YALENTYN's DESCRIPTION OP MALACCA. 51 



still pretty strong, though its interior is falling into decay. This 

 fortress, built on the hill in the centre of the town, is about the 

 size of Delf shaven, and has also two gates, and though one of its 

 sides stands on the hill, yet the other side is washed by the sea. It 

 is at present the residence of the Governor, of the other officers 

 employed by the company, and of the garrison, which is pretty 

 strong. Two hundred years a^o this place was merely a fisher- 

 men's village (!) and now it is a fine town. 



In former times the town had a population of 12,000 souls ; but 

 there are now not more than 200 or 300 families, some of which are 

 Dutch and some others Portuguese and Malays, the latter living in 

 the most remote corners of the town in common attap huts. 



At a small distance from the town are also some fine houses and 

 many well-kept cocoa-nut plantations and gardens with fruit trees, 

 the greater part of which are owned by Malays. 



This town is remarkably well situated for trade, and these 

 straits have been frequented, since the times of old, by much 

 shipping, which still continues from Bengal, Coromandel, Surat, 

 Persia, Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, Siam, Tonkin, China, and from many 

 other countries; the gross revenue in the year 1660 (consisting of 

 30 per cent, import duty and 3 per cent, export duty, and some 

 other small taxes ) amounting to 71,958.18 guilders. 



There arrived in that same year 116 Javanese vessels, besides the 

 Danish, Portuguese and Moorish vessels. 



This place is very convenient for our vessels passing through the 

 Straits of Singapore going from Japan to Bengal, Coromandel, 

 Surat and Persia, and also for vessels bound for Batavia coming 

 from those places. 



The place is not very productive in provisions ; everything must 

 be imported from other places, with the exception of fish and some 

 kinds of fruits. 



The productiveness of this place is very poor, compared to that 

 of the Coast [ of Coromandel ], Bengal, Ceylon, &c. ; and the sur- 

 rounding country bears a barren aspect. 



It is also not safe to venture in the jungle, as it abounds in 

 wild beasts. 



One of my friends, Mr. van Naaksskn, told me, that it once 

 had happened to him in person to fall in with a tigfr accidentally, 

 and he was sure on several other occasions of being in the neigh- 

 bourhood of one of these animals, for it was only in thatcase his horse 



(1) i.e, about 1525, or 14 years after the Portuguese took it, in which 

 case it must have greatly fallen from the state in which they found it. 



