HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



dians refused to trade with them, as they were enemies of the 

 Spaniards. They entered the Straits of Manilla, and anchored 

 before the island of Mirabelles, remarkable for two rocks which 

 tower to a vast height into the air. The Dutch took several 

 barks laden with the tribute of numerous adjacent places to the 

 city of Manilla. They gained intelligence of a fleet of twelve 

 ships and four galleys, manned by two thousand Spaniards, be- 

 sides Indians and Chinese, sent to drive their countrymen from 

 the Moluccas and to reduce those islands to the dominion of 

 Spain. On this news, they discharged all their prisoners, and 

 made preparations to meet the Manilla fleet and to proceed to 

 the assistance of their friends. They arrived on the 29th of 

 March at Ternate, one of the principal islands of the group, 

 where the Dutch possessed a trading-station. They were re- 

 ceived with joy by their countrymen. 



Spilbergen was now detained nine months in the Molucca and 

 neighboring islands, in the service of the East India Company. 

 A narrative of his transactions here would be foreign to the pur- 

 pose of this work. He left the ships in which he had hitherto 

 sailed in India, and returned to Holland in the Amsterdam. 

 His voyage produced no new discoveries in the South Sea ; but 

 the Directors of the Company bestowed upon him the highest 

 praise for his prudent management and timely energy. The 

 Company may be said to have dated their grandeur from the day 

 of his return, both as regards power and wealth, — the first re- 

 sulting from his successful circumnavigation of the globe, the 

 latter from their conquests in the Moluccas, in which he took a 

 prominent part, and of which he brought home the first intelli- 

 gence. 



The Dutch East India Company held from the Government 

 the exclusive privilege of trading in the Great South Sea, — all 

 private citizens being prohibited from entering those waters by 

 the Cape of Good Hope on the east or the Strait of Magellan 

 on the west. This prohibition stimulated ra;iier than checked 



