156 



SPICY ISLANDS. 



of Sunda. Near Bantard they met with their antient enemies 

 the Portuguefe^ who had long been mafter of thefe feas ; they 

 inftantly attacked fome of their merchant fiiips, one of which, 

 burnt by the Portiiguefe themfelves, had fifty tons of cloves on 

 board ; another, which they took, had twenty ; this foretafte of 

 the riches of the iflands, whetted their refolution of purfuing 

 their plan, and of fupplanting the tyrants in this invaluable 

 branch of commerce. The fecond voyage was performed under 

 the condu(ft of the great Ueemjkirk in 1598. From Bantam^ he 

 failed with four fliips to the very Moluccas^ found the moft cor- 

 dial reception from the monarcHs of Amboina and 'Ternate, and 

 returned laden with cloves, nutmegs, mace, pepper, and cinna- 

 mon : fleet followed fleet : the Dutch attacked the Portuguefe in 

 all parts of the iflands, and never defifled till they had, in 1603, 

 completed the conquefts of both the Bmida and Molucca iflands.- 

 At this period Portugal \Ni'i, fubje<51: to the crow^n of Spain. In 

 1605, PM//^ III. determined to recover thefe diftant territories: 

 he fent his orders to Don Pedro D'Acunba^ a gallant officer, go- 

 vernor of the Philippines^ to take the command of the expedition. 

 He failed with a numerous fleet, attacked I'ernate, took that 

 ifland, and in a fliort fpace reduced the whole to his mall:er. 

 This conquefl was but fliort lived ; the Dutch returned in great 

 force, and favoured by the reguli of the iflands, repofTefled them- 

 felves of the whole, and to this day remain entire mailers of 

 what is juftly ftyled xhQ gold 7nines of Holland-, they immediately 

 deftroyed every nutmeg-tree they could find on the adjacent 

 iflands, built fmall forts on every one that lay to the fouth and to 

 the weft, as out pofts to prevent the accefs of other European na- 

 tions, 



