Chap* II. of W I L L 1 A- M - A D A, M S. 86 1 
them, had he infilled on the Pains and Trouble he had 
taken in procuring the Dutch a Settlement in that Coun- 
try, and therefore the longer, and the more attentively we 
confider his Manner of Proceeding, the more certain we 
may be, that he added in this Refpeft with all the Care 
and Precaution, and at the fame Time, with ail the Up- 
rightnefs and publick Spirit that it was poffible. 
It is from a juft Senfe of this, and becaufe I find no- 
thing faid of him by any of our Hiftorians, or Collectors 
of Voyages, befides what they have taken out of his own 
Works, that I judged it reafonable in itfelf, and a thing 
that could not but be agreeable to the judicious and intelli- 
gent Reader, to'purfue the Thread of this Man’s Hiftory, 
by the Help of Foreign Writers, for Dutch , Portuguese, 
and Spanijh Authors have thought the Actions of this Man 
worthy of being recorded, though there is fo little faid of 
them by our own ; and indeed, the Affairs in which he 
was engaged were of fuch a Nature, and his. Conduct fo 
extraordinary, that we need not wonder at their taking fo 
much Pains, the rather, if we confider, that in their Turns 
they all felt the Effects of his Management, and of the 
Credit he required at the Imperial Court. 
12. In order to fet this Hiftory in a clear Light, it is 
requifite to go back a little, in order to fiiew the Reader 
what lAt. Adams has concealed, which is, that it was by 
His means that Dutch Ships were brought thither in the 
Year 1609, and the Thing happened thus : When he found 
there was no Hopes of procuring his own Liberty, he not 
only applied, as he tells us, for the Difcharge of his Cap- 
tain, but of another Dutch Officer, fuppoflng that two 
Lives were better than one, in which he judged very right, 
for his Captain was foon afterwards killed, and it was the 
other Officer who carried the News of Mr. kern’s Eftablifh- 
ment in Japan to the Dutch Settlements in the Eaji-Indies. 
It was in Confequence of this, that a Yacht, called the 
Dion, was fent in the Spring of the Year 1609, from the 
River of Johor e to Japan. This Veffel arrived on the 
Coaft of Firando on the firft of July, and two Commiffioners 
being fent to the Emperor’s Court, they, by the Interefc 
of Mr .Adams, procured all they could defire ; and having 
free Liberty given them to trade, failed on the 3d of Oc- 
tober, arrived at Bantam on the laft of November, and from 
thence continuing their V oyage home, arrived fafely in the 
D'exel on the 2.0th of July 1610. It was on the Report 
they made, that another fmall Yacht was fent, which ar- 
rived at Firando on the ift of July 1611. 
The firft thing they did was to have Recourfe to Mr. 
Adams ; for at their Arrival they found all things went very 
untowardly, at leaft in their Opinion, who were not at all 
ufed to that fort of Behaviour which was prafitifed by the 
Japancfe ; and therefore they abfolutely refufed to comply 
with what was demanded of them, in giving a Lift of the 
Merchandize which they brought to the Royal Faddor. On 
the other hand, the JapaneJe were but indifferently fatif- 
fied with them ; for, whereas they expected an annual Ship 
fliould have been fent, as there was, from Macao, there 
was now two Years elapfed, and but a very fmall Veffel, 
and a Cargo of very moderate Value fent at laft, which did 
not at all agree with the Humours of the JaponeJe, who, 
like moft of the Eaftern Nations, are exceedingly caught 
by Pomp and Shew. 
To heal thefe Breaches, the principal Perfons on board 
the Ship went to make Mr. Adams a Vifit, refolving to be 
wholly guided by his Inftruddions, becaufe, as the Dutch 
Writer of this Voyage informs us, they were very well 
fatisfied he had as much or more Intereft with the Emperor 
than any of his Minifters or Nobility •, and it was purely 
out of refpedd to him, that after their firft; Differences with 
the Officer at the Court, they had obtained Licence to make 
their Application to the Emperor. On their coming to 
Court, Mr. Adams obferved to them, that though their 
Cargo was fmall, it would be requifite to make confider- 
able Prefents, fince it depended upon their Behaviour on 
this Occafion, whether the Licence which he had procured 
for them to trade, fliould be continued, or fuppreffed. The 
Infight he gave them into the Commodities and Manufac- 
tures of the Country, and the vaft Profits that might be 
made, by eftablifhing them helves there, operated fo power- 
fully on their Minds, that they came immediately into all 
N u u b. 58. 
that he propofed, and very wifely refolved not, to heed the 
Lofs they might fuftain by their firft Cargo, provided they 
might fecure thereby a fecond Licence to fend an annual 
Ship thither. 
On the other hand, Mr. Adams had fuch an Intereft with 
the principal Perfons, and great Minifters at the Court of 
Japan, that he foon brought them to confider the Dutch 
in that Light in which it was moft for their Intereft that 
they fliould be confidered. There was at that Time a 
Spanijb Embaffador at the Court of Japan, who had a great 
Train, made a fplenclid Appearance, and took great State 
upon him ; for which Reafon the Dutch Supercargoes were 
very apprehenfive that he would get the better of them in 
their Negotiation?-, but Mr. Adams having taken the Affair 
entirely into his own Hands, turned this very Incident to 
their Advantage. He reprefented to the JaponeJe Mini- 
fters, that this SpaniJJo Embaffador treated them with an 
Air of Haughtiness. and Superiority, and rather dictated to 
them his Demands, than applied to them for their Favour; 
whereas the Dutch were abfolutely a trading People, no way 
formidable to them in any refpedd, who deftred to have the 
Honour of furnifhing the Emperor and his Subjects with 
fuch Foreign Commodities as they wanted, and were ready 
to fubmit to fuch Regulations, and to carry on their Trade 
under fuch Reftriddions, as for the Safety and W elfare of 
the Empire they, in their great Wifdom, fliould think fit to 
preferibe. 
By this means, as the Dutch Writers themfelves corffefs, 
Mr. Adams wrought fo efftdually in their Favour, that 
they were every where received, not only with Civility and 
Kindnefs, but with the greateft Candor and Complaifance, 
while the Spanijh Embaffador, notwithftanding the great 
Figure he made, was not only very coldly treated, and 
made little Progrefs in his Negotiation, but was likewife 
expofed to Civilities and Affronts, 
The Portugueze Writers attribute alfo to our Countryman 
Adams the evil Impreffions that about this Time the Em- 
peror began to entertain of their Nation, and particularly 
of the Miffionaries, of which, however, we find not the 
leaft Footftep in either Dutch or Englijh Author : But, to 
fay the Truth, it is probable enough, and what they re- 
port is very confiftent with the Notions that are aferibed to 
Mr. Adams by the Dutch Writers. In fliort, he did ex- 
prefs fome Diflike to the Jefuits, and when afked concern- 
ing them by the Emperor, he faid very freely, that they 
were the Authors of all the Difturbances in Europe, and 
that they had been expelled not only Great-Britain, but 
France, for this Reafon. It is highly probable, that the 
Emperor might from hence take a Refolution of treating 
them in the fame manner, for the Security of his' own Do- 
minions, but then it muft be allowed, he would not have 
thought of taking this Meafure, if he had not found their 
Behaviour in Japan juftify the Charadder which Mr. Adams 
had given him of them : But the Portugueze Writers fay 
notaWord of the Calumnies fpread by their Priefts, and the 
JaponeJe Nobility in their Intereft, againft the Englijlo and 
the Dutch, reprefenting both Nations as a fort of Pirate^ 
and Free-booters, which might not only provoke Mr. 
Adams to make fuch Returns, but likewife lay him under 
a kind of Neceflity of clearing up thefe Points to the Em- 
peror’s Satisfaddiom But to return to our Subjedd : 
About the latter End of Auguji 16 ji, the Dutch , thro* 
Mr. Adams’s, Intereft folely, obtained a Licence to trade in 
Japan under the Emperor’s Seal, in which, however, that 
Claufe was wanting which chiefly induced them to make 
this long Journey to Court, and that was an Exemption 
from being vifited by the Infpeddor of Commerce, by whom 
they had been greatly aggrieved. This Officer, tho’ a 
very bad Man, had a very great Intereft at Court, his 
Sifter being one of the Emperor’s Wives ; and the Dutch 
found, upon Application to the prime Minifter, that he was 
fo much afraid of offending her, that he durft not fo much 
as propofe that Claufe to the Emperor, which gave them 
great Concern, fince without obtaining it, they were not 
much inclined to make ufe of the Licence. 
To obviate this Difficulty, the prime Minifter propofed, 
that Mr. Adams fliould draw up a Petition for inferring of 
this Claufe, with fuch Reafons as he thought proper, and 
fhould take an Opportunity of prefenting it to the Emperor 
10 K when 
