THE INDIAN AND ORIENTAL ISLANDS. *43 



abound here. Every part of the island is well wooded and watered ; 

 and besides some curious animals peculiar to itself, it has plenty of 

 cows, buffaloes, goats, hogs, deer, hares, dogs, and other quaaruqeds. 

 The Ceylon elephant is preferred to all others, especially if spotted j 

 but several noxious animals, such as serpents and ants are like ise 

 found here. The chief commodity of the island is its cinnamon, which 

 is by far the best in all Asia. Though its trees grow in great profu- 

 sion, yet the best is found in the neighbourhood of Columbo, late the 

 chief settlement of the Dutch, and Negambo. The middle part of 

 the country is mountainous and woody, so that the rich and beautiful 

 vallies were left in possession of the Dutch, who had in a manner shut 

 up the king in his capital city, Candy, which stands on a mountain in, 

 the middle of the island, so that he had scarcely any communication 

 with other nations, or any property in the riches of his own dominions. 

 The descendants of the ancient inhabitants are called Cinglasses; 

 who, though idolaters, value themselves upon maintaining their ancient 

 laws and customs. They are in general, a sober inoffensive people ; 

 and are mingled with Moors, Malabars, Portuguese, and Dutch. 



It may be here proper to observe, that the cinnamon-tree, which Is 

 a native of this island, has two (if not three) barks, which form the 

 true cinnamon ; the trees of a middling growth and age afford the 

 best ; and the body of the tree, which, when stripped, is white, serves 

 for building and other uses. In 1656, the Dutch were invited by 

 the natives of this delicious island to defend them against the Portu- 

 guese, whom they expelled, and afterwards monopolised it to them- 

 selves. In January 1782, Trincomale, the chief sea-port of the island, 

 was taken by the English, but soon afterwards retaken by the French, 

 and restored to the Dutch by the following treaty of peace. In Au- 

 gust, 1795, it was again taken by the English, to whom it was con- 

 firmed by the treaty of Amiens, and in whose possession it still re- 

 mains. 



The MALDIVES. These are a vast cluster of small islands or 

 little rocks just above the water, lying between the equator and eight' 

 degrees north latitude, near Cape Comorin. They are chiefly re- 

 sorted to by the Dutch, who carry on a profitable trade with the na- 

 tives for couries, a kind of small shells, which go,, or rather formerly 

 went, for money, upon the coast of Guinea and other parts of Africa. 

 The cocoa of the Maldives is an excellent commodity in a medical 

 capacity. " Of this tree (says a well informed author) they build ves- 

 sels of twenty or thirty tons ; their hulls, masts, sails, rigging, anchors,, 

 cables, provisions, and firing, are all from this useful tree." 



We have already mentioned BOMBAY, on the Malabar coast, ia 

 speaking of Hindoostan. With regard to the language of ail the Orien- 

 tal islands, nothing can be said. Each island has a particular tongue ;■ 

 but the Malayan, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, and Indian words, are 

 so frequent among them, that it is difficult for an European, who is 

 not very expert in those matters, to know the radical language. The 

 same may be almost said of their religion ; for though its original is 

 Certainly Pagan, yet it is intermixed with many Mahommedan. Jewish; 

 Christian, and other foreign superstit! r 



