An hijlorkal Account of the Inter cwrj'e 
Book. I. 
of Ms little Eftate, who brought in forged Bonds for 
Sums borrowed of one King, whom he never had any 
Dealings with, and found Witneffes to atteft them. All 
that Thorburn had was too little to pay the Sums* for 
which his Eftate was taken from him, and himfelf put in 
Prifon, without the Permiffion of one Slave to attend 
him, or ferve him . in Prifon * his Wife was not permitted 
to vifit him, which hard Ufage brought him into a violent 
Fever, that foon put an End to his Life. About two 
Days before he died, the Goaler acquainted his Lady with 
the Danger, and fhe, with two fmall Children, went to 
the General, and, on her Knees, begged that a Doblor 
might be permitted to vifit her Hufband ; but he was in- 
exorable, and would allow no fuch Favour, only granted 
her Leave to be in Prifon with him till he died, and fhe 
flayed but one Day and Part of a Night, before he ex- 
pired. 
When the Tragedy was over, £(ie was going home to 
her diftreffed Family, but found her Slaves and Children 
removed into a little Out-houfe of her’s, and the Doors of 
her Dwelling-houfe fhut againft her. The Lady had two 
Sifters married on the Iftand, and fhe hoping to find Re- 
lief from them, went to fee the eldeft j but fhe met her at 
the Door, and told her fhe could have no Admittance, 
her Hufband being liable to Profecution if he admitted 
her into the Houfe, and fhe believed the other Sifter’s 
Hufband durft not entertain her in his Houfe. The poor 
Lady, full of Sorrow and Grief, being abandoned of all 
her Friends and Relations, went back to her diftreffed Fa- 
mily, and having no vifible W ay of- Support, had once fome 
Thoughts of putting an End to her Miferies : But her 
Sifters, unknown to their Hufbands, fent her fome Relief 
by a trufty female Slave in the Night, and a Letter, that 
they defired her to burn as foon as fhe had read, wherein 
they promifed to be aififting in the Maintenance of her 
and her Children, till the Almighty fhould think proper 
to deliver her out of the Perfecution. 
The poor Lady had both Beauty and Difcretion enough 
to recommend her to the virtuous Part of Mankind j but 
none of the Gentlemen that wifhed her well, durft make 
AddrefTes to her *, only one who had the Command of a 
Ship in the Indian Merchant’s Service, as he had no De- 
pendance on the General and his Mafters in England , 
thought he could not well come within the Reach of their 
Perfecution •, fo he courted her, and married her * but 
that was thought a capital Crime, and the General ac- 
quainted his Indian Owners, that without they difcharged 
him their Service, they fhould alfo find the Weight of his 
Difpleafure •, and accordingly, to avoid Contefts with his 
Excellency, he was difcharged *, but Grief put an End to 
his Troubles, for he died within a Year after his Marriage, 
and left the poor Lady another Child to take Care of, but 
left her above One thoufand Pounds Sterling of Stock for 
her and her Family’s Support. 
As the Phcenix was in her Way for India, fhe called at 
the Iftand of Johanna , and there found an Englijh Ship, 
called the Brijlol , flopping fome Leaks in her Bottom. 
Captain Tyrell, by a difpenfing Power from the King of 
England , feized her, and defigned to have carried her to 
Bombay, in Company with a fmall V efifel that he had feized 
on the Coaft of Madagafcar . The Brijlol funk the third 
Day after they put to Sea, but the other came fafe. The 
Brijlol Men were looked on as Pirates * and one Mr. 
Mews , a Supercargo, was arraigned before the General’s 
Tribunal, where he himfelf fat Lord Chief Juftice * and 
after his ufual Manner of bellowing opprobrious Names, 
he condemned Mr. Mews to lofe all that he had in the 
World, and One thoufand Pounds befides, and to lie in 
Prifon at his own Charge, till the Fine was paid but Mr. 
Vam, who was Judge of the Iftand in petty Affairs, fhew- 
ed him the Weaknefs of his Sentence, and perfuaded him 
to fet the poor Man at Liberty, and order him a Paffage 
for England. 
As I have taken thefe Paffages from the Travels of one 
Captain Hamilton , fo upon his Credit I mull leave them. 
He had the Reputation of being an honeft and a fincere 
Man, and one fo far from being fufpedled of having but 
a {lender Regard for Truth, that, on the contrary, he was 
field enthufiaftically fond of it, fo as to have fpoke it upon 
all Occafions, and without any Regard to the good old 
Maxim, That Truth is not to be fpcken at all Times . I 
muft likewife have Leave to; fay, that I knew not where 
elfe to find Materials for this Part of my Subjedl, and 
therefore Lchofe rather to fet thefe Things "down, than to 
leave fo large a Chafe in my Colledion. But if the re be 
any Falfhoods among thefe Fadls, or any Truths written 
with a Spirit of Prejudice or Animofity, it is none of 
my Fault, and quite befide my Intention * befides all this, 
the FaHs related are fo notorious, and fo very capable of 
being difproved from their very Nature, at the fame time 
that publick and private Interefts were equally concerned 
to difprove them, that I . cannot help: thinking their re- 
maining fo many Years as my Author’s Book has been print- 
ed, unqueftioned as well as - unreputed, is a fufficient 
Reafon to believe that though very extraordinary, they are 
yet confident with Truth *, and if fo, I am Very fure that 
no Fadls can better deferve a Place in this Hiftory than 
they do. 
The Dutch all this time very fteadily purfued their Plan 
of driving us out of the Indies. In time of War they at- 
tacked us diredtly, and having a fuperior Strength, had 
generally the better of us f but in time of Peace, between 
the States of the United Provinces, and the Crown of Great - 
Britain, they contented themfelves with attacking the In- 
dian Princes, to whofe Dominions we traded, and profe- 
cuting the War againft them, till fuch time as they were 
obliged, from a Principle of Self-prefervation, to purchafe 
their own Peace by excluding us. It was in this manner, 
and after a long War carried on for that Purpofe, that the 
Dutch were fo fortunate in the Iftand of Java , as to carry 
their Point entirely •, fo that after a long civil War fet on 
foot, and encouraged by them between the old King and 
his Son, by the Help of the latter mAnno 1683, th e Dutch 
difpoffeffed the Englijh Company of their Faftory of Ban- 
tam, on the Weft End of Java ; and the Englijh having 
a mind to regain it by Force of Arms, built ieveral Ships 
of between fixty and feventy Guns, fo that in Anno 1 685, 
they had a Fleet ready victualled, and manned with feven 
or eight thoufand Men, to the Number of twenty-three 
Sail of Line of Battle Ships •, which Expence, and the con- 
tinual Craving of the Court, brought their Stock very low ; 
yet fince the Maw of the Court was not enough crammed, 
the King laid Embargoes on the Fleet from Time to Time 
for nine Months, and then the Dutch Embaffador had Or- 
ders to prefent his Majefty with one hundred thoufand 
Pounds, if he would command the Company not to ufe 
Violence. He fnapt at the Bait, and defeated the Defign 
to all Intents and Purpofes, which was of infinite Preju- 
dice to the Company’s Affairs, gave the Dutch vaft Ad- 
vantages, and was highly dilhonourable, as well as detri- 
mental to the Nation. 
12. Upon the Accefllon of King James the Second to 
the Throne of England, the Eajl-India Company found in 
him a ftill more powerful ProteClor than they had done in 
his Brother, though he granted them anew Charter, dated 
the 5th of Odlober, in the twenty-eighth Year of his Reign, 
and extended this again by another Charter, dated the 9th 
of Augujl , in the thirty-fifth of it. But King James not 
only extended their Privileges as a Company, but being 
perfuaded that fuch Prerogatives were neceffary to the car- 
rying on their Trade, for the promoting of which he would 
deny nothing, he in a manner fhared his Sovereignty with 
them, by granting them a Power to ereft Fortreffes, raife 
Armies, execute martial Law, and coin Money ; all which 
was with a View to make them equal in Power with the 
Dutch, and to enable them to fecure at leaft a confiderable 
Share of this profitable Trade to his Subjects. Under fo gra- 
cious and kind a Prince, we need not at all wonder, that 
the Company extended their Authority very confiderably, 
but the great Misfortune was, that they extended it only 
over, and not for the Benefit of their Countrymen, as we 
fhall prefently fee. 
The Company having fuch a Number of great Ships on 
their Hands, were obliged to fend them abroad •, but hav- 
ing no Stock to employ them, ordered the Generals and 
Chiefs of the Fadtories in India to borrow what Sums they 
could on the Company’s Credit from the Indian Merchants, 
to lade their Ships home, which accordingly they did, and 
3 what 
