4 o5 A M B 
whereas the Dutch had eight (hips riding near the town : 
neither, when the Dutch broke open the defks and trunks 
of the factors, was there found a Tingle paper or letter 
which could be conftrued into the mod diilant relation 
to any confpiracy. Add to all this, that fuch of the un¬ 
happy fufferers as could (peak to be heard, declared in 
the moft folemn manner their innocence of the plot with 
which they were charged. The whole of the transaction 
affords the mod irrefragable tedimony, that it was founded 
entirely upon a political fiftion of the Hollanders, who had 
themfelves formed the defign of monopolizing the trade 
of the Spice Iflands ; for the accomplifhment of which 
they perpetrated, about the fame time, a fimilar tragedy 
at Pooleron, where they put to the torture 162 of the 
natives, whom they likewife charged with a pretended 
confpiracy. It may juftly be reckoned lingular in the 
fortune of this commercial republic, that they have ever 
fince been permitted to enjoy in peace thofe invaluable 
'iflands, which were originally obtained by fuch atrocious 
infringements of humanity and the laws of nations, as will 
dain the Dutch annals, to the luted ages, with indelible 
infamy. The more efteftually to preferve this trade, the 
Dutch have had all the clove-trees in the adjacent idands 
grubbed up. Sometimes alio, when the harved is very 
large, part of the produce of Amboyna itfelf is burnt. 
To prevent the rearing of cloves in any of the neighbour¬ 
ing iflands, dr the inhabitants from felling them to flrang- 
ers, the governor of Amboyna makes the tour of his 
government with a fleet of curricurries, confiding fome- 
times of twenty, and at others of thirty, forty, or fifty, 
fail. This expedition is made with all the pomp imagina¬ 
ble, in order to gratify the pride and folly of the Indian 
chiefs. The true reafon of their taking all this pains is, 
becaufe experience has fltewn, that no contracts, however 
folemn, can prevent the inhabitants of thofe idands from 
felling their fpice to drangers : and even now, frauds are 
fo frequently praflifed by the Dutch themfelves, though 
the company is inexorable in punifhing them, that the 
common people call the cloves galkcn-kriiid, that is, the 
gallows-fpice. Befides the cloves, coflee is alfo cultiva¬ 
ted here by the Dutch, and a gold mine has been lately 
difeovered. This was accidentally found, by the quanti¬ 
ties of gold-dud that were wafhed from lome mountains 
by the torrents. Here alfo grow feveral kinds of valuable 
wood, of which they make tables, chairs, eferitoirs, &c. 
for the principal perfons in the government; and the red 
is fold all over the Indies, at a very extravagant rate. 
Amboyna is divided into two parts, viz. a greater and 
lefler peninfula. The former, called Hiton , is twelve leagues 
in length, and two and a half broad. In this the Dutch 
have no lefs than flve forts, or rather flrong redoubts, 
mounted with cannon. The other is called Leylimor, flve 
leagues in length, and one and a half broad, which is the 
fouthern part of the ifland; on this Hands the fort of Vic¬ 
toria, which is the refidence of the governor and his coun¬ 
cil, compofcd of fifteen gentlemen or merchants. The 
fortrefs is a fquare, the ramparts mounted with dxty pieces 
of brafs cannon, and the garrifon ufually compofed of 600 
men. It is fo flrong by nature and art, as to be in a man¬ 
ner impregnable ; and fo effectually does it command the 
harbour, that no vefl'el could come in or go out without 
being funk by the cannon, if the governor chofe. The 
inhabitants of Amboyna are computed at 70 or 80,000, of 
whom but a fmall number are Dutch ; and this obliges 
the latter to be continually upon their guard, and to keep a 
component number of troops in each of their forts, parti¬ 
cularly in that of Middleburgh, which Hands upon the 
iflhmus that connects thefe peninfulas. There are alfo re¬ 
doubts and garrifons in all the iflands of this government. 
AMBRA'CIA, one of the mod condderable cities of 
ancient Epirus, dtuated on the river AraCthus, at a fmall 
diflance from the fea. At flrfl it was a free city ; but was 
afterwards reduced by the ^acidas kings of Epil us, who 
chofe it for their place of refidence. In procefs of time, 
the /Etohans made themfelves ; maders of it, and held it 
A M B 
till the year before Chrifl 189, when it fell into the hand; 
of the Romans. At this time Ambracia was a place of 
great drength. It was defended on one fide by the river 
AraCthus, and on the other by deep and craggy hills; and 
furrounded with a high and tliick wall, above three miles 
in compafs. The Roman conful Fluvius began the flege 
by forming two camps, feparated by the river, but with 
a communication between them ; the Romans were pofled 
in one, and the Epirots, their allies, in the other. He then 
threw up two lines, one of circumvallation, and the other 
of contravallation ; and built a wooden tower, in form of a 
caflle, over-againfl the citadel, which flood on a hill. The 
-Tidolians, however, before the lines were quite flnifhed, 
found means to throw about 1000 men into the place. 
The lines being completed, the city was attacked in flve 
different places at once. The battering-rams (hook the 
walls on all fides : and the Romans, from their moveable 
towers, pulled down the battlementswith a kind of feythes, 
which they fadened to long beams. The bedeged made a 
vigorous defence. They were night and day on the walls, 
and indefatigable in preventing the effects of the rams and 
feythes. The drokes of the former they deadened, by 
letting down beams, large Hones, lumps of lead, See. by 
means of pullies, upon them when they were in motion : 
the others they rendered ufelefs, by pulling the beams to 
which they were fadened into the city with hooks con¬ 
trived for the purpofe. 
While Fluvius was carrying on the flege, Nicander, the 
j?itolian praetor, found means to throw 500 men into the 
city, under the command of one Nicodamus, with whom 
Nicander agreed to attack the Roman camp in the night; 
not doubting, that, if the garrifon from within, and the 
army from without, fell upon them at the fame time, they 
would be obliged to raife the flege. Nicodamus narrowly 
watched the time at which he was ordered to dally ; and, 
though Nicander did not appear, he marched out at the 
head-of the garrifon, armed with fire-brands and torches. 
The Roman centinels, furprifed at this fight, ran to awake 
the legionaries, and foon fpread a general alarm all over 
the camp. The legionaries marched in fmall bodies as 
they happened to meet, to repulfe the enemy, whom they 
engaged in three different places. Two parties of the 
garrifon were driven back; but the third, commanded by 
two ^tolian generals, made a great daughter of the Ro¬ 
mans ; and, not flnding themfelves feconded by Nicander, 
retired in good order into the city. 
Though the befieged were thus abandoned, and had no 
hopes of afliflance, they continued to defend themfelves 
with incredible vigour and refolution. The Romans had 
no fooner made a breach in the wall, but it was repaired, 
and a new one built behind it. The conful, therefore, 
altered his meafures ; and, indead of making breaches 
with the ram, began to undermine the wall, in hopes of 
throwing down great part of it at once, and entering the 
city before the befieged could have time to build a new 
wall. The miners, being covered, were not obferved by 
the garrifon, till the great quantities of earth brought out 
of the mine gave the alarm. The .ffitolians immediately 
began to countermine ; and, having dug a trench of the 
depth they fuppofed the mine to be, they carried it along 
the wall,Kvhere they heard the drokes of the pick-axes of 
the Romans. When the two mines met, a battle enfued, 
firfl with pick-axes and fpades, and then with fwords and 
fpears: but this attack did not lad long, each party mak¬ 
ing themfelves a kind of rampart with the loofe earth. 
The JEtolians, in order to drive their enemies quite out 
of the mine, invented a machine, which they brought to 
the place where the two mines met: this was an hollow 
veflel with an iron bottom, bored through in many places, 
and armed with fpikes at proper didances, to prevent the 
enemy from approaching it : this veflel they filled with 
feathers, which they fet on Are, and, with bellows driving 
the fmoke on the befiegers, obliged them to leave the mine, 
half-fuffocated. This interval the ./Etolians made ufe of 
in repairing the foundations of the wall. 
The 
