u 



MODERN HISTORY. 



[Part VI. 



A.D, 



1G40. 



A.D. 



1G46. 



arrival of intelligence in India, that Portugal had finally 

 emancipated herself from the dominion of the Kings of 

 Spain, and had expelled Philip IV. to enthrone John of 

 Braganza in his stead ; peaceful overtures were made to 

 the States General, and in 1646, an armistice was arranged 

 between Portugal and Holland for ten years from 1640, 

 the two countries retaining their respective conquests in 

 Ceylon.^ 



During the pause, the emperor, whose confidence in the 

 Dutch had by no means been confirmed by personal inter- 

 course with their authorities, hopeless of ever liberating his 

 country from both combatants, and seeing his best chance 

 of safety in their mutual rivalry, not only persevered in 

 infesting the territories of each by desultory attacks, but 

 contrived with success to embroil them in hostihties by 

 passing through the possessions of the one to attack the 

 subjects of the other. Conformably to these tactics, he 

 marched through the Portuguese territory to reach the fort 

 of Negombo, made prisoners of the garrison, and sent the 

 heads of their officers rolled in siU^ to the Dutch com- 

 mandant at Galle.^ 



The patient endurance of these and similar outrages 

 is one of the remarkable features of the pohcy of the 

 Dutch. They contented themselves with supphcations 

 to be permitted to trade in cinnamon, and with offers to 

 smTender some of the strong places in their keeping on 

 being reimbursed the costs of the war ; acquitting tlie 

 emperor of dehberate bad faith and imputing his ahenated 

 feelings to the machinations of their rivals, who were 

 irritated at the Westerwold treaty. Thus by blandish- 

 ments and presents ^, the Dutch governor succeeded 



' Holland had previously regained 

 Negombo from the Portuguese in 

 16-y:. EiBETiio,pt.ii. ch. xiv. p. 123; 

 Valenxyn, ch. xii. p. 143. 



^ Valentyn, ch. xii. p. 121, 142. 



^ In tlie jnidst of this sullen cor- 

 respondence, the Dutch Governor 

 alludes to the arrival at Galle of " a 

 Persian horse ivorthi/ to he bestrode Inj 

 a king" and asks pemxissiou to for- 



ward it to Kandy together with a 

 saddle from Holland. (Valentyn, 

 ch. xi. p. 125.) lied cloth, gold and 

 silver lace, Spanish wine, and Dutch 

 liqueiu's, were also employed to heal 

 the breaches between Kandy and 

 Holland. (Valextyn, ch. xi. p. 125, 

 ch. xii. p. 136.) One injunction of 

 Raja Singha, however, the Dutch 

 firmly resisted ; they declined either 



