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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XL 



fortified by four bastions of earth faced on the outside with 

 sods, and garrisoned with 500 men ; in consequence of which 

 the Portuguese General Don Philippo Mascarenhas, when 

 trying to repossess himself of it, was obliged to retire to 

 Colombo with great loss and covered with disgrace. 



Heer Jan Thyssen meanwhile wrote from Gale to Batavia 

 on March 10 of the same year, that the Company could not 

 depend upon the King, who would gladly free himself 

 from the Netherlanders, if only he had good grounds, and 

 had already urged various frivolous pretexts, and was doing 

 his best to secretly deceive the Company ; but that he would 

 not hesitate to offer him battle and imitate the valour of 

 the Portuguese, who always opposed not only the Nether- 

 landers but the King. 



In another letter of April 24 of the same year, he said it 

 was evident that the King was keeping up his deception and 

 cunning. He sent the people to the mountains and drove 

 them away from the Company's territories, and even endea- 

 voured to deprive the city of Gale of fishermen, toddy 

 drawers [tyffedoors], and others ; so that the Company 

 experienced more contumely and derision from the Singalese 

 than from the avowed enemy, and it was only by force of arms 

 that our property could be protected. 



The King, envying the Netherlanders the possession of 

 the Corles, conspired secretly with the Portuguese, and 

 encouraged his bandits to rob and commit all kinds of depre- 

 dations ; in consequence of which and the intermeddling of 

 the Portuguese, Heer Thyssen declared open war against His 

 Majesty, and the Commandeur of Nigombo, Nicholas Jacobsz. 

 Overschie, seized the King's tame elephants outside the 

 Company's frontier posts. 



The King took such umbrage at this proceeding that he 

 gathered all his forces to avenge himself upon our people ; 

 in which he succeeded, as they made a very faint resistance, 

 and cowardly surrendered. 



Under these circumstances Heer Jan Thyssen was re- 

 placed in 1646 by Heer Jan Maetsuycker, who in order ta 



