726 
NOTICES OF THE HISTORY AND PRESENT 
CONDITION OF MALACCA. 
By the Hon. E. A. Blundell, C. S. 
History. —The earliest notice of Malacca which I have met with 
is in the <e Navigation and Voyages of Lewis Wertemanus of Rome 
in the year 1503.” The following is the extract alluded to : “ Sail¬ 
ing westward towards the city of Malacca, we arrived in 8 days’ 
sailing. Not far from this city is a famous river named Gaza, the 
largest I ever saw, containing 25 miles in breadth. On the other 
side is seen a very great island called Sumetra and is of old writers 
named Taprobina. When we came to the city of Malacka (which 
some call Meleka) we were incontinent commanded to come to the 
Sultan, being a Mahomedan and subject to the great Sultan of Chi¬ 
na and payeth him tribute, of which tribute the cause is, that more 
than 80 years ago that city was builded by the Sultan of China for 
none other cause than only for the commodity of the haven, being 
doubtless one of the fairest in that ocean. The region is not every 
where fruitful, yet hath it Sufficient of wheat and flesh and but little 
wood. They have plenty of fowls as in Calicut, but the Popinjays 
are much finer. There is also found Sandilium and Tin, likewise 
elephants, horses, sheep, kyne, pardilles, buffios, peacocks and ma¬ 
ny other beasts and fowls. They have but few fruits. The people 
are of blackish ashe color. They have very large foreheads, round 
eyes and flat noses. It is dangerous there to go abroad in the night, 
the inhabitants are so given to rob and murder. The people are 
fierce, of evil condition and unruly, for they will obey to no Govern¬ 
or being altogether given to rob and murder, and therefore say to their 
Governors that they will forsake country if they strive to bind them 
to order, which they say the more boldly because they are near un¬ 
to the sea and may easily depart to other places. For these causes 
w r e spent no long time here, but hiring a brigantine we sailed to 
the I. of Sumetra where in few days sailing we arrived at a city 
named Pidir distant about 80 miles from the continent or firm land.” 
The next extract which I will give is from the travels of Caesar 
Frederick, under date 1564: 
“ Malacca is a city of marvellous great trade of all kind of mer¬ 
chandize, which come from divers parts because that all the ships 
that sail in these seas both great and small arc bound to touch at 
