Srpt.  2,  1895.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
157 
THE  CEYLON  CINNAMON  TRADE  IN 
DAYS  OF  OLD ; 
AN  OIJU. 
[it  (foiiig  tliroiigli  the  olil  E i.st  India  Company’s 
Letter  Hoidv'-'  at  the  India  Odiee,  I have  come 
across  some  interesting  jiassages  relating  to 
TilK  CKYLON  CINNAMON  TItADK, 
and  the  attempt  of  the  Company  to  introduce 
THK  CULTIVATION  OF  CINNAMON  INTO  ST.  HKLKNA. 
I have  copied  the  j)as.sages  verbatim  et  h'trratiin  : 
the  first  is  as  follows  : — 
Condon  2S  .Tanuarie  16G0  [1  |.— Onr  Agent  a' d 
Fac  ors  at  Fori  st.  George.—.  . . . We  have  in 
several  of  our  le'ters  b th  to  you  and  our  Factors, 
in  ye  Bay,  desired  that  you  would  procure  for  us, 
as  much  cinnamon  >'i  any  sort  as  yon  could  g tt, 
and  being  slid  very  desirous  of  ye  Con»odilie, 
wee  have  taken  into  our  con  dderation.  ihe  setling 
of  a Factory  f r that  pmpo  e on  ye  Island  o'  i^eilon, 
and  have  cone  uded,  in  regard  of  ye  vicinity  of  your 
Rsaidence,  to  ye  said  Is  and,  that  it  will  bee  most 
ropper  for  y u to  undertake  this  negotiation.  We 
oe  therefore  give  you  Comission  and  denre  you 
aerioua'y  to  consider  ho-v  it  may  bee  put  in  execu- 
tTon,  and  brought  to  effect,  and  to  send  soma  fltt 
and’  able  parson  to  treat  with  ye  King  or  his 
deputies  fo  ye  satlin:,'  of  a comodious  Factory  on 
VO  Island,  and  that  you  draw  no  sn  h comiasiou  and 
Ina:ruetiou3,  as  iio  may  thereby  bee  enabled,  to  capi- 
tulate upon  sure  and  protHtable  termos,  Wee  leave 
this  affaire,  to  your  prudent,  and  serious  manadg- 
m^nt,  and  desire  you  to  proceede  theiai  1 with  all 
dili>^ence,  And  not  to  be  disanimated,  or  beaten  off, 
from  Ibis  or  any  other  hopefull,  and  profitable 
Designe,  by  ye  Dutch  whoa  wee  believe  will  not 
now  "dare,  10'  disturbe  us  in  our  trade,  or  abuse  us 
as  formerly  they  have  done,  it  having  pleased 
ye  Almiyhiy  to  restore  our  Kinejs  iiatij,  by  whose 
1-ovall  favour  and  assistance,  wee  dmbt  not  but  to 
recover  from  them  due  satisfaciion  for  what  is  past, 
and  a vood  seltlement  with  them  in  trade  for  the 
time  t " come  However,  if  it  should  so  happen,  that 
ye  Slid  Du'ch  shall  at  any  time  hereafter,  inter- 
rupt yon  in  yonr  lawfu  1 way  of  Comerce  at  any  place, 
or  Dring  anv  losse,  or  damadge  upon  us,  wee  require 
you  to  I rotest  fully  against  them,  for  ye  same,  and 
to  drove  up  ye  damadge  to  acerteyne  som 
which  having  att-sted  under  your  hands,  let  it  be 
3 , t home  unto  us,  and  wee  doubt  not  hut  to 
r.  cAvo  full  sa'isfaotion  from  them. 
S)on  after  the  above  was  written  (viz.  in  June 
1)61)  the  Marriage  Treaty  between  Charles  II. 
and  tlio  Infanta  of  Portugal  w.as  concluded  by 
o le  clause  of  which  it  was  agreed,  that  if  eitlier 
Great  Britain  or  Portugal  should  ever  take  Cey- 
lon from  the  Dutch  the  cinnamon  trade  was  to 
1)3  divided  between  tlie  two  nations.  The  next 
e.xtract  is  as  follows  : ^ _ 
London,  the  20th.  February  1661  [2].— Our  Agent 
and  Factors  at  Fort  St.  George.— .By  our 
snip  Jhscovei'tf  wee  advised  you  of  our  desires  to 
have  as  mucli  Cinaiiamon  [iu'e]  sent  us  home  as 
nii'dit  bee  procured,  and  to  that  purpose  we 
Ordered  you  to  endeavour  the  setling  of  a Fac- 
tory upon  the  Xslcuul  of  Aeilov^  and^  then  referred  it 
to  your  serious  f oiisideration  how  it  might  bee  put 
in  execution,  and  brought  to  effeett,  and  wee  hope 
some  progress  is  made  therein.  AVee  now  conlirme 
that  our  Order,  and  if  it  shall  not  bee  alreadie 
done,  then  wee  desire  you  to  undertake  the  same, 
with  all  con'enient  expedition,  at  an  easie  charge. 
That  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  English  Agent 
at  Fort  St.  George  to  gain  such  a footing  in 
the  island  is  pretty  certain  ; for  in  the  Bcknnpte 
Historic  (as  translated  in  the  C.B.K.A.S.  Jl. 
Vol.  IX)  we  read  : — 
At  the  end  of  the  y -ar  1666,  the  Governor  Rijik- 
loff  van  Goens  returned  to  Batavia,  and  wss  veula'  el 
by  Heer  Jacob  Hustaert,  during  whose  admi.iisir.i- 
tlon  nothing  further  happened,  save  that  t le  English 
to  gMn  a footing  on  the  Island  by  the 
20 
aid  of  the  Candian  Court : this  they  were,  however, 
unable  to  do,  as  the  relations  between  the  King  and 
the  Company  remained  peaceable. 
Of  course,  tliis  may  he  a mere  niisaijprelieiisioii 
of  the  unsuccessful  mission  sent  by  Sir  Ed- 
ward \Vinter  in  1604  for  tlie  release  of  me 
English  captives  in  Ceylon,  as  mentioned  by 
Yalentyn  (.see  translation  in  Lit.  Uc(j.,  Yol. 
Ill,  p.  424)  ; but  I think  that  it  was  hoped 
to  kill  two  birds  witli  one  stone,  and  tli.at  the 
Dutch  suspicions  were  well  founded.  Tvaja  Sinlia 
seems  to  have  .acteil  with  his  usual  duplicity ; 
for,  whicli  ill  1666  he  “ comiminic.ated  to  His  iLv- 
cellency  Yan  Goens  a letter  which  he  ha<l  received 
from  tlie  English  ” in  1667,  we  re£td,  tlie  company 
“captured  some  pei'sons  wliom  the  King  h<Td  sent 
as  Ambassadors  to  tlie  Englisli,  then  enemies  of 
the  Honourable  Coiniiany,  at  Madraspatnain,  ami 
brought  them  to  Coloniho.  ” In  the  next  extract, 
it  will  be  seen,  the  Company  unite  the  questions 
of  the  redemption  of  the  captives  ami  the  acqui- 
sition of  cinnamon  in  the  frankest  way 
London,  7 December  1669. — Our  Agent  aud  Counsel! 
in  Fort  St.  George.—  Me  take  notice  what  you 
write  concerning  ye  Captives  in  Zeilon,  aud  could 
heartily  wish  you  could  find  out  some  way  for  their 
redemption,  and  to  treate  wth  the  King  of  Can  'y 
by  some  Bortuffcze  or  natives  about  it,,  and  the  bring- 
ing downe  Vinamon  to  the  Eastward  port  of  Zeilon, 
and  advise  us  how  it  is  with  Cuitiarroio,  for  that  the 
Dutch  affirme,  they  have  erected  twoe  forts  there, 
and  if  any  iuch  bee,  advise  us  when  done,  for 
that  wee  believe,  it  is  purposely  done,  since  wee 
have  bin  treating  with  them,  and  insisting  upon 
that,  as  a free  place,  thereby  to  prevent  us  from 
having  recourse  thither. 
It  was  quite  true  tliat  the  Dutch  had  recently 
occupied  Kottiyar,  and  erected  a fort  there  ; as 
may  he  seen  by  the  statements  in  the  Beknupie 
Historic  and  in  tlio  Considerations  written  by 
Governor  Van  Goens  for  his  successor,  as  given 
in  Yalentyn  [Ctulon,  p.  211).  From  the  latter  it 
would  appear,  that  the  occupation  was  for  the 
purpo.se  of  levying^ customs  duties  on  tlie  extensive 
trade  with  the  Coromandel  coast  ; and  that  the 
eartlien  fort  was  intended  to  last  but  a couple  of 
years.  Finding  that  all  their  eftbrts  toobtain  a sharo 
in  the  Ceylon  cinnamon  trade  were  in  vain,  the 
Company  then  determined  to  try  and  grow  cinnamon 
in  St.  Helena,  as  is  .seen  by  the  next  extract : — 
London  8th  January  1674  [5] . — OurAgent  and  Coun- 
sell  at  Fort  St.  Georcre If  you  can  by  meanes 
of  the  natives  from  Ceylon  procure  any  cinnamon 
plants,  we  would  have  you  send  a Box  of  them  for 
St.  Helena,  and  what  direccons  you  can  for  the 
oultivating  of  them,  for  we  would  ,by  all  meanes  im- 
prove the  plantation  of  yt.  Island  and  if  it  canot  be 
raised  by  the  plants,  then  if  by  seeds,  or  fruites,  or 
by  what  other  meanes  and  send  them  to  St.  Helena 
to  ye.  Governr.  wth.  what  direccons  you  can  get. 
In  the  next  extract  the  cinnamon  question  takes 
precedence  of  the  captives,  though  great  .sym- 
pathy is  expressed  for  the  latter  : — 
London,  15th  December  1676. — Our  Agent  and  Coun- 
cell at  Fort  St.  George. — ....  Wee  againe  recomend 
to  you  the  procureing  of  some  Cinnamou  Plants  for 
St.  Helena,  and  the  release  of  Captives  at  Ceylon 
for  whome  wee  have  a groat  compas.sion. 
From  the  next  extracts  it  will  he  .seen  tliat  the 
Company  detenniiied  to  have  two  strings  to 
their  how  ; and,  if  they  eonhl  nol  obtain  jilants 
of  the  true  cinnamon  from  Ceylon,  to  giow  cas.sia 
and  other  bastard  kinds  of  cinnamon  : 
London  12th  December  1677. — Onr  .Agent  and  Coun- 
cell at  Fort  St.  George. — . . . AVee  have  now  undo 
Giiiamoii  Trambooue  Ciiiamon  Cassia  Lignum  an  i 
Turinerick  our  own  Comodities,  which  you  are  lo 
note, and  if  you  can  procure  any  Cinamon Plants  from, 
Zeilone  send  them  to  St.  Helena  with  Directions 
for  Planting  t lereof.  which  we  would  doe  to  make  aii^ 
experiment. 
