitable dexterity, that their workmanship

sells at a high rate all over India. The company sends a great number

of slaves to this island every year to work in their gold-mines; but

the kings in that part of the country are seldom on good terms with

the Dutch, with whom they often quarrel. The principal places where

gold is found are _Trion_ and _Manicabo_, and the way in which they

procure the gold is as follows:--They dig trenches at the bottoms of

the hills, so as to intercept the torrents which roll rapidly down

their sides in the winter months: and having drained off the water

from the ditches in summer, they find considerable quantities of

gold-dust in the mud which remains. It is generally believed that this

island furnishes annually 5000 pounds weight of gold-dust,[6] yet

very little of this quantity is ever brought to Europe, being mostly

employed by the servants of the East India Company in making purchases

of commodities in places where gold bears a high price.

[Footnote 6: Supposing these troy pounds, the value may be estimated

at L. 240,000 sterling.--E.]

The Dutch East India Company has long entertained a project of

building ships at this island, as its timber is so good that ships

built here are expected to last forty or fifty years, whereas those of

Europe seldom last more than twelve or thirteen years. The Dutch have

a strong fort and great factory at _Jambee_, and another at _Siack_,

both in this island. This last place is excessively unwholesome, owing

to the following circumstance, which certainly might be obviated. It

stands on the great river Andragheira, into which, at one season of

the year, there come vast shoals of large shads, a third part of

their bulk being composed of their _roes_, which are accounted a great

delicacy. Wherefore, after taking these out, the rest of the fish is

thrown away, and as these lie in great heaps to corrupt, they exhale

pestilential vapours and infect the air. The persons, therefore, who

are sent to reside at Siack, are much of the same description

with those formerly mentioned as sent to Banda, being of abandoned

characters and desperate fortunes. There is another very considerable

factory on the river Bencalis, which produces a large profit from the

sale of cloth and opium, for which gold-dust is received in payment.

This trade was discovered about forty years ago, that is, about

the year 1680, by a factor, who carried it on privately for his own

emolument for ten years, during which he acquired upwards of a _ton

of gold_ yearly, a Dutch phrase implying L. 10,000 sterling. He then

resolved to secure what he had got by making a disclosure of this

valuable branch of traffic to the company. There are also several

Dutch establishments on what is called the _West-coast_ of Sumatra.

A very powerful and warlike people subsists in this island, known to

Europeans by the name of the _Free-nation_, who are equally averse

from submitting either to the Sumatran sovereigns or Europeans,

and have always defended themselves valiantly against both. All the

natives of Sumatra are much more inclined to the English than the

Dutch, perhaps because they are not under subjection to the former.

But the latter use every precaution they can to prevent the natives

from dealing with any except themselves. For a considerable time past,

the chiefs at Padang have been so unlucky as to have their honesty

much suspected, chiefly owing to their management of the mines, which

do not turn out greatly to the profit of the company, while all their

officers gain immense sums out of them, which the councils at Batavia

are much dissatisfied with, yet cannot prevent. For this reason they

change the chief very frequently, yet to little purpose.

SECTION XIII.

_Some Account of the Residences of Cheribon, Siam, and Mockha._

The chiefs of those factories belonging to the Dutch in India are

termed _Residents_, and correspond directly with the governor-general

at Batavia, and are not dependent on any subordinate governor or

director. The first of these independent residents is fixed at

_Cheribon_, on the coast of Java, at the distance of about forty

leagues from Batavia, where a very advantageous commerce is carried on

by the company in coffee, cardamoms, indigo, and cotton. The land at

this place is as fertile in rice and other provisions as perhaps any

country in the world. This district is of considerable extent, and was

formerly under the dominion of four great lords, who used to be

styled _pangerans_, but have now the titles of sultans, though their

authority is not much extended by these more splendid titles. One of

these is called the company's sultan, because always attached to the

interests of the company, though in truth they might all get the same

appellation, as they are all under the protection of the company, and

freed from apprehensions of the king of Bantam, who used formerly

to be continually at war with them, and must have reduced them under

subjection, but for the assistance of the Dutch. Since then, both from

gratitude for past favours, and in expectation of future protection,

they have granted great privileges to the company in their dominions.

The company maintains a fort at Cheribon, with a garrison of sixty

men, and has an excellent factory.

About half a league from the fort of Cheribon, the tombs of the

princes of Cheribon stand in a vast temple, splendidly built of

various fine kinds of stone, and are said to contain vast riches,

yet are left unguarded, from an idea that they are protected by some

supernatural power; and they tell strange stories of persons having

dropt down dead, on approaching the places where these riches are

hidden, with an intention to steal. Many people believe that the

Javanese priests, who are Mahometans, have the power of causing sudden

death by means of incantations; and that they are able to enchant

crocodiles and serpents, causing the former to go into and out of the

water at command, and the latter to remain in any posture they please.

A great number of priests are maintained about this great temple, many

of whom have made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and are therefore held in

much veneration. These priests are all governed by a sovereign pontiff

or mufti, who is even more respected than the sultans. There was

formerly a considerable English factory at Cheribon, having a small

town belonging to it: But the persons of the factory so provoked the

people, by intriguing with their wives, that they rose one night and

massacred them all. Perhaps this might have been set on foot by their

Dutch neighbours.

Another resident has the direction of the company's affairs in the

kingdom of Siam, where the company carries on a considerable trade in

tin, lead, elephants-teeth, gum-lac, _wool_,[1] and other commodities.

The king of Siam is a prince of considerable power, and his dominions

extend nearly 300 leagues. Being favourable to commerce, all nations

are allowed to trade freely in his country; but ships of no great

burden are forced to anchor at the distance of sixty leagues from his

capital; because the river _Menan_, on which it is situated, is so

rapid that they find great difficulty in getting higher up. This

river, like the Nile and many others, overflows its banks at a certain

season, so that most of the country is under water for half the year,

for which reason all the houses are built on posts. The capital is a

large city, consisting at least of 50,000 houses, with a prodigious

number of temples.[2] The natives are all pagans, and hold this

singular maxim, "That all religions are good, provided they tend to

the honour of God." They think, however, that their own is the best;

though they sometimes own that the God of the Christians is most

powerful, because the head of their principal idol has been twice

beaten to pieces by thunder. This is perhaps the largest idol in the

world, and is called by the Dutch in derision, _The great blockhead of

Lust_. He is represented sitting cross-legged like a tailor; in which

posture he measures seventy feet high, and every one of his fingers

is as large as the body of a man. About three leagues from the capital

there is a temple of vast size, having an idol not quite so large as

the other, which the priests say is his wife; and that once in seven

years, one of these goes to visit the other. The priests also pretend

that both of these idols are of solid gold; but the thunder-clap,

which destroyed the head of the larger idol detected that part of the

cheat, shewing it to be only brick and lime, very artificially gilded

all over. One may justly wonder that this accident did not put an end

to the adoration of so wretched a deity; but where superstition once

prevails the plainest proofs very seldom produce any effect.

[Footnote 1: Perhaps cotton, often termed _cotton-wool_, ought to have

been here substituted.--E.]

[Footnote 2: In Harris the temples are stated at 30,000.--E.]

The country of Siam is very rich and fertile, and there is a

considerable trade carried on here by the Chinese. The Dutch have here

considerable privileges, and are the favoured nation, especially since

the great revolution, when they got into great favour with the new

king, because the English had been entrusted by his predecessor, whom

he murdered, with the best places in the government, both civil and

military. The Dutch have a factory on the side of the river, about a

mile below the city, where they collect great numbers of deer-skins;

which are sent annually to Japan. The Siamese are themselves much

addicted to trade, and the Chinese who reside here still more; so that

they send ships every year to Japan, which, considering the difficulty

of the navigation, is not a little extraordinary. The Siamese boast of

having used the compass above a thousand years before it was known

in Europe: But the Jesuits very justly observe, that the Siamese and

Chinese compasses are very imperfect.

The third resident is fixed at _Mokha_, being always a merchant,

having two factors under him. This country is under the government

of an Arab prince, styled _Imaum_, who resides in the inland country,

about 200 miles east from Mokha. The sea-port of his dominions was

formerly Aden; but as that was found very inconvenient, he removed the

trade to Mokha, then only a fishing village. Mokha is situated close

to the sea, in a large dry sandy plain, which affords neither fruits

nor water, except what is brackish and unwholesome, and those who are

forced to drink it have long worms bred in their legs and feet, which

are very troublesome and dangerous. The town is supplied with very

good and wholesome water from _Musa_, a town at the distance of twenty

miles; but it is so dear, being brought by land carriage; that it

costs as much as small beer does in England. Mokha is large, and makes

a fine appearance from the sea, the buildings being lofty, but they

look much better without than within. The markets are well supplied

with provisions, such as beef, mutton, goats, kid, lamb, and camels

flesh, antelopes, poultry, guinea-fowls, partridges, and pigeons. The

sea affords a variety of fish, but not well tasted, owing probably

to the nature of their food. It is also furnished all the year with

excellent fruits, as grapes, peaches, apricots, and quinces, of which

they make great quantities of marmalade, both for their own use and

exportation. Yet there is neither tree nor shrub to be seen near the

town, except a few date-trees, and they seldom have above two or three

showers of rain in a year, sometimes no rain for two or three years.

Among the mountains, however, about twenty miles inland, seldom a

morning passes without a moderate shower, which makes the vallies very

fertile in such corn and fruits as suit the soil and climate. They

have plenty of wheat and barley, but no rice.

Since Mokha has been made a free port, it has become a place of great

trade. Besides the Dutch factory, it has one belonging to the English

East-India Company. Trade is also carried on here by English free

merchants, by Portuguese, Banians, and Moors; also by vessels

from Basora, Persia, and Muskat. The country itself produces few

commodities, except coffee and some drugs, as myrrh, olibanum or

frankincense from _Cossin_, Soccotrine aloes from Soccotora, liquid

storax, white and yellow arsenic, some gum-arabic, mummy, and balm

of gilead, these two last being brought down the Red Sea. The coffee

trade brings a continual supply of gold and silver from Europe,

particularly Spanish money, German crowns, and other European silver

coins, with chequins and German and Hungarian gold ducats, and

_ebramies_ and _magrabees_ of Turkey. It is a settled point here,

though other goods may be bought and sold on credit for a certain

time, coffee must always be paid for in ready money. The European

shipping that comes here annually rather exceeds 20,000 tons, and that

belonging to other nations may amount to nearly the same tonnage. The

whole province of _Betlefackee_ is planted with coffee-trees, which

are never allowed to grow above four or five yards high. The berries

cling to the branches like so many insects, and are shaken off when

ripe. They are at first green, then red, and lastly of a dark-brown

colour.

The Dutch have here a great advantage over all other nations, in

consequence of their monopoly of the spice-trade, as these are

consumed here in great quantities, which consequently enables them to

procure coffee at much easier rates than other nations. Yet this trade

of Mokha is continually falling off, owing to the vast quantities

of coffee produced in their own plantations, especially at Batavia,

Amboina, and the Cape of Good Hope: Even the Dutch, however,

acknowledge that there is no comparison between the coffee raised on

their own plantations and that brought from Mokha.

The _Happy Arabia_ is divided into many small territories, under

independent princes, styled Emirs, who all pay a kind of homage, but

no obedience, to the Grand Signor or Emperor of the Turks. The Red Sea

gets this name from several parts of it being of a red colour, owing

to its bottom in these parts.

SECTION XIV.

_Of the Trade of the Dutch in Borneo and China._

_Borneo_ is the largest island in the East Indies, perhaps the largest

in the world, being 220 marine leagues from N. to S. and 170 leagues

from E. to W. It is divided into many small principalities, of which

the most powerful is the king of _Banjaar Masseen_, and after him the

kings of _Borneo_ and _Sambas_. The air is reckoned very unwholesome

in some places, on account of being low and marshy; and it is only

thinly peopled, though abounding in very rich commodities. On the

first establishment of the Dutch in India, they were very solicitous

to have factories in this island, and accordingly fixed three, at the

cities of Borneo, Sambas, and Succadanea; but they soon found it was

impossible to have any dealings with the natives, who certainly

are the basest, crudest, and most perfidious people in the world;

wherefore they quitted the island, and though several times invited

back, have absolutely refused to return. The commerce of Borneo is

as rich as any in India. At Sambas and Banjaar Masseen they deal in

diamonds, of which there is a mine in the interior country. These

stones generally run from four to twenty-four carats each, though some

are found as high as thirty and even forty carats; but the whole trade

does not exceed 600 carats yearly. They always sell these stones

for gold, though that is a commodity of the island, and there is a

considerable trade in gold-dust at Pahang, Saya, Calantan, Seribas,

Catra, and Melanouba. Bezoar is another principal article of their

trade. Japan wood, fine wax, incense, mastic, and several other rich

gums, are here met with; but the staple commodity is pepper, which

this island produces in as great abundance as any place in India.

A drug is met with in this island, called _piedro de porco_, or

pork-stone, so highly esteemed as to be worth 300 crowns each; as the

Indian physicians pretend that they can infallibly discover whether

their patients are to live or die, by exhibiting to them the water in

which this stone has been steeped.

Before the Portuguese discovered the way by sea to India, the Chinese

possessed the whole trade of this island, and since the Europeans

have declined settling here, it has reverted to them again. The places

where they are settled are Banjaar Masseen, Mampua, Teya, Lando, and

Sambas, where they parry on a great trade, furnishing the inhabitants

with silks, chintz, calico, and all the manufactures of China and

Japan. It has been suggested, that a more valuable trade might be

established in Borneo than in any other part of India, as there come

here every year large fleets of Chinese junks, laden with all the

commodities of that empire, which might be purchased here as cheap, or

cheaper even than in China itself. There come also yearly some small

vessels from the island of Celebes to Borneo, in spite of the utmost

vigilance of the Dutch, which bring considerable quantities of cloves,

nutmegs, and mace, so that the Dutch are unable to sell much of these

spices to the inhabitants: Yet they send ships here frequently to load

with pepper, endeavouring to keep up a good correspondence with the

kings of Borneo and Sambas, for the king of Banjaar Masseen refuses to

have any dealings with them.

Considering the vast sway of the Dutch in India, it is strange that

they should not have any factory in China. They have indeed formerly

sent ambassadors to that country, under pretence of demanding a free

trade, but in reality on purpose to gain a more accurate knowledge of

the nature of trade in China, and in consequence of their discoveries

in that manner, have been induced to decline entering upon any direct

trade to that country. While they were possessed of the island of

Formosa, they carried on a direct trade to China with great profit:

But, since their expulsion from that island in 1661, they have

not been able to make that trade turn out profitable. After the

establishment of the Ostend East-India Company, they tried to send

ships to China, direct from Holland; but even this came to no great

account, the profit having seldom exceeded twenty-five per cent.

which, considering the hazard of so long a voyage, was not considered

a very encouraging return. It has been doubted whether the Dutch were

able to deal with the Chinese, where both nations are upon an equal

footing, as the latter are certainly the cunningest of men: Besides,

the Chinese are less inclined to deal with the Dutch than with any

other Europeans; and, when they do, always hold them to harder terms.

The port charges also in China, and the presents they are obliged to

make, cut deep into their gains.

Besides the foregoing circumstances, as China is at a great distance

from Batavia, and as the officers of the Dutch ships can so easily

consign their effects into the hands of the Portuguese, English,

and other foreign merchants, they have been found to mind their own

affairs much more than those of the Company. But the principal

reason of avoiding the trade to China is, that the Chinese carry on

a prodigious trade with Batavia; and though the voyage exceeds 550

leagues, the Chinese junks make the run in six weeks, sailing from

Canton in the beginning of December, and arriving at Batavia in the

middle of January. The company has in the first place a duty of four

per cent. on all the goods brought by the Chinese, which are gold,

silks of all sorts, tea, anniseed, musk, rhubarb, copper, quicksilver,

vermilion, china ware, &c. For which they receive in exchange lead,

tin, pepper, incense, camphor, cloves, nutmegs, amber, and many

other articles, on all which the Dutch fix their own prices, and

consequently buy much cheaper than other nations can do in China. They

have also found by experience, that a direct trade greatly lessens

this more profitable mode at Batavia. They have also opportunities of

dealing with the Chinese in many other parts of India, where, after

the Chinese merchants have completed their sales to the natives, they

are glad to part with the remainder of their commodities to the Dutch,

at a cheap rate. Thus, the Dutch East-India Company are able to send

home vast quantities of the commodities of China, and purchased on

very advantageous terms, without trading directly to China, either

from Holland or from Batavia.

SECTION XV.

_Of the Dutch Trade with Japan._

A Dutch chief resides at Japan, who is always a principal merchant,

and is assisted by some writers in the Company's service. The profit

formerly made of this establishment by the Dutch East-India Company,

frequently amounted to 80 and even 100 per cent. but has fallen off

to such a degree, that they rarely make now, 1721, above eight or ten.

This has been chiefly occasioned by the Chinese, who for some time

past have purchased every kind of goods at Canton that are in demand

in Japan, and it is even said that they have contracted with the

Japanese to furnish them with all kinds of merchandize at as low

prices as the Dutch. Another cause of the low profits is, that the

Japanese fix the prices of all the goods they buy, and if their offer

is not accepted, they desire the merchants to take them home again.

This may possibly have been suggested to them by the Chinese, who

used formerly to be treated in the same manner at Batavia. There is no

place in all India where the Dutch have so little authority, or where

their establishments are of so little consequence, as in Japan. They

are allowed a small island to themselves, where they have warehouses

for their goods, and a few ordinary houses for the members of the

factory; but this island is a prison, in which they are completely

shut up as long as they remain in Japan, not being permitted to pass

the bridge that joins this island to the city of Naugasaque. The only

shadow of liberty that is allowed them is, that their chief, with two

or three attendants, goes once a-year as ambassador to the emperor.

One great reason of this is said to have been occasioned by their

using too great familiarities with the Japanese women; but the true

reason is, that the Dutch have more than once given strong indications

of an inclination to establish themselves in the country by force.

A French gentleman, Monsieur Carron, who was for some time at the head

of their factory in Japan, and who, in several journeys to the

court, had ingratiated himself into the favour of the emperor,

by entertaining him with accounts of the state of Europe, got his

permission to build a house for the factory on the little island

allotted to them. He accordly laid the fortifications of great extent,

and continued the work till he had completed a handsome fortification,

in form of a regular tetragon; and as the Japanese were quite ignorant

in the art of fortification, they suffered it to be finished, without

any suspicion of deceit. Carron now desired the council at Batavia

to send him some cannon, packed in casks filled with oakum or cotton,

along with some other casks of the same form filled with spices. This

was done accordingly, but in rolling the casks after landing, one

of them that contained a brass gun burst open, by which accident the

cheat was discovered. This put an entire stop to all trade till the

pleasure of the emperor was known. The emperor, without prohibiting

trade, gave orders that no Dutchman should presume to stir out of the

island on pain of death, and ordered Carron up to Jeddo, to answer for

his fault. The emperor reproached him for abusing his favour; after

which he ordered his beard to be pulled out by the roots, and that

he should be led, dressed in a fool's coat and cap, through all the

streets of the city. He was thus sent back to the factory, with orders

to leave Japan in the first ship that sailed for Batavia.

The island of _Desima_, where the Dutch reside, is divided from the

city of Naugasaki by a small creek of salt water of about forty feet

broad, over which there is a convenient bridge, having a draw-bridge

at one end, of which the Japanese keep possession, and no Dutchman can

pass this without leave from the governor of the city; neither

dare any Japanese converse with the Dutch, except the merchants and

factors, who have a licence for that purpose. For the security of the

factory, the island of Desima is pallisaded all round. It contains

four streets, with large warehouses, and a spacious market-place over

against the bridge, where at stated times the town's people have leave

to trade with the Dutch. So great is the jealousy entertained of the

Dutch, that they are not even allowed to have the command of their own

ships while in Japan: For, as soon as one of them enters the harbour,

the Japanese take entire possession of her, taking out all the arms

and ammunition, which they lay up on shore, and return again in good

order, when the ship is ready to sail. They also exact a complete

account of all the men on board, whom they muster by one of their own

commissaries.

Japan is well peopled, and produces every thing necessary for human

sustenance in great plenty; yet the Dutch pay high for every thing

they need, and have even to purchase wood for fuel by weight. The

mountains are rich in gold, silver, and copper, which last is the best

in the world. Their porcelain is finer than that of China, as also

much thicker and heavier, with finer colours, and sells much dearer

both in India and Europe. The tea of Japan, however, is not near so

good as that of China. Their lackered ware, usually called Japan, is

the best in the world, and some of it will even hold boiling water

without being injured. They have abundance of silks, both raw and

manufactured, much stronger than what is produced in China. Their

houses are mostly built of wood, but the palace of the emperor is

of marble, covered with copper, so remarkably well gilded that it

withstands the weather many years. Jeddo is the metropolis, and its

magnitude may be guessed from this circumstance, that in a great

fire which raged in this city for eight days, about the year 1660, it

consumed 120,000 houses, and 500 temples.

The Japanese are strict observers of moral rules, especially in

commercial matters; insomuch that merchants of reputation put up sums

of gold _cupangs_, always in decimal numbers, in silken bags, sealed

with their seals; and these bags always pass current for the several

sums indicated by the seals, without any one ever examining the

contents of the bags for several generations. These _cupangs_ are

broad oblong pieces of gold, of about twenty shillings value in Japan;

but gold is there so plentiful and cheap, in relation to silver, that

a _cupang_ passes current in Batavia for thirty-two shillings; and,

after being stampt with the lion of the Company, it passes for forty

shillings sterling. The Japanese also are exact observers of justice,

and punish crimes with extreme rigour. To a man of distinction,

when found guilty of a capital crime, the emperor writes a letter,

commanding him to become his own executioner, on an appointed day and

hour, on penalty of being subjected to the most exquisite tortures,

if he survive the appointed time. On receiving this mandate, the

delinquent invites all his friends and near relations to a sumptuous

feast on the set day. When the feast is over, he shows them the letter

from the emperor, and, while they are reading it, he stabs himself

with a dagger below the navel, and cuts open his belly to the breast

bone. The capital punishments inflicted on the inferior people are

hanging, beheading, or being flung over a precipice; and for smaller

faults, whipping and branding are usual.

The government of Japan would be well pleased to encourage trade with

all nations, but for two considerations. The first is, lest their

religion should be insulted, which was frequently the case from

misguided zeal, while there were any Christians among the Japanese.

The other proceeds from their aversion to strange customs, or to any

innovation in the manners of the people, from which they dread the

worst consequences. When the Dutch were first established in this

empire, the then prime minister explained their opinions on this

subject in the following manner: "We are well acquainted with the

advantages resulting from the system of government established among

us, and will on no account run the hazard of any change. We know that

great revolutions are often brought about by imperceptible degrees,

and are therefore resolved to cure the itch of novelty by the rod of

chastisement." Upon this maxim a law is established in Japan, by

which all the subjects of the empire are prohibited from leaving the

country; or, if any do, they must never return. They are so wedded to

their own customs and opinions, and so jealous of the introduction

of any new or foreign customs, that they never send any embassies to

other countries, neither do they allow their merchants to carry on

commerce beyond their own country. A few small junks are sent in

summer to the land of Yedso, a country about fifty leagues from the

northern extremity of Japan; and it is said that they bring much gold

from thence.

There is but one good harbour in Japan, all the rest of the coast

being so guarded by steep rocks or shoals, that they have no reason to

fear being invaded. In point of military discipline and bravery, the

Japanese far exceed the Chinese, and are by no means of so base and

effeminate dispositions as most of the inhabitants of that great

empire. The government also of Japan is perfectly uniform and well

settled, so that there cannot be any diversity of interests; for,

though several of its provinces are denominated kingdoms, yet all

these petty kings are under the strictest subjection to the emperor,

and the laws of the country extend over all. These laws pay the

strictest regard to private property, the father transmitting to his

children not only the patrimonial estate, but all the acquisitions of

his own industry; and this is certainly a powerful prevention of any

desire of change. Though the emperor resides at Jeddo, thirty days

journey from Naugasaki, yet he receives intelligence in the space

of three days, of the number and force of every ship that arrives,

conveyed by a chain of signal-posts, by means of flags and fire

beacons.

The forms observed in business are wonderfully exact, and the edicts

and orders of the emperor are signified in most expressive and

dignified terms, containing very little of the bombast and swelling

style so common among oriental courts. Yet, amid all their good sense

and quick parts, the religion of the Japanese is the idlest and most

ridiculous paganism that can well be imagined, of which the following

is a sufficient proof. Every family has a tutelary deity or idol,

which is placed at the top of the house, and instructed to keep off

all sickness, misfortunes, or accidents: And when any such happen, the

idol is taken down and whipt, for not doing its duty. _Amida_ is

the name of their favourite god, his residence in heaven is at a

prodigious distance, insomuch that it requires three years journey

of a departed soul to reach paradise, which is only the outskirts or

suburbs of heaven; but when once there, the soul is sure of getting

to heaven, and enjoys a quiet residence in that place, as none of

the fiends dare come there to give annoyance. They have several other

gods, to all of whom they are particularly attached devotees; and each

god has his own particular paradise, none nearer this world than three

years journey. On purpose to gain an easy passage to these paradises,

some of the zealots cut their own throats, and others hang themselves.

Their idols are often carried in procession on horseback, attended

by bands of music; and many feasts and sacrifices are made in their

honour, the idols being fed on the smoke and flavour, while the

votaries regale on the substantial meats.[1]

[Footnote 1: Harris here subjoins a long enquiry into the nature of

the Dutch commerce in Japan, in the form of answers to a number of

queries on the subject: But as we shall have an opportunity, in

a subsequent division of this work, to give much more ample and

satisfactory accounts of these matters, by actual travellers in Japan,

this has been omitted, as tedious and unsatisfactory.--E.]

SECTION XVI.

_Account of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope._

Nothing remarkable occurred to the author of this voyage, while on the

way from Batavia to the Cape of Good Hope, except seeing the wreck of

the Schonenberg, a ship belonging to the Company, which had been lost

a little before.[2] On coming in sight of the Cape, they discovered

many French, English, and Dutch ships at anchor in the roads, some

outward-bound and some homewards. A little way from the entrance of

the bay is a small island, on which there is always a guard composed

of a serjeant and a small number of men. As soon as the serjeant sees

what number of ships a fleet consists of, he hoists a flag, and fires

so many pieces of cannon as there are ships in sight, to give notice

to the commandant at the Cape. They are here employed in making

train-oil, and in raking oyster-shells to burn into lime. Into this

island, malefactors are generally banished from the Cape, and from

most parts of India. Here, besides the punishment of being separated

from all their friends, they are kept to the hardest labour.

[Footnote 2: This is said to have been on the coast of Africa _at the

height of Angola_, whither they were driven by a storm. But this could

not possibly have been the case _before_ reaching the Cape of Good

Hope.--E.]

Table Bay is very fine and large, of a semi-oval form, entering

several leagues into the land, and may be about nine leagues in

circuit; but the anchorage is not every where equally good, and there

is some danger near the shore. The middle of the bay is commanded by

a very strong fort, being a regular pentagon, and each of its fine

bastions mounts twenty pieces of heavy cannon. This fort and the town

are situated on the edge of a plain about three leagues in extent,

lying at the bottom of three very high mountains. The first of these

is _Lion Mountain_, having some resemblance to a lion couchant. The

second is _Table Mountain_, which is much higher, and has a broad flat

top like a table, being so high that it may be seen twenty leagues out

at sea in clear weather. The third is called the _Devil's Mountain_,

and is not so remarkable as either of the other two. The houses of

Cape Town are very neat and commodious, but are only built two stories

high, on account of the furious winds at S.E. which sometimes blow

here.

About the year 1650, the Dutch East-India Company bought a certain

district of this country from the Hottentots, its aboriginal

inhabitants, and took care to have it immediately planted and well

peopled, for the convenience of their ships, both outward and homeward

bound. All the inhabitants of this colony are Europeans, or descended

from Europeans. Some of the planters are settled at the distance of

three hundred leagues from the Cape; yet all are obliged to appear

once a-year at a place called Stellenbosch, where the _Drossart_ or

magistrate of the country resides. They have here to pass in review,

as all the peasants, as well as the towns-men, are formed into

companies under proper officers. After the review is over, they go

back to their respective plantations, generally carrying home with

them what tools or other European articles they stand in need of.

These people cultivate the ground, raising rye, barley, beans, and

other grains. They also plant vines, which produce excellent grapes,

of which they make very good wine. Some of these peasants are in

very easy circumstances, having, besides large and well-cultivated

plantations, great flocks of sheep and cattle.

Among other colonists, there is one about eight leagues from Cape

Town, at a place called _Drakenstein_, entirely composed of French

refugees, who have a large tract of well cultivated ground, and are

allowed churches and ministers of their own. Part of the inhabitants

of Cape Town are in the service of the Company, and the rest are free

burgesses. They have regular magistrates, who decide causes of small

importance, and regulate any little disputes that happen among them;

but affairs of moment are carried before the governor and council,

who determine finally and without appeal. In the interior country, the

drossart determines in things of small consequence; but all matters of

importance must come before the governor and council, whose sentences,

both in civil and criminal cases, are executed without delay. The

officer who commands here in chief, has the rank and pay of major, yet

does the duty in all respects of a major-general. The officers under

him are captains, lieutenants, and ensigns, who take care to keep

their companies always complete and well disciplined; and in case of

attack, they can draw together five thousand men at least, all well

armed and as good as regular troops: Each peasant knows where he has

to repair to, in order to range himself under his proper standard.

It is not easy to describe the expertness with which these peasants

manage their fire-arms, an exercise in which they are constantly

employed, even from their infancy; and it is almost incredible how

boldly they attack even the fiercest animals. Many among them disdain

to shoot a sleeping lion, because, as they say, it shows neither skill

nor courage: When, therefore, they discover a lion asleep, they throw

stones to waken him, and do not fire till he is on his feet. A little

before the arrival of our author at the Cape, two peasants went out

together to hunt. One of them, seeing a lion, fired at and missed him,

when the lion rushed upon the man, who threw away his gun, to have

more liberty to defend himself. The other peasant, on hearing the

report, hastened to the place, and found his companion and the lion

closely engaged; on which he snatched up the gun, and slew the lion

by a few blows on the head, but broke the gun in pieces. The first

peasant, whose property the gun was, complained loudly of its

demolition, blamed his companion for coming up uncalled for, and even

talked of making him pay for the gun, insisting that he could have

slain the lion himself without aid. It was formerly considered a

wonderful deed for a man to kill a lion; but now it is so common an

occurrence, that they make no more of killing a lion, than we do of

shooting a hare.

The country about Cape Town is full of vineyards and gardens. Two

of these belong to the company, which are perhaps the finest in the

world. One is at the distance of two hundred paces from the fort,

between the town and Table Mountain, being about 1400 paces in length,

by 235 paces broad, and having a fine rivulet from the mountain

running through the middle of it. It is divided into quarters, in

which they cultivate, with the utmost success, the fruits and flowers

of the four quarters of the globe. The other garden is about two

leagues distant from the town, in what is called the _New Country_,

and is likewise kept in excellent order by slaves belonging to the

company, of whom there are seldom less than five hundred. The

country hereabout is mountainous and stony; but the vallies are very

agreeable, and extremely fertile. The climate is perhaps the best

in the world, neither cold nor heat being ever felt here to any

intolerable degree. The people accordingly live to great ages, and

have hardly any diseases except such as proceed from intemperance of

some kind. The mountains, which contribute to the wholesomeness of the

country, are supposed to be rich in gold and other valuable metals.

Some trials have been made; but as yet no mines have been discovered,

or at least none in such situations as would permit their being worked

to advantage.

Mynheer van Steel, who was lately governor of this colony, travelled

over the country, and examined it with much attention. He caused

gardens to be laid out, and pleasure-houses to be built, in several

places; but the peasants who were employed in building these houses

and cultivating these gardens, sent over a representation and

complaint to the company, alleging that these works were prejudicial

to their private affairs, and prevented them from being able to

maintain their families; upon which that governor was immediately

recalled. His discoveries, however, were of great consequence, having

made the interior country known to the Dutch, together with the

nations or tribes by whom it is inhabited. These, so far as yet

discovered, consist of seven different tribes, all comprehended under

the general denomination of _Hottentots_. The first of these, and

least considerable, who live in the neighbourhood of the Cape, have

no chief, and are mostly either in the service of the company, or are

employed as servants by the townsmen, or by the peasants and farmers

in cultivating the lands, or tending their flocks and herds. The

second tribe inhabit the mountains, or, more properly speaking,

dwell in the caverns of the mountains, being thieves and robbers by

profession, and subsist entirely by plundering the other Hottentots,

with whom they are perpetually at war; yet never rob or molest the

Christians. The other tribes are called the _Great_ and _Little

Maqua_, and the _Great_ and _Little Kriqua_[2], and the _Caffres_.

The words _Maqua_ and _Kriqua_ signify king or chief, and these four

tribes are continually engaged in war against each other; but when

any one nation is in danger of being totally ruined, other tribes

immediately take up its cause; and these rude tribes seem to have a

notion of maintaining a kind of balance of power.

[Footnote 2: These tribes are known in geography by the names of

Namaquas and Briquas, the latter being also called Booshuanas. The

second tribe in this account are named Bosjemans by the Dutch.--E.]

Such of the Hottentots as have submitted to the Hollanders are called

the Company's Hottentots. The Dutch send every year fifty or sixty

persons to trade among the Hottentots, who purchase their cattle,

giving them in exchange arrack, tobacco, hemp, and such other things

as they have occasion for; by which means a good understanding is kept

up. These Hottentots of the Company are often attacked by the other

tribes, and, when no longer able to defend themselves, their king

or chief comes down to the Cape, attended by a small escort of his

subjects, to demand assistance. He goes immediately to the governor,

having in his hand the staff of command given him by the Company,

decorated with their arms, and holding it in his hand, demands

assistance. If the governor does not think proper to grant his

request, but endeavours to shift him off with fair words, he throws

down his staff saying, in bad Dutch, _Voor my, niet meer Compagnies

Hottentot_; that is, "For me, I will no more be the Company's

Hottentot." The governor generally sends him home with an escort of

troops, as it is the interest of the company to be on good terms with

these chiefs, who are always ready to do any service required of them.

The Hottentots are a very stupid and brutal people. They rub their

bodies all over with rancid grease, which gives them a very bad smell,

so that you may nose them at a considerable distance. Their children

are all born perfectly white; but being constantly rubbed with grease,

and exposed to the sun, they grow by degrees quite brown, and almost

black. When a woman brings forth twins, one of them is immediately

condemned to death, and is tied to a tree, where it is left to expire.

Some of them have a custom of extirpating one testicle in their male

children, as soon as they are able to bear the operation, in hope of

preventing them afterwards from begetting twins. They seem to have

little or no religion; yet they frequently look with admiration at the

heavenly bodies, saying, "He who governs these is certainly a being of

infinite power and wisdom." In many respects they are more like beasts

than men, being abominably nasty in their persons, and, taking them

altogether, they are certainly one of the meanest nations on the face

of the earth. They are short and thick-set, with flat noses like a

Dutch pug dog, very thick lips, and large mouths, having very white

teeth, but very long and ill set, some of them sticking out of their

mouths like boar's tusks. Their hair is black, and curled like

wool. They are very nimble, and run with incredible speed. They are

generally covered with a sheep's skin, each man having a quiver full

of arrows on his back, and a bow in his hand. Immediately on coming in

sight of an enemy, they set up a dreadful cry, leaping, dancing,

and skipping about, and throwing themselves into the most frightful

postures.

The seventh nation is named the _Caffres_, who are certainly the

_Anthropophagi_ who have made so much noise in the world[3]. The

Hottentots are much afraid of them, and take care to keep out of their

way as much as possible, for fear of being roasted or boiled if taken

prisoners. This abominable nation has never entered into any kind

of commerce with the Christians; but, on the contrary, takes all the

pains they can to entrap and murder them, in order, as is generally

believed, to eat them. It is reported that they have grown somewhat

more tractable of late years, and will enter into some sort of trade

with such as venture among them. They are a potent and warlike nation,

strong and well-made; and though black, and having curled hair

like other negroes, they have better faces, and a much more manly

appearance.

[Footnote 3: A very different account is now given of the Caffres,

or Koussis rather, who are described as a half-civilized race, who

cultivate the ground, and live under regular government.--E.]

At the distance of about eighteen leagues from the Cape, there is

another port called Saldanha Bay, which is, in all respects, an

infinitely better harbour than Table Bay, except in wanting fresh

water, which prevents it from being frequented. The animals of this

country are many. The lion is common here, and in hard winters often

comes very near the habitations of the colonists. He is reputed the

king of beasts, because he never eats a man till he has beaten out his

breath with his paws. Before attacking a man he roars terribly, and

shakes his mane; and if he does not give these signals of rage, there

is no danger in passing him. Tigers and leopards are also very common,

and do a vast deal of mischief; and it is probable these animals would

be much more numerous, were it not for a race of wild dogs, which hunt

in packs, and are so bold that they often weary out and worry a lion.

They often destroy tigers, leopards, and wolves, and it is said that

they will allow a man to take their prey from them when they have

killed it. Travellers are never afraid when they fall in with these

wild dogs, but rather rejoice, because they are sure that no ferocious

animal is in the neighbourhood. There are many elephants in this

country, and of as great size, as any in the world, being often from

twelve to fifteen feet high or better, their teeth weighing from sixty

to an hundred and twenty pounds. The rhinoceros is also often met

with. This animal is rather less than the elephant, but stronger. His

skin is prodigiously thick, and so hard that scarcely any weapon can

pierce it. His snout is like that of a hog, on which grows a solid

horn, ten or twelve inches long, which is much valued, because

esteemed an excellent medicine in convulsions.

There are two animals peculiar to this country, which therefore

deserve notice. One is a species of wild ass, which resembles the

common ass in nothing but the length of its ears. It is as large as

an ordinary horse, and is the most beautiful animal in the world. His

hair is very soft, and from the ridge of the back descends in coloured

streaks to the belly, forming so many circles. It is a brisk and

lively creature, which runs more swiftly than any horse. It is very

difficult to take alive, and when taken cannot be tamed; yet sells

at a prodigious price, and is thought a fit present for a sovereign

prince, from its rarity and exquisite beauty[4]. The other creature,

found in no other country, is called by the Dutch the _Stinkbungsen_,

or Stinking-Badger. This is of the size of an ordinary dog, but is

shaped like a ferret. When pursued by man or beast, it retreats but

slowly, and when its enemy draws near, discharges backwards a so

intolerably fetid wind, that dogs tear up the ground and hide their

noses in it, to avoid the smell. When killed, it stinks so abominably

that there is no approaching the carcass, which is therefore left to

consume where it falls.

[Footnote 4: This is a very imperfect account of the Zebra, which

exactly resembles the ass, except in colour, and is by no means

larger. One died lately in Edinburgh, after being exhibited as a show,

which was as quiet and gentle as any lady's donkey.--E.]

It is impossible to describe all the creatures that are seen in the

vast forests of Africa, as the inhabitants see new animals every year

that are utterly unknown to them. They allege that, in the middle of

summer, when the wild animals are almost raging mad with thirst, they

resort in vast multitudes to the rivers named Salt, Elephants, and

St John's rivers, where the males and females of different species

intermixing, produce strange beasts that seem to be new species. The

Hottentots in the service of the Company frequently carry the skins of

these monsters to the governor; and our author assures us that he

saw one of the following description, that had been killed not long

before. It was about the size of a calf of six months old, and seemed

to have had four eyes. The head resembled that of a lion, but the hair

was quite smooth, and of a dark grey colour. It had tusks like a boar.

The fore-feet resembled those of that creature; but the hind-feet were

like those of a tiger.

The birds of this country are in a manner infinite in numbers and

sorts; and though they have not been observed often to intermingle

species, yet hybrids are sometimes remarked among them. The largest

and strongest birds are to be found in Africa, among which is the

ostrich, the largest of all, being commonly seven feet high. The beak

is short and pointed, but the neck is very long. The feathers of the

male are white and black only, while those of the female are mixed

white, black, and grey. Those of the former are most esteemed, as

their large feathers are better spread, and their down much softer.

This bird is prodigiously swift of foot, and is hunted down by hounds.

Their wings do not serve them to fly, but assist them in running,

especially when they have the wind with them. The common opinion of

their being able to digest iron is totally false. They swallow pieces

of iron indeed, but then it is only to bruise the food in their

gizzards, just as other birds swallow stones for the same purpose.

They are also said to leave their eggs uncovered on the sand, and to

take no care of their young. But those of the Cape country hide their

eggs in the sand, and are so tender of their young, that, though

naturally timorous, if one of them is missing, they become quite

furious, so that it is not safe to go near them. There are abundance

of eagles of all sorts at the Cape, which are very bold, and

frequently do a great deal of mischief. They are not very large, yet

are incredibly strong, so that they often kill and devour cattle when

returning home from work, when they come in great flocks. of fifty or

an hundred at once, single out a beast as it feeds among the flock,

and falling upon it all at once, kill and devour it.

Some years before our author was at the Cape, there was seen on Table

Mountain a bird as large in the body as a horse, having grey and black

plumage. His beak and talons were like those of an eagle, but of a

most dreadful size. He sat and hovered about that mountain for a long

time, and the people were persuaded it was a griffin. It frequently

carried off sheep and calves, and at length began to destroy the cows,

on which orders were given to destroy it, and it was accordingly shot,

its skin stuffed, and sent home as a curiosity to the Company. No such

bird, has been seen since, and the oldest people of the colony do not

remember to have heard of any such before.[5]

[Footnote 5: This was probably a stray Condor, and its size an

ordinary exaggeration, in the passage of the story, like that of _the

three black crows_.--E.]

Africa has been long famous for serpents, and there are such vast

numbers of them in the neighbourhood of the Cape, that many of them

have no names. Most of them are extremely venomous, and the colonists

would suffer much more than they do from them, were it not that they

have a specific remedy for their bites, not known in Europe. This

remedy is the _serpent-stone_, allowed to be factitious, and is

brought from India, where they are made by the bramins who have the

secret of composing them, which they so carefully conceal, that no

Europeans have hitherto been able to discover how they are made. The

serpent-stone is about the size of a bean, white in the middle, but of

a fine sky-blue on the outside. When a person is bitten by a serpent,

this stone is applied to the wound, to which it soon sticks fast of

itself, without the aid of any bandage or plaister. The part bitten

begins immediately to swell and becomes inflamed. The stone also

swells till it becomes full of the venom, and then drops off. It is

then put into warm milk, where it soon purges itself from the venom,

and resumes its natural colour, after which it is again applied to the

wound, where it sticks as before, till a second time full, and so on

till all the venom is extracted and the cure perfected.

All the mountains of this vast country are full of minerals and

crystal, with many things of great value, if they could be got at;

but the natives are so fearful of being made slaves in the mines, that

they take all imaginable pains to conceal them. There is particularly

a mountain, about 500 leagues from the Cape, called _Copper-mountain_,

which is supposed to contain great quantities of metals. Large

quantities of copper have been found here, which is said to contain a

mixture of gold. Some Europeans endeavoured to follow the natives, who

were suspected of going to that mountain to gather gold, but were all

massacred. The Company is so tender of the colonists, and so unwilling

to risk a revolt, that they have even neglected a gold-mine much

nearer the Cape, the marcasites of which gave great hopes of its

containing abundance of gold. Perhaps the Company may have another

reason for acting in this manner, lest, if a gold-mine was discovered

at the Cape, it might tempt the French or English to undertake

something to their prejudice. Under its present management, the Dutch

colony at the Cape is a general advantage to other nations, as well

as to the Dutch. A few years ago a cavern was discovered in a mountain

very near Cape-Town, in which the Hottentots find the venom in which

they dip their poisoned arrows. There have likewise been found about

twenty leagues from the Cape, some hot springs impregnated with steel,

which have been found to cure many diseases, by using as a bath.

Considerable improvements may certainly be made on this colony, for

the advantage both of the inhabitants and the company, which latter

make no great gains by this establishment besides the convenience it

affords in giving refreshments to their ships going to and returning

from India. The Company would be glad of any means that might

increase the value of the settlement, consistent with their maxims of

government, and with that indulgence they find it necessary to shew

the Hottentots, who are perhaps more tenacious of their liberty than

any people on earth, and the most desperate in resenting any attempts

to its prejudice.

SECTION XVII.

_Voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to Holland, with some Account of St

Helena, the Island of Ascension, and the Acores_.

Towards the end of March, 1723, the ship being revictualled, they

sailed from Table-bay with a brisk wind at S.E. the fleet homewards

bound consisting of twenty-three sail, mostly belonging to the Dutch

East India Company. In about three weeks they reached the island of

_St Helena_, which is in the latitude of 16° 15' S. [lat. 16° S. long.

5° 30' W.] This island is about seven leagues in circumference, and

is entirely composed of rocky hills, which may be seen in a clear day

from the distance of forty leagues. It is surprising to see so small

an island in the midst of the ocean, at so great a distance from any

other land, being 550 leagues from the Cape, 500 leagues from Brazil,

and 350 from Augusta, which is the nearest land[1]; yet the sea is all

around so very deep, that there is hardly an anchorage to be found.

This island was first discovered by the Portuguese, on which occasion

one of their large Indian carracks was wrecked, from the remains of

which they built a chapel, long since decayed, but which still gives

name to the finest valley in the island. They planted lemons, oranges,

and pomegranates all over the island, and left here hogs and goats,

together with partridges, pigeons, and peacocks, for the convenience

of ships touching here. At one time a hermit chose to live here,

killing the goats for the sake of their skins, which he sold to

ships that stopped here; but the Portuguese removed him, as they did

afterwards some negro slaves who had settled in the mountains. It is

now possessed by the English, who have so good a fort that it is not

likely any other nation should be able to drive them out. The vallies

are exceedingly beautiful and fertile, and in these the weather is

sometimes exceedingly hot; but as it is always cool on the mountains,

the inhabitants can never be in want of a place of refreshment. It is

admirably watered, having many rivulets running from the tops of the

hills into the sea, the water of these being as clear as crystal. The

island produces abundance of mustard, parsley, sorrel, cresses, and

other herbs, excellent against the scurvy. It has also abundance of

trees fit for fuel, but none that can serve as timber. All sorts of

refreshments are to be had in plenty.

[Footnote 1: Caleo Negro, in lat. 16° 20' S. on the coast of Africa,

is the nearest part of the continent, and is probably what is referred

to in the text under the name of Augusta.--E.]

They sailed from hence for the island of _Ascension_, which lies in

lat 8° N. and long. 14° 20' W. about 200 leagues N.W. from St Helena.

This is much of the same size, but the shore is excessively rocky, and

the whole island absolutely barren, having neither trees nor grass,

and the entire surface seems as it were rent asunder, whence some

have conceived, and not without great show of reason, that it had been

formerly a volcano, or burning mountain. In the middle of the island

there is a high hill, on one side of which water has been found. At

one season of the year, the whole surface of the island is covered

with sea-fowl. What chiefly induces ships to put into the only harbour

of the island, is the great plenty of excellent turtle to be found

here. When these animals come on shore in the night to lay their eggs,

the sailors turn them over on their backs till they have leisure to

carry them on board. These creatures will live above a month without

any kind of sustenance, having only a little salt water sprinkled

over them three or four times a-day. The sailors never weary of eating

them, believing that they make a perfect change of their juices,

freeing them entirely from the scurvy and other diseases of the blood.

As this island is a very miserable place to live in, it is common to

leave malefactors here when they do not incline to put them to death.

This was done not long before our author passed this way, to a Dutch

book-keeper, who was convicted of sodomy; though perhaps this may

be considered as a worse punishment even than death, considering the

miseries that must be endured in the hottest climate of the world, on

a place that does not afford even the slightest shelter. After leaving

this island, they began to approach the line, which they crossed

without feeling any excessive heat, as the sun was then towards the

north, and they had the benefit of pretty fresh gales, which moderated

the heat extremely. They now also began to see the north-star at

night, which they had not done for a year and a half and it is

impossible to express how much the seamen were rejoiced at this

circumstance.

Coming into the latitude of 18° N. we found that part of the sea which

is generally so covered with grass that it looks at a distance like a

meadow. This grass has a yellowish cast, being hollow within, and on

being pressed it yields a clammy viscous juice. In some years none

of this grass appears, while in other years it is found in prodigious

quantities. Some imagine that it comes from the bottom of the sea, as

divers report that the bottom is in many places covered with grass and

flowers. Others conceive that it comes from the coast of Africa: But

our author disapproves both of these opinions, because, if it came

from the bottom, there is no reason why the same appearance should not

be found elsewhere; whereas, if it came from the coast of Africa, it

ought to be found in other situations, especially near that coast. His

opinion, therefore, is, that it comes from the coast of America, and

particularly from the Gulf of Bahama, or Mexico, where it is known

to grow in great abundance, and where, when it comes to maturity, it

breaks off; and is carried away by the currents.[2]

[Footnote 2. In the old Portuguese maps and voyages, this part of

the Atlantic is called _Mar de Sargasso_, or the _Sea of Cresses_;

Sargasso signifying water-cresses, which these weeds which spread over

the sea nearly resemble.--Harris.]

Nothing is more difficult than to account for the motion and course

of currents in the ocean, which, in some places, run for six months

in one direction, and six in another, while in other places they run

always one way. There are instances also where they run one way for

a day or two after full moon, and then run strongly in the opposite

direction till next full moon. Seamen also observe, that in places

where the trade-winds blow, the currents are generally influenced by

them, moving the same way with the winds, but not with equal force

in all places; neither are they so discernible in the wide ocean,

but chiefly about islands, where their effects are more or less felt

according as they are influenced by being more or less in the way

of the trade-winds. It would be of great service to navigation if

sensible men would take notice of these currents, and enquire into the

reason of their appearances. In old books of voyages we find many more

wonders than in those of later date, not because the course of nature

is at all changed, but because nature was not then so well understood.

A thousand things were prodigious a century ago, which are not now at

all strange. Thus the storms at the Cape of Good Hope, which make so

great a figure in the histories of the Portuguese discoveries, are now

known to have been merely the effect of endeavouring to double that

Cape at a wrong season of the year.

In the East and West Indies, the natives are able to foretell

hurricanes and tornadoes, not from any superior skill, but by

observing certain signs which usually precede them. There is often so

little apparent connection between the sign and the event, that men

who value themselves on their wisdom are apt to slight such warnings

as impertinent and absurd. But they had better enquire diligently into

facts, and neither receive nor reject them too hastily. In the present

case, it is a clear matter of fact that the sea, in the latitude of

18° N. between Africa and America, is frequently covered with weeds

to a great extent, and there is good reason for enquiry as to whence

these weeds come. In the first voyage made by the famous Columbus for

the discovery of the new world, he met with this grass or sea-weed

floating on the sea, without which he could not have prevailed on his

sailors to continue the voyage; and it is very remarkable, that, by

pursuing his course through these weeds, he arrived in the Gulf of

Bahama, the place whence our present author supposes this sea-grass to

come.[3]

[Footnote 3: In his first voyage, Columbus kept the parallel of

about 37° N. but was considerably farther south in his subsequent

voyage.--E.]

Continuing their course to the north, they encountered hard gales of

wind, by which they were driven into lat. 37° N. where they fell in

with two islands, which proved to be _Flores_ and _Corres_;[4] and as

their fresh provisions were now nearly spent, they stopped three days

at the larger island to procure refreshments. There are two of the

islands named _Açores_ by the Spaniards, which signifies the _islands

of hawks_. The Dutch call them _Vlanneische eslanders_, or _Flemish

islands_, because Fayal was first peopled by Flemings, and their

descendants remain in the island to this day, and are easily

distinguished from the other inhabitants by their shape and air. They

dwell upon a little river running down a mountain, called _Ribera dos

Flamenas_ by the Portuguese, or river of the Flemings.

[Footnote 4: Flores is in lat. 39° 10', Corvo in 39° 35', both N.]

The nine islands of the Açores, or Wester Islands, are Tercera, San

Michael, Santa Maria, St George, Gratiosa, Pico, Fayal, Corvo, and

Flores. Tercera is the chief island, being fifteen or sixteen leagues

in circumference, and so high and steep in many places that it is

almost impregnable, and they have built forts in such places as are

accessible. The only port is before the capital, named _Angra_, and

as it is in the form of a half-moon, it is called the _Half-Moon of

Angra_. At each horn of this half-moon there is a mountain, which are

called the Brazils, which project out into the sea, appearing from a

distance as if two islands; and these mountains are so high that one

may see at any time ten or twelve leagues off, and fifteen in clear

weather. Angra has a fine cathedral, and is the residence of a bishop,

and of a governor and council, whose authority extends over all the

nine islands. There is another town three leagues from Angra, called

Praya, or the town of the shore, situated on a shore which cannot be

approached by ships, so that it has no trade, and the town seems a

kind of desert, though well built and walled round.

The inhabitants raise sufficient provisions on the island for

all their wants, being pleasant and fertile, and all covered with

corn-fields; and so abounds with flesh, fish, and all sorts of

victuals, that even in times of the greatest scarcity, there is enough

for all the inhabitants. It produces wine also, but very small, and

does not keep well, wherefore the richer people provide themselves

from Madeira and the Canaries. They want oil, salt, lime, and potters

ware, which they have to import from other countries. They have

abundance of peaches, apples, pears, oranges, and lemons, with all

sorts of vegetables and garden stuffs, and among these a plant

called _batatas_, which grows like a vine stock, but the leaves are

different. These produce roots, weighing a pound more or less, and

are so plentiful that they are despised by the rich, though of a sweet

pleasant taste and very nourishing. There is another root in this

country as large as a man's two fists, covered over with filaments of

a golden yellow colour, and as smooth as silk. The inhabitants

stuff beds with this, instead of feathers, but skilful workmen could

certainly manufacture it into fine stuffs.

There are but few birds, except canaries, quails, ordinary poultry,

and turkies, which are numerous. Several parts of this island are very

hilly, and full of thick and almost impervious woods; and travelling

is rendered very difficult, as you often find rocks a league in

length, so rugged and sharp that they cut the shoes at every step;

yet these rocks are so full of vines that they are not to be seen

in summer, being covered over by the vine leaves. These vines spread

their roots among the crannies and crevices of the rocks, which are

so small and devoid of soil, that it is wonderful how they should find

any nourishment; yet if planted in the good soil of the country, the

vines will not grow. The corn and fruits of this island will not keep

above a year; and unless the corn is buried under ground, it spoils in

four months. On this account, every inhabitant has a pit without the

town, the mouth of which is round, just large enough to admit a man,

which is covered by a flat stone and secured by a lock. Some of these

pits are so large as to contain two or three lasts of corn, the last

containing 108 bushels Amsterdam measure, and each bushel weighing

forty pounds or more. They put their corn into these pits in July,

and cover the stone with earth to exclude the air, and take it out at

Christmas, or considerably later, finding it then as good as when put

in. The oxen in Tercera are the largest and finest that can be, equal

to any in Europe, and have prodigiously wide horns. Every one has his

name, like our dogs, and they are so familiar, that when the master

calls one of them by his name, though among a thousand others, he will

presently come to him.

One would think the ground of this island were hollow, as the rocks

sound like vaults when walked on; and indeed the thing is not at all

improbable, as the island is much subject to earthquakes. In many

places of the island of San Michael there are holes and cracks, out of

which there comes a great smoke, and the ground seems as if burnt all

around. This is not uncommon also in all the islands, as they all have

sulphur mountains. There are also fountains of water so hot as to boil

eggs. Three leagues from Angra there is a petrifying spring, which

changes wood into stone; and there was formerly a tree having some of

its roots in that water, which were stony and as hard as flint. This

island produces excellent timber, especially cedar, which is so common

that their carts and waggons are made of it, and it is even used as

fuel. The island of _Pico_, twelve leagues from Tercera, has a sort of

wood called _teixo_, as hard as iron, and of a shining red colour when

wrought. It becomes always better and finer as it grows older; for

which reason no person is allowed to cut any of these trees, unless

for the king's use, and by virtue of a special order from the royal

officers. The chief trade of Tercera consists in _woad_, of which they

have great quantities. The fleets of Spain and Portugal, bound for the

East Indies, Brazil, Cape Verd, Guinea, and other countries, usually

come here for refreshments, to the great profit of this and the other

islands, the inhabitants selling to them their various articles at

good prices.

The island of _San Michael_ is seven or eight leagues S.E. of Tercera,

and is about twenty leagues in length, having several towns and

villages. The capital of this island is _Ponta del Guda_, which drives

a considerable trade in _woad_, sent to Tercera, producing about

200,000 quintals[5] every year. This island also produces such

abundance of corn, that it is transported to the other islands; but it

has no harbours or rivers to give shelter to ships.

[Footnote 5: This is perhaps an error for 2000, as the larger quantity

would amount to 10,000 tons.--E.]

_Santa Maria_, twelve leagues S. of San Michael, is ten or twelve

leagues in circumference, its only trade being in earthen ware, with

which the inhabitants supply the other islands. It also produces

plenty of all manner of provisions for its own inhabitants. The island

of _Gratiosa_, seven or eight leagues N.N.W. of Tercera, is only about

five or six leagues in circumference, but abounds in provisions of all

sorts. _St George_, eight or nine leagues N.W. of Tercera, is

twelve leagues in length by two or three in breadth. This is a wild

mountainous country, producing very little woad. The inhabitants

subsist by cultivating the ground and keeping cattle, and export

considerable quantities of cedar to Tercera. _Fayal_, seven German

leagues S.S.W. of St George, is seventeen or eighteen leagues in

circumference, and is the best of the Açores, after Tercera and San

Michael. This island has plenty of woad, with abundance of fish,

cattle, and other commodities, which are exported to Tercera and the

other islands. Its chief town is called _Villa Dorta_. Most of the

inhabitants of this island are descended from Flemings, but now speak

the Portuguese language; yet they continue to love the Flemings, and

use all strangers kindly.

Three leagues S.E. of Fayal is the island of _Pico_, so called from

a peaked mountain, which some believe to be higher than the Peak of

Teneriffe. The inhabitants cultivate the soil, and have plenty of

cattle and other provisions, growing also better wine than in any

other island of the Açores. This island is about fifteen leagues in

circumference. Seventy leagues W.N.W. from Tercera is the island of

_Flores_, and to the N. of it lies _Corvo_, the former about seven,

and the latter not above two or three leagues in circumference.

They both produce woad, especially Flores, which also abounds in

provisions. The winds at all these islands are so strong, and the air

so piercing, especially at Tercera, that they in a short time spoil

and consume the stones of the houses, and even iron.[6] They have a

kind of stone, however, that is found within high-water mark, which

resists the air better than the other sorts, and of which the fronts

of their houses are generally built.

[Footnote 6: This effect on the iron is obviously occasioned by

the muriatic acid in the sea spray; and were it not that the author

expressly says they have no lime, one would be apt to believe that the

stones so affected were limestone. There are, however, some cilicious

sand-stones, in which the grit, or particles of sand, are cemented

together by a calcareous infiltration, which may be the case in these

islands.--E.]

Leaving the Açores, and getting into Spanish sea, or mouth of the bay

of Biscay, the weather proved so bad that the _Advice-ship_ lost

her rudder, which obliged her to go through the Channel in order to

purchase a new one on the coast of England. The French, Danish, and

other ships, generally go that way; but the Dutch ships generally go

round Ireland and north about, from an idea, if they should happen

to meet with stormy weather in the channel, so as to be obliged to go

into an English port, that this might occasion several inconveniences.

Such ships, however, as have sustained any damage at sea, are

permitted to take their way through the channel. The rest of the Dutch

fleet followed the north-about course; and after three weeks, during

which they were involved in perpetual mists and fogs, they had sight

at length of the Orkney islands, where some Dutch ships were still

engaged in the herring fishery. In the latitude of 60° N. they met

some ships of war that waited for them, and convoyed them to the

coast of Holland, where all the ships got into their destined ports

in safety. Those on board of which were our author, and the other

prisoners, came into the Texel on the 11th of July, 1723; and arrived

five days afterwards at Amsterdam, the very same day two years after

sailing on their voyage.

The West-Company immediately commenced a law-suit against the

East-India Company, in behalf of themselves and all the persons

engaged in their service in the foregoing voyage, to obtain

satisfaction for the injury and injustice done them at Batavia. After

a long litigation, the States-General decreed, that the East-India

Company should furnish the West-India Company with two new ships,

completely fitted for sea in every respect, better than those which

had been confiscated by their officers in India, and should pay the

full value of their cargoes. Also, that the East-India Company should

pay the wages of the crews of both ships, up to the day of their

landing in Holland: Together with the entire costs of suit; besides

a considerable sum by way of fine, as a punishment for having abused

their authority so egregiously.[7]

[Footnote 7: Harris has given a report of this law-suit at some

length, but it did not seem necessary to give any more than the

result, as quite uninteresting at the present day.--E.]

CHAPTER XIV.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, BY CAPTAIN GEORGE ANSON, IN THE YEARS

1740-1744.[1]

PREFACE.

Though of considerable length, the importance of this narrative

forbids all attempts to alter it in any respect; except that it has

been necessary to leave out the explanations of several engraved

views of coasts and harbours, inserted in the original, but which were

greatly too large for admission, and would have been rendered totally

useless by being reduced to any convenient use for the octavo form

of this collection. Indeed, to have introduced all the engravings of

plans and views, necessary for the illustration of this and many other

voyages and travels, would have been utterly incompatible with the

nature and circumstances of this work; as nothing less than a complete

Atlas and entire Neptune of the whole globe could have sufficed,

attended by an enormous expence, and at the same time inadmissible

into octavo volumes. It has therefore been indispensably requisite,

on all occasions, to confine our illustrations of that kind to a

few reduced charts, merely sufficient to convey general notions of

geographical circumstances, and occasionally sketch plans of harbours,

straits, islands, and capes, explanatory of particular and important

places. Such of our readers, therefore, as require more complete

illustrations of geography, topography, and hydrography, must have

recourse to Atlasses, Neptunes, and coasting pilots.

[Footnote 1: Voyage, &c. by George Anson, Esq. afterwards Lord

Anson; compiled from his papers and materials by Richard Walter, M.A.

chaplain of H.M.S. Centurion in that expedition--_fifteenth edition_,

4to, Lond. 1776.]

This narrative was originally published under the name of Richard

Walter, chaplain to H.M.S. Centurion in the expedition, dedicated by

him to John Duke of Bedford, and said to have been compiled by that

gentleman from papers and materials furnished for the purpose by

Commodore Anson.

As the object of this expedition was of an extensive political nature,

intended to humble the power of Spain, in her most valuable yet most

vulnerable possessions, by injuring and intercepting the great source

of her public treasure, it has been thought proper, on the present

occasion, to give a transcript of the reflections made upon the

policy and expedience of this important voyage, very soon after

its completion, by Dr John Harris, by way of _Introduction_ to his

abridged account of this circumnavigation, in his Collection of

Voyages and Travels, vol. i. p. 337.

* * * * *

"It is a thing that has been generally taken for granted, ever since

Spain has been possessed of her American dominions, and has made use

of the riches derived from these to disturb the peace and invade the

liberties of her neighbours, that the best way to reduce her strength,

and to prevent the bad effects of her evil intentions, would be to

attack her in the South Seas. This was pursued with great diligence,

and in some measure with success, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, [as

has been already shewn in the circumnavigatory voyages of Drake

and Candish, almost solely devoted to that object.] In that of her

successor, when a new quarrel broke out with that crown, in the year

1624, the first thing thought of by our patriots, who were equally

willing to humble the king's enemies and to save the money of the

nation, was an expedition to the South Seas, to be carried on at

the expence of, and for the benefit of the people; which scheme was

entitled _The West-India Association_.

"It may be thought I look a great way back when I offer to the view

of the reader the reasons which were then suggested in parliament in

support of that scheme. But whoever considers that it is not only the

most effectual, but the safest method, to instruct the present age

from the sentiments of the last, will readily enter into the reasons

which induce me, upon this occasion, to produce the speech of an

eminent patriot, in which the nature and scope of that _Association_,

as well as the motives on which it is grounded, are very fully and

pathetically set forth; and this in such terms, as, if the reader were

not told that this was a speech to Sir Dudley Diggs, then chairman

of a committee of the whole house, by Sir Benjamin Rudyard, he might

mistake it for a speech made only a few years since, so agreeable is

it, in language and sentiments, even to our present occasions.

"Sir,--I do profess that as my affections, my reason, and my judgement

go strongly with the scope and drift of this proposition, so shall

good part of my fortune when it comes to execution. For, to my

understanding, there was never propounded in parliament a design more

proper for this kingdom, nor more pregnant with advantages to it,

whether we consider the nature of our situation or the quality of our

enemy's forces. As we are an island, it concerns our very being to

have store of ships to defend us, and also our well-being by their

trade to enrich us. This Association for the West Indies, when it

shall be regulated and established by act of parliament, and thereby

secured from the violence and injury of any intruding hand, will

certainly give many men encouragement and confidence voluntarily

to bring in large and liberal contributions towards so noble and so

profitable an enterprize; so that, in short, we shall see many new

ships built, many brave men employed, and enabled to act for the

service of their country. None of this money shall be carried out of

the kingdom, but laid out in shipping, which is the defence of it, and

bestowed upon our own men, who must be fed and maintained though they

stay at home. For this, we shall reap the fruit of whatsoever benefit

plantation, traffic, or purchase can procure us, besides honour and

security.

"Now, let us a little consider the enemy we have to encounter, the

king of Spain. They are not his great territories which make him so

powerful and so troublesome to all Christendom. For it is very well

known that Spain itself is but weak in men, and barren of natural

commodities, and as for his other territories, they lie divided and

asunder, which is a weakness in itself. Besides, they are held

by force, and maintained at an extraordinary charge; insomuch, as

although he be a great king, yet he is like that giant who was said

to have an hundred hands, but had fifty bellies to feed, so that,

rateably, he had no more hands than another man. No, sir, they are

his mines in the West Indies which minister fuel to feed his ambitious

desire of universal monarchy. It is the money he hath from thence

which makes him able to levy and pay soldiers in all places, and to

keep an army on foot ready to invade and endanger his neighbours, so

that we have no other way but to endeavour to cut him off at the root,

and seek to impeach or to supplant him in the West Indies; by part

of which course that famous queen, of glorious memory, had heretofore

almost brought him to his knees. And this our undertaking, if it

pleases God to bless it, most needs affect it sooner and quicker, the

whole body of the kingdom being united, and concurring in a perpetual

supply to this action, so that he shall have no free time given him to

rest.

"Moreover, this will be a means not only to save, but to fill his

majesty's coffers, enabling the people to give him liberally and

often. The king's ships will have little to do but to guard the

coasts; for the sea-war will be chiefly made at the charge of the

subjects. This I doubt not but that, in a short time, both king and

people shall be safe at home, and feared abroad. To conclude, I shall

be very glad to hear any man make objection against this design, so

that he do so with an intention to refine and perfect the work; but

if any shall speak against it with a mind to hinder and destroy it, I

must entreat him to pardon me, if I do scarce think him to be a good

Englishman.

"That project of the West India Association had the same fate with

most other bold and honest projects in that reign, which was, after

being talked of a little, it sunk into oblivion. Our next difference

with Spain was under the protectorate of Cromwell, who encouraged

Father Gage to publish his account of the Spanish West Indies, which

formed the foundation of his attempt upon Hispaniola, and conquest of

Jamaica; but I do not know of any design formed by him to attack the

Spaniards in the South Seas. After the Restoration we were upon good

terms with Spain, as certainly was our interest. Yet Charles II. did

not absolutely neglect this navigation, but sent Sir John Marborough,

one of the best seamen this nation ever bred, in the Sweepstakes, in

the latter end of the year 1669, by way of the Straits of Magellan,

into the South Seas. To say the truth, our privateers, under the

command of Captains Sharpe, Davis, Swan, &c. were continually in these

seas, during all that reign and the next; so that, in those days, our

seamen were no strangers to any of the passages into the South Seas;

and, as the reader may have already observed, from the voyage of

Captain Cowley, it was then no unusual thing for the traders of London

to fit out ships for these parts, but whether with a view to traffic

or privateering, is a point not easy to determine at this distance of

time. But whatever the purpose they were sent upon, thither they went,

and no complaints were ever heard of with respect to extraordinary

hardships in the voyage, which is sufficient to shew how much

depends upon keeping all branches of navigation open, in order to

be constantly in a condition to secure and extend our trade, and to

preserve our reputation as a maritime power.

"After the Revolution, several proposals were made in relation to the

establishment of a commerce in the South Sea, which were received with

approbation; and it is certain that king William gave instructions to

Admiral Benbow, when he went out last to the West Indies, to enquire

how far any of these projects were feasible. After the breaking out of

the last general war, all the world expected that the first thing the

maritime powers would have done, would have been sending a squadron

to these seas, either for the service of the prince whom they owned as

king of Spain, or for their own advantage. The people of this nation,

in particular, were so desirous of seeing the war carried on this way,

and on this side, that, to give them hopes, and to shew, at the same

time, that the legislature approved their sentiments, a bill was

brought in and passed, in the House of Lords, for the better carrying

on the war in the West Indies, which was lost, however, by a kind

of ministerial craft, in the House of Commons; and soon after, for

reasons which have never yet been explained to the public, all designs

of this nature were laid aside. The only expedition of this nature,

during the whole war, was that of the Duke and Duchess, under the

command of Captain Woods Rogers, already related, which was fitted out

at the expence of some private merchants of Bristol. On the change of

ministry, a prodigious clamour was raised on this head, and all of a

sudden a resolution was taken to secure all the advantages that could

be wished for to this nation from the trade of the South Seas, which

ended, however, only in erecting a company under that title.

The nation very soon became sensible that this would not do, and

therefore, as soon as our disputes with the king of Spain came to

a height, in the reign of the late king, George I. a design was

immediately set on foot for sending privateers once more into that

part of the world, which ended in the expedition of Captain Shelvocke

and Captain Clipperton, already related at large.

"By this short deduction of facts, I think it is demonstrably proved,

that, in the judgement of this nation, the most probable way of

humbling Spain, in case of a war, is to send a squadron into the South

Seas, and I will venture to say, that there is one reason why this

is now become more expedient than ever, which is, that we are now no

longer at liberty to send ships thither in time of peace, as we were

before the South Sea Company was erected. It is not therefore at all

strange, that as soon as the present war broke out with Spain, the

general voice of the nation dictated such an expedition, or that, when

they saw it resolved on, and a squadron actually equipped for that

service, they very loudly testified their approbation of the scheme.

I believe also, my readers will readily give credit to the assertion,

when I affirm, that, during the time this squadron lay at Portsmouth,

there was a more general expectation of its performing things of the

highest consequence for the service of Great Britain, and reducing the

enemy to reason.

"It was in the midst of summer, in the year 1740, that this squadron

was formed at Portsmouth, at the same time that a great embarkation

was preparing for the West Indies, by which the siege of Carthagena

was afterwards undertaken, which turned the eyes of the whole world

upon that sea-port. At London, every person spoke of the intended

expedition to the South Seas as a design that must necessarily be

attended with highly advantageous consequences, if properly conducted;

and of this there was not made the least doubt, when it was known that

Captain Anson was named to the command, because he had shewn himself

upon all occasions equally vigilant in his duty, and moderate in the

exercise of power, more ready to correct by his own example than by

any other sort of reproof, and who, in the course of his services,

had acquired the respect of the officers, and the love of the sailors;

qualities that rarely meet in one person, and qualities which, without

the least contradiction, were ascribed to him.[2]

[Footnote 2: The sequel of these observations, by Harris, are

extracted from his supplementary reflections at the close of the

expedition, vol. 1, p. 364, _et sequ._ In these, however, we have used

much retrenchment, as the observations that may have been exceedingly

applicable in 1745, when Spain was in a great manner identified with

France, have now lost much of their force, in consequence of the

passing events, well known to all, but which do not admit of being

discussed in a note.--E.]

"Though this expedition was not attended by so great success in the

South Seas as was expected, yet the nation in general was far from

believing that its comparative failure ought to deter us from

the thoughts of such expeditions for the future, since it plainly

appeared, that, if the whole squadron had got round along with

the commodore into the South Seas, he would have been able to have

performed much greater things than any of our commanders had hitherto

done in these parts. Neither is it at all clear that the Spaniards

are there in a better condition, their coasts better fortified,

their garrisons more numerous, or the country in any respect better

provided, than when our privateers had formerly so great success

in those parts. The sacking of Payta in this expedition proves the

contrary, since it was then actually in a worse condition, and less

capable of making any resistance, than when formerly taken by Captain

Shelvocke. If this expedition had never taken place, we might have

been told that it was impracticable, that the Spaniards were grown

wiser, that all their ports were well fortified, and any attempt of

this kind would be only to sacrifice the lives of such as might be

employed in the expedition. But we now know the contrary, and that the

Spaniards remained as unguarded, and as little apprehensive as ever;

perhaps even the fate of this expedition may have made them less

so, insomuch, that were a new project of the same kind to be put in

execution, either at public or private expence, there seems next to a

moral certainty that it would succeed. Another expedition might,

and probably would be attended by fewer difficulties; at least, it

certainly might be undertaken at much less expence; and, besides

all the advantages resulting to such private persons as became

proprietors, this inestimable advantage would accrue to the public,

that we should once more have a number of able marines, well

acquainted with the navigation of the South Seas, which we never can

have by any other means.

"I would not be understood at all to lessen the miseries and

distresses of these who were employed in this voyage; and all I would

endeavour to aim at is to convince the reader that the difficulties

and discouragements met with in this voyage are not sufficient to

ground a decisive opinion by the few in opposition to the sentiments

of the many, that all attempts on this side ought to be abandoned. And

I really think that the setting the difficulties and discouragements

encountered by the Centurion in the strongest light, will serve my

purpose much better than lessening or extenuating them. For, if after

being ruined in a manner by storms, diseases, and hardships, they

landed rather skeletons than men, on the island of Juan Fernandez; if,

after their long cruize in the South Seas, their distresses came to be

as great when they took shelter in the island of Tinian; if the lying

at Macao was attended with many inconveniences; if the taking of the

Spanish galleon be a thing almost incredible, considering the small

number of men, and the condition they were in, who attacked her in the

Centurion; if the difficulties they afterwards met with in the river

of Canton, and the hazards run by the commodore in visiting the

viceroy, and thereby putting himself into the hands of such a people

as the Chinese, who could not but be displeased with his proceedings,

are circumstances which aggravate the matter: If so perilous a

navigation as that from Canton, through the Straits of Sunda, and

thence to the Cape of Good Hope, with little or no refreshment, with

a crew that wanted it so much, is still more amazing; and if the

bringing the ship home from thence, with a crew composed of so many

different nations, in the midst of a French war, and without the least

assistance from home, swell the whole into a kind of miracle, what

does all this prove? Since all this, under God, was entirely owing to

the prudence, moderation, and wise conduct of the commanding officer,

it certainly proves, if a right choice be made of commanders, that

there are no difficulties which may not be overcome, and therefore

that the adverse circumstances attending this voyage ought not at all

to discourage us.

"For, with the help of the example afforded by Commodore Anson, I

presume that there are many officers who would undertake and execute

such an expedition, to the honour of their country, and to the

advantage of their employers, supposing them to be employed by private

persons. This is the right use that might be made of this expedition:

an expedition difficult, dangerous, and in a manner impracticable,

considered in one light, but equally glorious and successful

when considered in another point of view; An expedition that has

demonstrated to the whole world that a train of unforeseen and most

disastrous accidents may be remedied, and even turned to advantage, by

an honest, skilful, brave, experienced, and well-meaning officer; An

expedition which shews that there are no hazards, no difficulties, no

distresses capable of depressing the courage of English seamen under

a proper commander; an expedition which makes it evident that

discontent, sedition, and mutiny, do not arise from the restless

tempers, intractable dispositions, and unruly behaviour of the English

sailors, but purely from the want of prudence, and right management,

and, in short, from the want of experience and capacity of such as

are entrusted with the command of them; an expedition, in a word, that

puts it beyond all doubt that the British nation is, at this day,

as capable of undertaking as great things, and of performing them as

successfully, as ever were done by their ancestors; and, consequently,

an expedition that must convince not only us, but all Europe, that

if our maritime force be not employed in undertakings of the most

important nature, it is not owing to the degeneracy or our seamen, nor

to be imputed to our want of able or daring commanders, which is not

my business, and which indeed surpasses my abilities, to discover.

"We are now to close this general subject of circumnavigations, which

relates to the whole world. It is true, that all the circumnavigators

did not propose, and that several of them did not make, any

discoveries; yet all their voyages are of great, though not of equal

importance, down to this last. For, by comparing that by Magellan,

which was the first, with this by Mr Anson, we shall find them to

differ in many respects, especially in the conclusion; that by Mr

Anson being by far the longer of the two. Some of them, also, took

quite a different route from others. As, for instance, Le Maire and

Roggewein, who never ran at all into the northern latitudes, but

sailed directly through the South Seas to the coast of New Guinea, and

thence to the island of Java; which is a much shorter course than

by way of California to the Philippines. From hence it very clearly

appears, that the passage to the East Indies by the South Seas is

shorter than that by the Cape of Good Hope;[3] of which the reader

will be convinced by considering the following particulars. Captain

Woods Rogers, in the Duke, sailed From the coast of Ireland and

doubled Cape Horn in four months; and Le Maire sailed from Juan

Fernandez to New Guinea and the Moluccas in three months; so that this

voyage takes up but seven months in the whole; whereas the Dutch, when

the chief emporium of their eastern commerce was fixed at Amboina,

thought it a good passage thither from Holland, if performed in ten or

eleven months.[4] It is from these stupendous voyages, that not only

the greatest discoveries have been made in general geography, but

from which all future discoveries must be expected; and therefore

this ought to be considered as one of the strongest arguments for

encouraging such voyages.[5]--_Harris._

[Footnote 3: It is not easy to conceive how Harris should have fallen

into this enormous error. To say nothing of the greater length and

difficulty of passing round Cape Horn, rather than the Cape of Good

Hope, the difference in longitudes is sufficient to establish the

absolute contrary of the position in the text. The longitude, for

instance, of the island of Ceylon, by the eastern passage, is only

80° E. whereas by the western passage it is 280 W. an excess of 200

degrees. Even Canton in China, is only in 113° E. but in 247° W. an

excess of 134 degrees.--E.]

[Footnote 4: To say nothing of the absurdity of the partial instances

adduced, it may be mentioned that, only a few years ago, an English

East Indiaman performed the voyage from England to Madras, delivered

his outward-bound cargo, took on board a new cargo, and returned to

England, all within nine months.--E.]

[Footnote 5: The remaining observations of Harris, supplementary

to his abbreviated account of this expedition, have no manner of

connection with the subject in hand, and are therefore omitted.]

* * * * *

George Anson, the commodore on this expedition, was born in 1697,

being the third son of William Anson, Esq. of Shuckborough, in the

county of Stafford. Taking an early inclination for the naval service,

and after passing through the usual inferior steps, he was appointed

second lieutenant of the Hampshire in 1716. He was raised to the rank

of master and commander in 1722, and obtained the rank of post captain

in 1724, with the command of the Scarborough man-of-war. Between that

time and the year 1733, he made three voyages to North Carolina; and

having acquired considerable wealth, he appears to have purchased an

estate in that colony, where he erected a small town of his own name,

which gave the name of Anson County to the surrounding district. In

the years 1738 and 1739, he made another voyage to America and the

coast of Africa; and, without proceeding to hostilities, removed

certain obstructions under which the English trade on the coast of

Guinea had suffered from the French.

In the _War of the Merchants_, as it was called by Sir Robert Walpole,

which broke out in 1739 between Britain and Spain, Captain Anson was

appointed to the command of the expedition, the narrative of which

forms the subject of the present chapter. Immediately after his

return to England from this circumnavigation, Captain Anson was

made rear-admiral of the blue, and shortly afterwards, one of the

commissaries of the Admiralty. In 1746 he was farther promoted to the

rank of Vice-admiral; and in the winter of 1746-7, was entrusted with

the command of the channel fleet. In May 1747, off Cape Finisterre,

he captured six French ships of the line under the command of Admiral

Jonquiere, which had been dispatched for the protection of the

merchant ships destined for the East and West Indies. On this

occasion, when Mons. St George, one of the French captains,

surrendered his sword to Admiral Anson, he addressed him in the

following terms: _Vous avez vaincu L'Invincible, et La Gloire vous

suit._--"You have defeated the Invincible, and Glory follows you:"

alluding to two of the French ships, the Invincible and the Gloire,

which had surrendered to him.

For this important service to his king and country, he was created a

peer of the realm, by the title of LORD ANSON; and, in 1749, on the

death of Admiral Norris, he was appointed Vice-admiral of England. In

1751, he succeeded to Lord Sandwich, as first Lord Commissioner of the

Admiralty; but, incurring censure for the loss of Minorca, he resigned

this situation in 1756. But, having been acquitted of all blame

relative to that disgraceful affair, after a parliamentary enquiry, he

was reinstated in that high office, which he continued to fill, with

honour to himself and advantage to his country, during the remainder

of his life. While attending upon the Duke of Mecklenburgh Strelitz,

brother to our present queen, to shew him the naval arsenal at

Portsmouth, and the fleet which was then about to sail on the

expedition against the Havannah, he caught a violent cold, of which he

died, at Moor-Park in Hertfordshire, on the 6th of June 1762, in the

sixty-fifth year of his age. Having no issue by his lady, the daughter

of Lord Hardwicke, whom he married in 1748, he left the whole of his

property to his brother.

Lord Anson appears to have been remarkable for the coolness and

equanimity of his temper. Amid all the dangers and successes of his

circumnavigation of the globe, he never expressed any strong emotion,

either of sorrow or joy, except when the Centurion hove in sight of

Tinian. He was a man of few words, and was even reckoned particularly

silent among English seamen, who have never been distinguished for

their loquacity. He introduced a rigid discipline into the English

navy, somewhat resembling that of the Prussian army; and revived

that bold and close method of fighting, within pistol-shot, which had

formerly been so successfully employed by Blake and Shovel, and which

has fostered that daring courage and irresistible intrepidity in our

British seamen, which anticipate and secure success to the most daring

and hazardous enterprizes.

In some reflexions, towards the conclusion of Betagh's

circumnavigation, Harris,[6] a former editor of a collection of

voyages and travels, breaks forth in the following laudatory strain:--

"Happy, happy, for us, that we have still a SEAMAN left, who has shewn

that the race of heroes is not yet extinct among us, in ADMIRAL ANSON,

that great and fortunate commander; who enjoys the singular felicity,

in an age of sloth, luxury, and corruption, that his _ease_ is the

result of his _labour_, his _title_ the reward of his _merit_, and

that his _wealth_ does _honour_ to his country."

[Footnote 6: Harris, Voy. and Trav. I. 253.]

How much more happy is it for us in the present day, somewhat more

than half a century later, and while every energy is required to the

utmost stretch, that we still have a race of transcendent heroes, who

have annihilated the navy and trade and colonies or our arch enemy,

have vindicated and preserved our glory and freedom and prosperity,

and bid fair to restore the honour and independence of the civilized

world, threatened with subversion by the modern Atilla--Ed.

INTRODUCTION.

Notwithstanding the great improvement of navigation within the last

two centuries, a voyage round the world is still considered as an

enterprize of so very singular a nature, that the public have never

failed to be extremely inquisitive about the various accidents

and turns of fortune with which this uncommon attempt is generally

attended. And, though the amusement expected in these narratives is

doubtless one great source of that curiosity with the bulk of readers,

yet the more intelligent part of mankind have always agreed, that,

from accounts of this nature, if faithfully executed, the more

important purposes of navigation, commerce, and national interest, may

be greatly promoted. For every authentic description of foreign coasts

and countries will contribute to one or more of these great ends, in

proportion to the wealth, wants, or commodities of these countries,

and our ignorance of these coasts; and therefore, a voyage round

the world promises a species of information, of all others, the most

desirable and interesting; since great part of it is performed in seas

with which we are, as yet, but very imperfectly acquainted, and in the

neighbourhood of a country renowned for the abundance of its wealth;

though it is, at the same time, stigmatized for its poverty in the

necessaries and conveniences of a civilized life.

These considerations have occasioned the compiling the ensuing work;

which, in gratifying the inquisitive disposition of mankind, and

contributing to the safety and success of future navigators, and to

the extension of our commerce, may doubtless vie with any narration of

this kind hitherto made public; since, as to the first of these heads,

it may well be supposed that the general curiosity hath been strongly

excited, by the circumstances of this undertaking already known to the

world; for, whether we consider the force of the squadron sent on

this service, or the diversified distresses that each single ship was

separately involved in, or the uncommon instances of varying fortune

which attended the whole enterprize; each of these articles must,

I conceive, from its well-known rude outlines, appear worthy of a

completer and more finished delineation: And, if this be allowed with

respect to the narrative part of the work, there can be no doubt about

the more useful and instructive parts, which are almost every where

interwoven with it; for I can venture to affirm, without fear of being

contradicted, on a comparison, that no voyage, hitherto published,

furnishes such a number of views of land, soundings, draughts of

ports, charts, and other materials, for the improvement of geography

and navigation, as are contained in the ensuing volume; which are the

more valuable too, as the greatest part of them relate to such islands

or coasts as have been hitherto not at all, or erroneously described;

and where the want of sufficient and authentic information might

occasion future enterprizes to prove abortive, perhaps with the

destruction of the ships and men employed therein.

Besides the number and choice of these marine drawings and

descriptions, there is another very essential circumstance belonging

to them, which much enhances their worth; and that is the great

accuracy with which they were executed. I shall express my opinion of

them, in this particular, very imperfectly, when I say that they are

not exceeded, and perhaps not equalled, by any thing of this nature

that hath, as yet, been communicated to the world: For they were not

copied from the works of others, or composed at home from imperfect

accounts given by incurious and unskilful observers, a practice

too frequent in these matters; but the greatest part of them were

delineated on the spot, with the utmost exactness, by the direction

and under the eye of Mr Anson himself; and where, as is the case in

three or four of them, they have been done by less skilful hands, or

were found in possession of the enemy, and consequently their justness

could be less relied on, I have always taken care to apprize the

reader of it, and to put him on his guard against giving entire credit

to them; although I doubt not but these less authentic draughts, thus

cautiously inserted, are to the full as correct as those which are

usually published upon these occasions. For, as actual surveys of

roads and harbours, and nice and critical delineations of views of

land, take up much time and attention, and require a good degree

of skill, both in planning and drawing, those who are defective

in industry and ability supply these wants by bold conjectures and

fictitious descriptions; and, as they can be no otherwise confuted

than by going on the spot, and running the risk of suffering by their

misinformation, they have no apprehension of being detected; and

therefore, when they intrude their supposititious productions on the

public, they make no conscience of boasting, at the same time, with

how much skill and care they have been executed. But let not those who

are unacquainted with naval affairs imagine, that the impositions of

this kind are of an innocent nature; for, as exact views of land are