190 The V O Y 
his Feet, that he may rife the fatter. When thefe Boats 
are full of Oyfters, the Negro Merchants carry them all 
oyer the Coafts, and fell them at fo much an Hundred. 
This kind of Trade is very hazardous for thofe who pur- 
chafe the Oyfters, fince fometimes they find Pearls of great 
Price, and fometimes none at all, or thofe that are but of 
little Value. 
, The Company draws alfo a confiderable Profit from the 
Manufactures of Muffin, Chintz, and other Cloths : Yet the 
greateft Part of the Mullins fent into Europe come from 
the Coaft of Malabar. The Inhabitants of the Ifland of 
Ceylon are called Cingolejians . They are, generally fpeaking, 
very tall, of a very dark Complexion, their Ears excefiively 
large •, which is owing to the Ornaments they wear in them, 
that are very large, and very heavy. They are Men of 
great Courage, live very hard, and therefore make good 
Soldiers. They are, generally fpeaking, of the Moham- 
medan Religion ; but there are alfo amongft them Idolaters, 
who worfhip Cows and Calves. They do not pay great 
Refpeff to the Dutch-, but treat them rather with Contempt, 
and fcornfully ftile them their Coajl'-keepers. But the Dutch 
do not trouble themfelves much about this, but, like good 
Politicians, take all the Care in the World to keep up a 
perfeff Correfpondence with the King of Candy, that he 
may never be tempted to quarrel with, and refufe them his 
Afliftance ; which would effectually deftroy the molt valu- 
able Part of their Commerce. This, however, his Majefty 
might do, if he thought fit, without being under any great 
Apprehenfions from their Power, fince his Dominions are 
feparated from theirs by a large rapid River, and by Forefts 
fo thick, that it is fimply impofiible to penetrate them. 
The Inhabitants of this Ifland are particularly remarkable 
for their great Skill in taming Elephants, which they ufe as 
Beads of Burden in time of Peace, and, in time of War, 
make them very ferviceable againft their Enemies. 
31. The fecond Government the Company has to beftow, 
is that of Atnboyna , one of the Moluccas. This Ifland was 
formerly the Seat of the Governor-General, before the build- 
ing of Batavia , and was transferred to that City, on ac- 
count of its advantageous Situation, in the midft of all the 
Company’s Settlements ; whereas Amboyna lay too far to 
the Eaft. Befides, the Ifland of Java was infinitely more 
fertile than Amboyna in all Things neceffary for Life ; fo 
that there was no Necefiity of fearching for Provifions in 
other Places ; which is a thing they were obliged to do, 
while the Government-General remained fixed at Amboyna. 
This Ifland, however, is one of the biggeft of the Moluccas. 
It is fituated in the Archipelago of St. Lazarus , between 
the third and fourth Degree of South Latitude, and 145 0 
of Longitude from the Canary IJlands , and diftant 120 
Leagues to the Eaftward of Batavia. This Ifland was con- 
quered by the Portuguefe in 1519 ; and they built a Fort 
there, not only to bridle the Inhabitants, but with a View 
to keep fuch a Force, as might fubjeff all the adjacent 
Iflands. This Fort, however, was taken from them by the 
Dutch in 1605; but they did not render themfelves intirely 
Matters of Amboyna , and the adjacent Countries, till the 
Year 1627. 
This Conqueft put the Clove-trade wholly into their 
Hands, not only without a Partner, but without a Compe- 
titor alfo. Thefe Iflands are ftyled the Gold Mine of the 
Company ; and fo indeed they have proved, if we confider 
how vaft a Profit they draw from them, and how little Fear 
there is of their being ever exhaufted. To convince the 
Reader of this, we need only obferve, that a Pound Weight 
of Nutmegs, or of Cloves, cofts the Company, in Faff, 
not much above an Halfpeny ; and every body knows at 
what Rate they are fold in Europe. This Ifland of Amboyna 
is the Centre of all this rich Commerce •, and, to keep it 
more effeffually in her Hands, the Company takes care to 
have all the Clove-trees in the adjacent Iflands grubbed up, 
and deftroyed ; and fometimes, when the Harveft is very 
large in Amboyna , Part of the fame is burnt like wife. A 
few Days after the Fruit is fallen from the Tree, they col- 
leff the Cloves together, and dry them before the Fire on 
Hurdles ; by which means they lofe the beautiful red Colour 
they derive from Nature, and change into a deep-purple, or 
rather a black ; which is, perhaps, occafioned by their being 
fprmkled with Water. It is pretended, that this Sprinkling 
2 
AGES of Book I. 
Is neceffary to hinder the Worm from getting into the Fruit ; 
but it is thought, a better Realon may be afligned for it • 
which is, the adding Weight tq the Cloves. 
It is at leaft certain, that fuch as are fent for this Cotrh 
modity in the Company s Ships, praffile a Fraud of this 
Nature, in order to conceal their Thefts , for, having taken 
out a certain Quantity of Cloves when firft received on board, 
they place two or three Hogfheads of Salt-water amonoft 
them, which, in the Space of a few Days, is drawn in, and 
fucked up, by the Cloves ; fo that, upon opening of thp 
Hogfheads, they are found quite empty, while the Veffels 
that contain the Cloves, have recovered their former Weight. 
By this Contrivance, a Captain of a Ship, and a Merchant 
or Supercargo, agreeing together, find a Way to cheat the 
Company of this rich Merchandize with great Facility. 
However, this Praffice, tho’ eafy and expeditious, is withai 
extremely dangerous for as the Company never wants 
Spies, fo, whenever a Man is deteffed in a Fraud of this 
fort, it infallibly cofts him his Life: Of which there aFe 
abundance of Inftances ; infomuch that it has o-iven Occa- 
fion to call the Cloves by the Name of Galgenkruid , i, e. 
the Gailows-fpice ; that is to fay, the Spice that brings a 
Man to an ill End. The leaft private Trade in Cloves is 
looked upon as fo flagrant a Contraband* that the Company 
will rather fpare a Man who has broken all the Ten Com- 
mandments, than one who has cheated them of Five Pounds 
of Cloves. 
Of this I will give the Reader, fays our Author, two 
Inftances, that fell within the Compals of my Knowledge. 
There was a certain Provoft, or Executioner, whofe Sur- 
name F have forgot, but his Chriftian Name was Joachim , 
and he was a Native of Lubec, who, out of Malice, fhot 
a Neighbour of his through the Head. There was, at the 
fame time, a German Apothecary, whofe Name was Gun- 
ther, who dealt in aromatic Oils, and had found a Way 
to cheat the Company of a Parcel of Cloves ; they were 
both condemned at the fame time, Joachim to be fhot, 
and poor Gunther to be hanged. In purfuance of their Sen- 
tences, they came together to the Place of Execution; and 
after the ulual Time allowed for Prayers was over, Mr. 
Gunther was fairly trufled up, and Joachim , who was upon 
his Knees, expeff ing the Bullet, had his Eyes unbound, and 
was fent home in one of the Company’s Ships. The laft 
time, continues he, that I was in the Indies , there were no 
lefs than twenty People at a time taken up for Frauds of 
this kind. I cannot tell, fays he, what became of them 5 
but this I am very clear in, that if there was as plain Evi- 
dence againft them as againft the Apothecary, they cer* 
tainly met with his Fate ; nor would they have been fpared, 
if there had been twice the Number. 
The King of Amboyna receives an annual Penfion from 
the Company, and has, befides, a Guard of European Sol- 
diers maintained at their Expence. The Inhabitants of the 
Ifland are of a middle Stature, and of a very black Com- 
plexion. They are all, of them very lazy, and have moll 
of them a ftrong Propenfity to Thieving ; fome of them, 
who are very ingenious, have a Angular Art of working 
up the Cloves, while they are green, into abundance of cu- 
rious Toys, fuch as Ships, Crowns, little Houfes, &V. 
which are ufually fent home to Europe as Prefents, and are 
efteemed of great Value. Such of the Amboynefe as are 
fubjeff to the King, profefs the Mohammedan Religion ; 
but there are, befides thefe, a great Number of Idolaters 
in the Ifland, who live in the Mountains, and acknowledge 
no Matter. They confider themfelves as free; but the King 
and the Company look upon them as Savages ; and as they 
are frequently guilty of Robberies and Murders, fo when 1 
ever there is any of them caught, they are condemned to 
perpetual Slavery, employed in the hardeft kind of Work, 
and are treated with the utmoft Rigour. There fubfifts, 
on this account, an Hatred not to be expreffed between them 
and the reft of the People of the Ifland, with whom they 
are in perpetual War, and to whom they very rarely give 
any Quarter. Their Arms are a Sword, a Buckler, and 
a kind of Pike or Javelin. 
As to the Force which the Company has in Amboyna , 
it confifts principally in the Garifon they have in their 
Fort, which is very numerous, compofed pf their beft 
Troops, kept conftantly in excellent Qrder. The Fort it- 
felf 
