Carredive, called by us Amsterdam; Tamiedive, Leyden; Pongedive,
Middleburg; Nerendive, Delft; Neynadive, Haarlem; Aneledive, Rotterdam;
Remedive, "de Twee Gebroeders," or Hoorn and Enkhuisen.
Besides the revenue stated above, Carredive yields the best dye-roots
in this Commandement, although the quantity is no more than 10 or
12 bharen a year. The dye-roots from Delft are just as good, but it
yields only 4 or 5 bharen a year. Salt, lime, and coral stone are
also obtained from these islands, but particulars with regard to these
matters have been stated at length in the report by the late Commandeur
Blom to His late Excellency van Mydregt, to which I would refer. [66]
Horse-breeding is an enterprise of which much was expected, but so far
the Company has not made much profit by it. Yet there is no reason
to despair, and better results may be hoped for. Your Honours must
remember that formerly in the islands Delft, Hoorn, and Enkhuizen all
kinds of horses were bred together; so that but few good animals were
obtained. In 1690 and 1691 orders were given to shoot all horses that
were too small or defective, and to capture the rest and send them to
Colombo and Coromandel. The latter were sold at Negapatam by public
auction, while the rest were given to soldiers on the opposite coast
in the Company's service, who used the animals so badly that they were
soon unfit for work. In this way the islands have become destitute
of horses, and the only thing to be done was to send there some good
mares and two or three Persian stallions for breeding purposes. So
far no good horses could be obtained, because a foal has to be 4 or
3 1/2 years old before it is fit for use. It is only since 1692,
1693, and 1694 that we had good stallions, and this accounts for
the fact that no foals have yet been obtained. The deficit is at
present Fl. 8,982.9, so that it would seem as if expenditure and
trouble are the only results to be expected from this enterprise;
but it must be remembered that at present there are on the island of
Delft alone about 400 or 500 foals of 1, 1 1/2, 2, and 2 1/2 years
old, while there are also a number of horses on the island "de Twee
Gebroeders." The expenditure was incurred mostly in the purchase of the
Persian stallions, and this expenditure has not been in vain, because
we possess now more than 400 horses, each of which will be worth about
a hundred guilders, so that the whole number will be worth about 40,000
guilders. In compliance with the orders by His Excellency van Mydregt
of November 29, 1690, these animals must be sold at Coromandel on
account of this Commandement, and the valuation of the horses may be
determined from the fact that the Prince of Tansjour has accepted one
or two of them in lieu of the recognition which the Company owes him
yearly for two Arabian horses. For this reason and in compliance with
the said orders the first horses captured must be sent to Negapatam,
so that the account in respect of horse-breeding may be balanced. As
the stallions kept on the islands have become too old, application
has been made for younger animals, and also for five or six mares
from Java, which have been granted by His Excellency the Governor
and the Council in their letter of April 29, 1695. Your Honours are
further advised not to sell any horses from the island of Delft for
less than Rds. 25 and from the islands "de Twee Gebroeders" for less
than Rds. 35 to the Company's servants, as they fetch more than that
at the public auctions in Negapatam. Even this is a favour to them;
but I noticed that the horses from Delft have been sold at 15 and
those from Hoorn and Enkhuisen at Rds. 20, which I think cannot be
done in future, since the destruction of the defective animals has
improved the race. I hope that this will clear up the passage with
regard to the horse-breeding in the letter from Batavia to Ceylon of
July 3, 1696, as also that Their Excellencies may be satisfied with
the result. I think expectations were raised too high at first; as
the real advantage could only be known in course of time; while, on
the other hand, the capital expended must be looked upon as standing
out on interest.[67]
The Passes of this Commandement are various, but all are guarded in
such a way that no goods can be brought in or taken out without a
license, nor are people able to go through without a passport. At
Kayts and Point Pedro passports are issued in the usual way to
those who come or go by sea; while to those who travel by land an
Acte of Permission is issued, which is written in Mallabaar on ola,
and is called Cayoppe. These are issued both by the Dessave and by
the Commandeur, but as so many thousands of people come and go, and
the signing of these Cayoppes occupies so much of the time of the
Commandeurs, a steel stamp is used now by the Dessave to mark these
also. I have followed the same practice, and used a seal with the
letters H. Z., [68] which I handed over shortly before my departure for
Colombo in February, 1696, to the Political Council, together with the
seal for the oely service, with instructions that these seals were to
be used just as if I were still on the spot, because the Dessave was
absent at the pearl fishery, and I was commissioned by the Supreme
Government of India to proceed to Mallabaar without being formally
relieved of my office in this Commandement. On my return from Colombo
in August I found that this order had not been carried out, but that
the Captain Jan van der Bruggen had thought it well to have another
seal specially made, with the monogram VOC, not only suppressing my
order given to him in full Council, but also having a new seal made,
which was beyond his authority and seemed to me quite out of place. I
cannot account for his extraordinary conduct in any other way than by
supposing that he desired to confirm the rumour which had been spread
among the natives and Europeans during the time of the Commissioners
Messrs. Jan van Keulen and Pieter Petitfilz, that I would never return
to this Commandement to rule, and thus by suppressing my seal to give
public confirmation to this rumour, and so make it appear to the world
that it was no longer legal. I therefore order again that this seal is
not to be suppressed, but used for the stamping of the Cayoppes at the
Passes in case the Dessave should be absent from this Commandement,
it being his province alone to issue and sign such olas. This order
is to be carried out as long as no contrary orders are received from
higher authorities.
Colomboture and Catsay are two Passes on the inner boundary of this
Commandement at the river leading to Ponneryn and the Wanny, and
in order to prevent any one passing without a passport a guard is
stationed there. The duties on goods are also collected there, being
leased out, but they do not amount to much. These Passes, however,
must be properly guarded, and care taken that the people stationed
there submit their reports regularly. One of these may be found in
a letter from here to Colombo of December 12 last.
Ponneryn, a good redoubt, serves as a place from where to watch the
doings of the Wannias and to protect the inhabitants from invasions. It
is garrisoned by Toepasses under the command of a Dutch Sergeant.
The Passes Pyl, Elephant, and Beschutter serve chiefly to close this
Province against the Wannias and to protect the inhabitants from
invasions of the Sinhalese, and also to prevent persons passing in
or out without a passport, or goods being taken in or out without a
license, as also to prevent the theft of slaves and the incursions of
elephants and other wild animals into the Provinces. A difficulty is
that the earth mounds are not close together, so that notwithstanding
the continual patrol of the militia, now and again a person passes
through unnoticed. Means of drawing these redoubts together, or at
least of making a trench to prevent persons or goods from passing
without a license, have often been considered. Some have proposed
a hedge of palmyra trees, others a fence of thorns, others a moat,
others again a wall, because at this point the Commandement measures
only two miles in breadth. But none of these proposals have been
adopted all these years, as stated in our letter of August 24, 1695,
to Batavia. Their Excellencies replied in their letter of July 3,
1696, that this is a good work, but as it is entirely to the advantage
of the inhabitants it must be carried out without expense to the
Company. This, in my humble opinion, is quite fair, and the Dessave,
whom this matter principally concerns, will have to consider in what
way such a trench as proposed could be made. The yearly Compendium
will give much information on this subject, and will show what defects
and obstacles have been met with. It has been stated already how the
Passes are garrisoned, and they are commanded by an Ensign according
to the regulations.
Point Pedro, on the outer boundary of this Commandement, has resident
only one Corporal and four Lascoreens, who are chiefly employed in
the sending and receiving of letters to and from Coromandel and
Trincomalee, in the loading of palmyra wood and other goods sent
from there to the said two places, and in the search of departing
and arriving private vessels, and the receipt of passports. These men
also supervise the Oeliaars who have to work at the church which was
commenced during the time of Commandeur Blom, and also those who have
to burn lime or break coral stone from the old Portuguese fortress.
The fortress Kayts or Hammenhiel serves on the north, like Manaar
in the south, to guard the passage by water to this Castle, and
also serves the same purposes as Point Pedro, viz., the searching of
private vessels, &c. Next to this fort is the island Leyden, where is
stationed at present the Assistant Jacob Verhagen, who performs the
same duties as the Corporal at Point Pedro, which may be found stated
more in detail in the Instructions of January 4, 1696, compiled and
issued by me for the said Assistant. The Ensign at the Passes received
his instructions from Commandeur Blom, all of which must be followed.
As the Dessave is Commander over the military scattered in the
country, and therefore also over those stationed at the said Passes
and stations, it will chiefly be his duty to see that they are
properly guarded so far as the small garrison here will permit,
and also that they are provided with sufficient ammunition and
provisions. The latter consist mostly of grain, oil, pepper, and
arrack. This is mostly meant for Hammenhiel, as the other places can
always be provided from the land side, but rice and ammunition must be
always kept in store. Hammenhiel must be specially garrisoned during
the southern monsoon, and be manned as much as possible by Dutchmen,
who, if possible, must be transferred every three months, because many
of these places are very unhealthy and others exceedingly lonesome,
for which reasons it is not good to keep the people very long in one
place. The chief officers are transferred every six months, which also
must not be neglected, as it is a good rule in more than one respect.
Aripo, Elipoecarrewe, and Palmeraincattoe were formerly fortresses
garrisoned like the others, but since the revolution of the Sinhalese
and the Wannias of 1675, under the Dessave Tinnekon, these have
become unnecessary and are only guarded now by Lascoreens, who are
mostly kept on for the transport of letters between Colombo, Manaar,
and Jaffnapatam.[68]
Water tanks are here very necessary, because the country has no fresh
water rivers, and the water for the cultivation of lands is that which
is collected during the rainfall. Some wealthy and influential natives
contrived to take possession of the tanks during the time the Company
sold lands, with a view of thus having power over their neighbours
and of forcing them to deliver up to them a large proportion of their
harvests. They had to do this if they wished to obtain water for
the cultivation of their fields, and were compelled thus to buy at
high price that which comes as a blessing from the Lord to all men,
plants, and animals in general. His Excellency Laurens Pyl, then
Governor of Ceylon, issued an order in June, 1687, on his visit to
this Commandement, that for these reasons no tanks should be private
property, but should be left for common use, the owners being paid
by those who require to water their fields as much as they could
prove to have spent on these tanks. I found that this good order
has not been carried out, because the family of Sangere Pulle alone
possesses at present three such tanks, one of which is the property
of Moddely Tamby. Before my departure to Colombo I had ordered that
it should be given over to the surrounding landowners, who at once
offered to pay the required amount, but I heard on my return that
the conveyance had not been made yet by that unbearably proud and
obstinate Bellale caste, they being encouraged by the way their patron
Moddely Tamby had been favoured in Colombo, and the Commandeur is
not even recognized and his orders are passed by. Your Honours must
therefore see that my instructions with regard to these tanks are
carried out, and that they are paid for by those interested, or that
they are otherwise confiscated, in compliance with the Instructions
of 1687 mentioned above, which Instructions may be found among the
papers in the Mallabaar language kept by the schoolmasters of the
parishes. Considering that many of the Instructions are preserved in
the native language only, they ought to be collected and translated
into our Dutch language.[69]
The public roads must be maintained at a certain breadth, and the
natives are obliged to keep them in order. But their meanness and
impudence is so great that they have gradually, year by year, extended
the fences along their lands on to these roads, thus encroaching
upon the high road. They see more and more that land is valuable on
account of the harvests, and therefore do not leave a foot of ground
uncultivated when the time of the rainy season is near. This is quite
different from formerly; so much so, that the lands are worth not
only thrice but about four or five times as much as formerly. This
may be seen when the lands are sold by public auction, and it may
be also considered whether the people of Jaffnapatam are really so
badly off as to find it necessary to agitate for an abatement of the
tithes. The Dessave must therefore see that these roads are extended
again to their original breadth and condition, punishing those who
may have encroached on the roads.[70]
The Company's elephant stalls have been allowed to fall into decay
like the churches, and they must be repaired as soon as possible,
which is also a matter within the province of the Dessave.[71]
Great expectations were cherished by some with regard to the thornback
skins, Amber de gris, Besoar stones, Carret, and tusks from the
elephants that died in the Company's stalls, but experience did
not justify these hopes. As these points have been dealt with in the
Compendium of November 26, 1693, by Commandeur Blom, I would here refer
to that document. I cannot add anything to what is stated there.[72]
The General Paresse is a ceremony which the Mudaliyars, Collectors,
Majoraals, Aratchchies, &c., have to perform twice a year on behalf
of the whole community, appearing together before the Commandeur in
the fort. This is an obligation to which they have been subject from
heathen times, partly to show their submission, partly to report on
the condition of the country, and partly to give them an opportunity
to make any request for the general welfare. As this Paresse tends
to the interest of the Company as Sovereign Power on the one hand
and to that of the inhabitants on the other hand, the custom must be
kept up. When the Commandeur is absent at the time of this Paresse
Your Honours could meet together and receive the chiefs. It is held
once during the northern and once during the southern monsoon, without
being bound to any special day, as circumstances may require it to be
held earlier or later. During my absence the day is to be fixed by the
Dessave, as land regent. Any proposal made by the native chiefs must
be carefully written down by the Secretary, so that it may be possible
to send a report of it to His Excellency the Governor and the Council
if it should be of importance. All transactions must be carefully
noted down and inserted in the journal, so that it may be referred to
whenever necessary. The practice introduced by the Onderkoopman William
de Ridder in Manaar of requiring the Pattangatyns from the opposite
coast to attend not twice but twelve times a year or once a month is
unreasonable, and the people have rightly complained thereof. This
practice must not be introduced again. Mr. De Ridder also appointed
a second Cannekappul, which seems quite unnecessary, considering the
small amount of work to be done there for the natives. Jeronimo could
be discharged and Gonsalvo retained, the latter having been specially
sent from Calpentyn by His Excellency Governor Thomas van Rhee and
being the senior in the service. Of how little consequence the work
at Manaar was considered by His Excellency Governor van Mydregt may
be seen from the fact that His Excellency ordered that no Opperhoofd
should be stationed there nor any accounts kept, but that the fort
should be commanded by an Ensign as chief of the military. A second
Cannekappul is therefore superfluous, and the Company could be saved
the extra expense.[73]
I could make reference to a large number of other matters, but it
would be tedious to read and remember them all. I will therefore now
leave in Your Honours' care the government of a Commandement from which
much profit may be derived for the Company, and where the inhabitants,
though deceitful, cunning, and difficult to rule, yet obey through
fear; as they are cowardly, and will do what is right more from fear of
punishment than from love of righteousness. I hope that Your Honours
may have a more peaceful time than I had, for you are well aware
how many difficulties, persecutions, and public slights I have had to
contend with, and how difficult my government was through these causes,
and through continual indisposition, especially of late. However,
Jaffnapatam has been blessed by God during that period, as may be seen
from what has been stated in this Memoir. I hope that Your Honours'
dilligence and experience may supplement the defects in this Memoir,
and, above all, that you will try to live and work together in harmony,
for in that way the Company will be served best. There are people who
will purposely cause dissension among the members of the Council,
with a view to further their own ends or that of some other party,
much to the injury of the person who permits them to do so.[74]