14 



but Francis Caron, the president of the Council, returned the 

 prudent answer : "All that His Imperial Majesty is pleased 

 to command, we will punctually obey." Still the Dutch were 

 slow in proceeding with the work of demolition, and it was not 

 until another Imperial rescript arrived, threatening to put the 

 members of the Council to death if the order was not instantly 

 obeyed, that the great stone factory — which had cost the 

 Dutch 100,000 guilders to build— was finally levelled to the 

 ground. They were compelled to submit to the most vexa- 

 tious restrictions, and to put up with countless humiliations 

 in order to maintain their position. But the trade was too 

 valuable to be lightly relinquished, and by their submission 

 the Dutch alone of European nations tor more than 200 years 

 managed to retain trade relations with Japan, though living as 

 the Japanese said " like frogs in a well," until in 1853 the 

 American squadron under Commodore Perry broke in upon 

 Japanese isolation and paved the way for that remarkable 

 revolution, the latest development of which we have seen in 

 the recent war between Japan and China. 



In May, 1641, Tasman sailed from Batavia to take in a 

 cargo at Lauwek, the capital of Cambodia, and then to proceed 

 to Japan. The Cambodian Kingdom at that time extended 

 over a great portion of south-eastern Further India, now 

 Cochin China. Its capital, Lauwek, on the great river 

 Cambodia, was one of the most important cities of the east ; 

 it was the centre of a great trade in furs, ivory, silk stuffs, and 

 other merchandise, which were brought from the interior and 

 from China and exported to Japan and other places. The 

 Dutch, as the price of assistance given to the King in some of 

 his wars, had a few years previously obtained leave to set up a 

 factorv at Lauwek, which was of great value to them in the 

 Japan trade. For this factory Tasman sailed in his ship the 

 Oostkappel, and in July came to an anchor in the Lauwek 

 Roads. On his arrival he found the Dutch and Portuguese 

 in violent conflict. A few days before a dispute had arisen 

 between the crew of the Dutch fly-ship Zaijer and the 

 Portuguese, and this, through the overbearing arrogance of 

 the latter, had grown into a fight, and had cost some of the 

 Dutch their lives. The Directors of the factory had appealed 

 to the King to punish the offenders, but the Portuguese having 

 won him over by bribes were only sentenced to pay a fine. 

 This blood-money the Dutch refused with contempt, and since 

 neither by entreaty nor in any other way could they obtain a 

 juster sentence, they resolved to exact satisfaction themselves. 

 Atthis critical juncture Tasman made his appearance at Lauwek, 

 and as he lacked neither the courage nor the inclination to 

 avenge the murder of his countrymen, he soon found an 



