A. D. 179^. 371 



1796, February 16''' — The Dutch ifland of Amboyna, with its de- 

 pendencies, was furrendered to Admiral Rainier, immediately on his 

 arrival there with a fquadron of Britiili fhips of war and a detachment 

 of the Britifli Eafl-India company's forces from Madras. The govern- 

 ment of the Eanda iflands on the firft fummons followed the example 

 of Amboyna (March 8'") and both thefe chief fettlements were acquired 

 without firing a gun. 



At Amboyna the admiral found 81,112 rix dollars in the Dutch Eafi:- 

 India company's treafury, and 515,940 pounds of cloves in their ftores. 

 At Banda he found 66,675 rix dollars, 84.777 po^-mds of nutmegs, 

 19,587 pounds of mace, and merchandize and (lores to a great amount. 



Amboyna, the firft conqueft of the Dutch Eaft-India company in the 

 Indian ocean, though a fmall ifland, was efteemed the chief of their pof- 

 feftions in the Molucca iflands, and was the capital feat of a government 

 comprehending all the Dutch fettlements on the iflands of Amboyna, 

 Ceram, Bouro, Amblauw, Manipa, Kelang, Bonoa, Ceram-laut, Noufla- 

 laut, Honinioa or Sapparoua, and Oma or Harocha, the three laft of 

 which are known by the general name of the Uliafl^ers. The bay of 

 Amboyna is one of the ftrongeft natural harbours in the world. The 

 foil, though not very fertile, produces moft of the tropical fruits ; the 

 ■ fago tree and the clove tree being the two principal objeds of cultiva- 

 tion, the former of which furniflies the inhabitants the chief article of 

 their fubfiftence. But that which has ever engaged the principal at- 

 tention of the Dutch government, was the clove, which though not an 

 indigenous production of Amboyna, has been the ftaple article of it and 

 the iflands of Noufla-laut, Honimoa, and Oma, to which the Dutch go- 

 vernment have endeavoured to confine that fpice by prohibiting the 

 cultivation of it under feveral penalties, and extirpating the trees, in all 

 other places under their dominion, and giving fubfidies to the petty 

 princes of fome iflands not belonging to them, in confideration of being 

 allowed to extirpate the clove trees in their dominions. But it is no 

 eafy undertaking to counterad the fpontaneous bounty of Nature ; and 

 the clove trees ftili grow, and produce their rich fpice, in many countries 

 not within the grafp of Dutch monopoly. 



The province of Banda, the fecond of the Dutch governments to the 

 eaftward of Batavia, confifts of a clufter of fix fmall iflands. Neira, the 

 chief of them, has a good harbour, but ot difliicult accefs. The moft: 

 valuable produdions of them are nutmeg and mace ; and the fame 

 fyftem of extirpation has been followed with refped to them in all the 

 adjacent iflands, as with refped to the cloves. The nutmegs coft the 

 Dutch company about ^^d, and the mace about 1 2~d fterling per pound. 



The confumption of fpices in Europe, formerly fo prodigioufly great, 

 as to render the pofl^eflion of the countries which produced them the 



3 A2 



