A. D. 1664. r ly. 



King Charles this year made war on the United Netherlands in a 

 very extraordinary manner, without a formal declaration of it till fome 

 months after, for which no other grounds are generally alligned by hif- 

 torians than jealoufy on account of rivalfliip for commerce and naval 

 power; fet on likewife fecretly (as it is faid) by the arts of the French ' 

 court and of Rom.e, for weakening both fides. The Englifli fleet under 

 Admiral Holmes took feveral forrs near Cape Verd from the Dutch, 

 for the benefit of the En^iifii African company, at the head of which 

 was the duke of York j which forts the Dutch admiral De Ruyter re- " 

 took the fame year. Holmes alio ere6led a new fort at the mouth of 

 the ri%'er Gambia, and named it James-fort, which we ftill hold. 

 Thence failing fouthward, h.e mdfl:ered all the Dutch forts on the Guinea 

 coafi:, except St. George del Mina and Acheen ; though De Ruyter foon 

 regained all again : whe'-eopon the Englifli fleet, commanded in chief 

 by the duke of York, made prize of 130 Dutch merchant fliips. A war 

 was then formially declared, for which the parliament voted L2, 500, 000. 

 What is already in all hifiiories, and alfo not very material for our fub- 

 jed, was, that the grand fleet of England, in 1665, confifting of 108 

 fhips of war and I4fire-fliips, under the duke of York, attacked the 

 Dutch fleet under Opdam of 103 fliips of war and. 11 fire-fliips, and 

 quite defeated it ; many of the later being taken, funk, and burnt : and, 

 in the fame year our fleet took eight Dutch fliips of war, two Eafl:-India 

 fliips, and many other merchant fliips. 



Had the Englifli Eafl:-India company better fortified their ifle of 

 Poleroon, which produced fiiie nutmegs and mace, (but according to 

 others only cloves) it had not been io eafily taken, as it was in this year 

 by one fingle Dutch fliip from Batavia ; whereby the EnglilTi were quite 

 excluded from all the fpice iflands, which the Dutch company has ab- • 

 folutely poflefled to this day. 



This year a general valuation was made of the Englifli Eafl-India 

 company's capital, the market price on the exchange of London being 

 then only 70 per cent: and it appeared that their flock was (as their 

 writers fay) intrinfically worth 130 per cent: and that in the remaining 

 quarter of this year, and the compafs of next year, they are faid adually 

 to have divided 50 per cent profit on their capital flock : but this fecms 

 fomewhat exaggerated. 



There was a private company of merchants of Dieppe in Normandy,, 

 who, in early times, had carried on a trade to the river Senegal on the 

 we flcoaft of Africa ; where, by means of a fmall fettlement on an 

 ifland at the mouth of a branch of the river, they had carried on a con- 

 fiderable trade. That branch of trade fell nfrerwards to certain mer- 

 chants of the city of Rouen, who this year yielded it to the French 

 Weft-India company. The later company being diflblved 1 o years af- 

 terwards, the old Senegal company refumed that commerce till i68i, 



