No. 55. — 1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 253 
1637 the Danes endeavoured to establish a factory in Ceylon, but this 
was vigorously opposed by the Portuguese Viceroy, and they were in 
consequence unsuccessful. Later on in the year the President of the 
Danish Company informed the Viceroy that the Dutch were preparing 
forces to blockade Malacca, Ceylon, and Goa, and he offered to assist 
the Portuguese in the defence of Tranquebar or Negapatam, in 
consideration of his Company being allowed to settle a factory in 
Ceylon. This offer, however, appears to have led to no better results, 
for it appears that in the following year the Danes renewed their offer 
to assist the Portuguese against the Dutch in Ceylon if they would 
permit them to buy areca, elephants, and cinnamon there ; but the 
Portuguese Council considered that this offer could not be entertained 
without a treaty being first entered into for that purpose by their 
respective kings. Notwithstanding these repeated refusals, in April, 
1638, the President of the Danish Company sent provisions and ammu- 
nition to the Portuguese in Ceylon, which, for some unexplained reason, 
seem never to have reached them ; he further offered to send money 
to pay their soldiers if the Portuguese would agree to let him purchase 
elephants and cinnamon at a fair price, but I have been unable to find 
any evidence that this request was more favourably received than 
those previously made." The " President of the Danish East India 
Company" (sic), who made these offers of help to the Portuguese, 
was Baerent Pessaert, a former servant of the Dutch East India 
Company, who, having quarrelled with his employers, took service with 
the Danes, and was sent out in 1636 to succeed Roelant Crape as head 
of the factory at Tranquebar. His offers to the Portuguese were 
made partly out of revenge towards his fellow-countrymen. Regarding 
this action of his, I have found no references in the Danish or Dutch 
authorities, who, however, give numerous details of his (often 
unscrupulous) doings and of his tragic death in June, 1645 (see 
Schlegel's Samlung zur Ddnischen GeschicTite, I., IV., pp. 168-175 ; Bat. 
Dagh- Registers, 1636 et seq. ^ Reizen van Georg Andriesz, pp. 81-82). 
See Baldaeus, chap. XX. (Eng. trans., chap. XXI.) ; also summary 
in C.A.S. Journ., XI., p. 32. 
So Coster says in his letter translated in Cey. Lit Reg,, II., p. 44. 
Balda3us makes it April 2nd. 
^ See accounts in Baldasus, pp. 44^-44/i, 54-55 (Eng. trans., chap. 
XXL), and Ribeiro (lib. II., cap. IV.). These two writers assign 
totally different reasons for the undertaking of this punitive ex- 
pedition ; both may be right, however. 
By an unaccountable blunder Baldaeus makes this 14th April, and 
describes the interview as being between Coster and the king. But 
see Coster's own letter, in loc. cit. supra. 
Of, Rdjdvaliya, Eng. trans., p. 102. 
For further details see Coster's letter ubi supra, and Baldaeus, chap. 
XXI. (Eng. trans., chap. XXII.). The former says nothing of the 
impalement of fifty Sirijhalese by the king. 
