OF LA PEROUSE. 38^ 



atrocious habit only becaufe they derive a 

 greater profit from the fale of their captives. If 

 there has refulted from it an apparent good, in 

 other refpe&s it has with them been a more fre- 

 quent occalion of war. Man mufl be arrived to 

 the lowefl ftate of degeneracy for the introduc- 

 tion of flavery to have been able to put him in 

 the road to civilization. This may, however, 

 be faid of thefe formerly anthropophagi. 



The Dutch who are fettled in the Moluccas, 

 fpeak only the Malay language to their flaves : 

 they take good care not to teach them their 

 mother tongue, in order that they may not be 

 vuiderftood when they converfe between them- 

 felves. 



As foon as the Dutch Eaft-India Company 

 had appropriated to themfelves the exclusive 

 commerce of the Moluccas, they endeavoured 

 to afcertain their population ; at that time, by 

 exaggerated computations, which tended to give 

 a high idea of the conquered countries, it was 

 made to amount to a hundred and fifty thoufand 

 fouls, which, according to the moft confiftent 

 of the more recent calculations received, and 

 according to the mod general opinion, was 

 double the number of its inhabitants. The 

 quantity of cloves which are annually gathered 

 there amounted to about two thoufand bales of 

 four and twenty myriagrams three kilograms 



each. 



