Book I. 
' V f 1 . . • • • 
The BISTORT of the 
700 
fore fafely pfedi<ft, that the Continuance even of that {lender 
Power which the Portugueze have {till left, cannot con- 
tinue long, and that for thefe two plain Reafons : Firft, be- 
caufe it has been long, and is {till in a declining Condition, 
fo that its Force being extreamly decayed, and at the fame 
time continually employed in refilling the Efforts of its 
Enemies, it is impoffible in the Nature of Things that it 
ihould fubfift for any Time : Secondly, the Manners of 
the People are entirely ruined, fo that there is not the leaft 
Probability that any fuch Reformation will ever be effedled, 
as might enable them to make fuch Ufe of the convenient 
Ports of which they are ftill poffefled, as is neceffary to 
revive and'reftore their Commerce in the Indies. I venture 
therefore to pronounce, that in the Compafs of twenty of 
thirty Years, their Eftablifttments in thefe Parts will be 
quite loft, and that in all likelihood, Goa, Diu , and Daman , 
will be loft firft, which will neceffarily draw after them 
the Defertion of Macao , which cannot long fubfift by its 
own Force, and lies at much too great a Diftance to receive 
any effectual Succour or Support from Portugal diredlly 
It is indeed poffible, that Accidents out of the Reach 
of human Forefight, may prevent, at leaft for a Time, the 
Completion of what I have predicted ; but without the In- 
tervention of fome fuch Accidents, it will certainly come 
to pafs, and when it does, perhaps it may not be much to 
the Difadvantage of Portugal for when Colonies contri- 
bute little to the Benefit of a State, and are of no Ufe in 
promoting its naval Power, the Lofs of them cannot be 
confidered as very detrimental, except to fuch as are fet- 
tled in them, which is a Confideration well worthy the 
Attention of every Colony, fince it fliews that the Re- 
lation between it, and its Mother-Country, is the foie 
Source of the Welfare of both, and cannot therefore be ta- 
ken away without hazarding the Deftruction of the Colony. 
33. The Hiftory of the Rife, Progrefs, and Declen- 
sion of the Portugueze Commerce in the Indies was never 
written before, and therefore I hope will appear the more 
agreeable and entertaining now. We have here, in a very 
narrow Compafs, prefented the whole of it to the View 
of the Englijh reader, with all the Accuracy and Im- 
partiality that lay within the Reach of our Power ; and as 
we have, throughout the whole Sedlion, intermixed our 
Remarks with the Matters of Fadt, we fhall be very fliort 
in our Obfervations here. It may not, however, be amifs, 
to fuggeft, by way of Conclufion, that though this, with 
refpedt to the Circumftances attending Fadls, is a particu- 
lar Hiftory, yet the intelligent and judicious Reader will 
very eafily perceive, that, at the Bottom, it contains a ge- 
neral View of the Rife, Progrefs, and Decay of all Com- 
merce and naval Power, which are at firft (at leaft, ge- 
nerally fpeaking) the Effedls of private Virtues, or, in 
.other Words, are produced by the extraordinary Abilities 
and unwearied Labours of particular Men in Seafons pro- 
per for fuch Undertakings, and with due Affiftance from 
that State in which fuch Genij appear. 
The advantageous Confequences that arife from fuch 
Expeditions, beget in the Body of a People a Spirit of 
Induftry and Commerce, which, by giving a new Turn to 
their Genius, and railing at the fame a virtuous Emula- 
tion, in a fhort Space, fhorter indeed than can be well 
imagined, create a naval Force, and thereby eftablifhes a 
new maritime Power. But, on the one hand, the Wealth 
derived from Commerce, and that wonderful Flow of 
Succefs which ufually attends a Nation powerful at Sea, 
very often produces Luxury and Infolence, which natu- 
rally lead to the Ruin both of Trade and naval Power. I 
do not mean, by Luxury, the Pofleffion of all the Plea- 
fures and good Things of this Life, but the aftedting no-* 
thing elfe. If it were otherwife, we ought not to defire 
Commerce at all, becaufe it is the certain Source of Riches* 
and Affluence ; but there is a great Difference between 
pofteffing and ufing good Things moderately, and being 
fo bewitched with them as to dedicate our whole Time to 
to their Enjoyment ; becaufe, if there were no other Ar- 
gument to prove this wrong, the Thing proves itfelf, 
fince it is impoffible to preferve Pleafure, fuppofing Hap- 
pinefs to confift therein, if we do not fpend a great Pare 
of our Time in thinking of fomewhat elfe, 
It was for want of attending to this plain Truth, that 
the Portugueze defpifed and contemned the Dutch on their 
firft Appearance in the Indies \ they confidered their own 
Force as fo much fuperior to that of their Enemies, that 
they never refledted on the Means by which that Force 
was raifed ; I mean the Valour, Induftry, Patience, Pru- 
dence, and publick Spirit of the firft Adventurers j all 
which Qualities being now on the Side of their Competi- 
tors, and wanting in themfelves, ought to have awakened 
them to a Senfe of their Condition, and to a Return to thofe 
Virtues which originally procured, and were alone able to 
preferve, their extenfive Poffeffions, But continuing as 
they did to provoke on one hand the Natives, and to ne- 
gledl on the other the neceffary Precautions againft the 
Dutch , they did the Bufinefs of their Enemies, and drew 
upon themfelves that Deftrudtion which could never other- 
wife have been brought upon them. 
I have before obferved, that like Caufes will, in all 
Cafes, be attended with the like Effedts, and therefore 
there will be no Occafion to repeat thefe Remarks in the 
Progrefs of this Work •, though it would have been a great 
Overfight to have omitted them here, inafmuch as they 
contribute chiefly to render our Labour ufeful and impor- 
tant, which otherwife would be no more than an agree- 
able Amufement. To relieve the Reader however from 
fo ferious a Courfe of Study, we have, in the next Sec- 
tion, given him the Travels at large, of a very curious 
Difcoverer, and the only one who has given us a tolerable 
Account of that Archipelago, which is the Subjedt of his 
Performance. 
a It is very remarkable, that Vafque z de Gama , whole Statue is over one of the Gates of Goa , was not only the Difcoverer of the Paffage to the 
indies by the Cape of Good Hope, but lived to fee the Eftablifhments made by his Countrymen in thofe Parts, carried to their greatefl Height ; for at 
the l ime of his Demife the Portuguese Empire in the Eaft was in its mok flourilhing Condition. It is likewife remarkable, that the Son of the great 
Don Atfhonfo cT Albuquerque, who was the Conqueror of Goa, lived to fee the Declenfion of their Affairs in the Indies, and the prodigious Progrefs of 
the Dutch at their Expence. The whole Circle therefore of the Difcoveries, Acquifitions, and Loffes of this Nation, take in no greater Compafs than 
two hundred and fifty Years, which is very little in Comparifon to the Time this Trade was held by the Tyrians, or the Romans . 
SECT. 
1 
