INo. 49. — 1898.] don jeronimo be azevedo. 



201 



DON JER0NIM0 DE AZEVEDO, 



Governor of Ceylon from 1594 to 1611 A,D. 



By A. E. Buultjens, B.A. Cantab. 



[This Paper is based on a Dutch manuscript* of the early 

 part of the seventeenth century, purchased by me in 

 Holland. The manuscript is a translation into Dutch of a 

 Portuguese despatch from Philip III., King of Spain, to Don 

 Jeronimo de Azevedo, Captain-General of the Conquest of 

 Ceylon.j The internal evidence as to the style of writing and 

 the formation of the letters points to the manuscript being 

 genuine and contemporaneous. The manuscript, with my 

 transcription and translation, has been submitted to Dr. 

 W. G. Vandort, Mr. FreMenberg the German Consul, Mr. F. 

 H. de Vos, and to Mr. R. A. Wennink, the Dutch Consul, and 

 I gratefully acknowledge my thanks for their corrections and 

 suggestions. The revision by Mr. de Vos has been specially 

 useful to me in the final preparation of the Paper.] 



Transcription. 



Joncker Geronimus vajS) Azevedo, Ick den Coninck doe 

 u hartelyck groeten, by u brieven, die het voorleden jaer 

 quaemen met de schepen, hebbe gesien sulcx ghy segt, 

 gedaen te hebben in de conqueste van het eylandt van 

 Ceylaon, naer de rebellie van de ingeboren oft naturellen 

 van die, ende de staet der selver naer de doot van den Tyran 

 Joncker Jan van Candia, ende van gelycke sulcx ghy gedaen 

 hebt, gewaerschout zynde van twaelff schepen der rebellen 



* See lithographed plate. 



f The corresponding letter to the Viceroy, Dom Martim Affonso de Castro, 

 in Portuguese, appears in Documentos Remettidos da India, tomo l y 

 pp. 113, 114. 



