under the Dutch. 45 
to nourish these sentiments ; and the cruelties of the Portu- 
guese and Dutch have so exasperated them against all Europeans, 
that it will require much pains to reconcile their minds so far 
as that any confidence can be placed in them* 
All these causes combined to frustrate the attempts ^of the 
Dutch at forming a settlement in the interior of the island ; 
o 
and the difficulties which they encountered made them affect 
to despise the advantages which they could not attain. They 
pretended to look upon the interior as an object of no con- 
sequence; a poor and barren country rendered equally useless 
by the badness of its soil, and the unhealthiness of its climate, 
Such is the description, which after my arrival, I always heard 
given of it by the Dutch settlers ; but my own observation has 
since convinced me, that either they were very little acquaint- 
ed with the country, or that they were unwilling that any 
other European power should reap those advantages which 
their own short-sighted policy had made them neglect. 
But notwithstanding the Dutch seem to have been convmced 
that it was impracticable to retain possession of the interior, 
yet their own misconduct had sown so many seeds of jealousy 
between them and the Candians, that they were often compelled 
to have recourse to arms. The last great war which they car- 
ried on with the iiatives, was about the middle of last century. 
In 1764, they penetrated into the heart of the King’s domi- 
nions, and made themselves masters of Candy. Their success, 
however, ended as on former occasions. After having experi- 
enced great hardships from the climate, and the activity of 
the natives, who continually intercepted their convoys and 
communications with the sea-coast, they were at last obliged 
to evacuate the capital. Their disasters did not, however, end 
