COCHIN-CHINA. 
ance, expelled the Zamorln, and Duarte.Pacheco, whom 
Albuquerque had left behind, by his aftonifhing valour 
and prudence, reinftated Triumpai a, the feigning prince; 
but only to prepare him for a new mortification. In the 
tranfports of his gratitude he permitted the Portuguele 
to build a ftrong fort. This gave them full power over 
their faithful ally; and, under pretence of reducing his 
rebellious fubjedls, they made a conqueft of the whole 
country for themfelves. In a little time, therefore, the 
poor prince found himfelf enflaved. Cochin became, un¬ 
der its new malters, a place of great commerce, till the 
year 1660, which was fatal to the Portuguele in this part 
of India. It was attacked by commodore Goens. The 
garrifon made a gallant defence; nor was it taken till af¬ 
ter great lofs on both iides. The Dutch found the city 
much too large for their purpofe; and they reduced it 
confiderably. The titular king did not find much im¬ 
provement in his new fituation ; he was placed, with liis 
family, in a palace near Cochin, with an income of little 
more than fix hun red a-year. Some of the race of the 
Jewilh captives, and fome of the Chrittians of St. Thomas, 
refided here j and the church of St. Andrea, not far from 
hence, is ferved by their clergy In' this city breathed 
his lait the great Valeo de Gama, the dilcoverer of India. 
This place continued in the hands of the Dutch until 
November 1795, when it was captured by the Englifli. 
CO'CHIN-CHI'NA, a country of Alia, bounded on the 
north by Tong-quin, on the eail by the Indian fea, part 
of which, between the continent and the ill and of Hai¬ 
nan, is called the Gulf of Cochin-china ; on the louth it is 
bounded by Cniampa, and on the welt by Laos and Cam¬ 
bodia. This kingdom contains about fifty good fea-port 
towns, and is divided into fix provim es, to each of which 
belongs a governor and a leat of juftice. It is about 150 
leagues in length, and thirty-five in breadth. The prin¬ 
cipal produdfions are rice of feveral iorts, millet, maize, 
pepper, indigo, latfron, carthamus, tea, filk, &c. Among 
the trees are the varnilh tree, cotton, mulberry, eagle- 
wood, aloes, role-wood, and cinnamon. They have mines 
of gold and iron, and quarries of different kinds of mar¬ 
ble. Among the animals are elephants, tygers, rhinoce- 
rofes, ftags, antelopes, buffaloes, &c. The birds are va¬ 
rious and abundant, and on the lea-coait are found thofe 
eatable birds’ nelts, white as fnow, fo much fought for in 
Afia as a delicacy at the tables of the luxurious and rich. 
The fugar-cane is eaten as fruit in Europe; the inhabi- 
tants cultivate two kinds, and the Commerce iaimmenfe : 
China alone is faid to take, one year.with another, 800,000 
quintals. Other articles of commerce ara odoriferous 
wqads, ivory, rnulk, honey., wax, lilk, and pepper. Tlje 
manners Ot the inhabitants are Ample, they lire affable, 
mild, laborious,.and liolpitable ; their chief nourilhment 
conlilts in rice and filh. As to their religion, they in ge¬ 
neral believe the metem-pjichofis -, or tranfmigration of fouls. 
The country of Cochin-china is mild and luxuriant. 
The-people have a great affinity with the Tong-quinefe, 
with whom.they have a common origin, and from whom 
they differ very little in their manners and cuftoms; all 
of which they feem to have derived from the Chinefe. 
M. le Poivre reprefents the Cochin-chinefe as gentle, 
hofpitable, frugal, and induftrious. There is not a beg¬ 
gar in the country; and robbery and murder are faid to 
be unknown. A llranger may wander over the kingdom 
from one end to the other (the capital excepted) without 
meeting with the flighted infult. He will be every where 
received with eager curiofity, but at the fame time with 
the greateft benevolence. Their monarchs govern them 
as a father does his family,.eftablifliing no laws but thofe 
of nature. They honour and encourage agriculture, as 
the molt ufeful employment of mankind. Every man, 
able to till the ground, pays to the prince a fmall fum pro¬ 
portioned to the ftrength of his conllitution, and the vi¬ 
gour of his arm; and nothing more. 
Cochin-china is recorded to have formed, anciently, a 
part ot the Chinefe empire ; but on five Mongul invasion 
Vql. IV. No. 23,3. 
725 
of China from Tartary, in the thirteenth century, the 
Chinele governor of the fduthern peuinfula, containing 
Tong-quin to the northward, and Tiiompa and Cambodia 
to the louthwaid, of Cochin-china, took the opportunity 
of felting up the Itandard of independence. He and his 
pofterity refided in Tong-quin. I11 procefs of time, the 
Tong-quinefe governor of Cochin-china imitated the ex¬ 
ample that had been fet by the anceltor of his fovereign, 
and eredled, likewife, his government into a kingdom. 
Butbothheandhis former maltercontinnedtoacknowledge,. 
at leak, a nominal vaflalage to the Chinefe empire ; and, 
occafionally, paid homage at the court of Pekin. This 
flight connection with China, rendered it interefting 
to the perfons belonging to the Britilh embafly. The 
Engliffi ffiipshad been for fcwne time abreaft of the king¬ 
dom of Cochin-china. The paffage between its fliore, 
and avail multitude of fmall iflands and rocks, called the 
Paracels, forming a lengthened duller lying north anil 
louth lor near four hundred miles, was not without great 
peril: and required no iriconfiderable caution, to guard 
againft the effedl of ealterly currents, which drive towards 
the rocks in calms ; as well as, in the oppofite cale, againft 
the violent tempells, which, in thele leas, are called ty¬ 
phoons, as they are hurricanes in the Atlantic ; both re- 
fembling each other in the extreme violence of the windj, 
and in the fudden fhifting of its diredlion-. 
Many canoes were feen fiffiing between the fh-ips and 
land. The nearell were hailed, in order to get, from 
among the fiffiermen, fome one who might pilot the 
lquadron into Turon-bay, which is the principal port 
belonging to Cochin-china. But thefe not caring to ap¬ 
proach Itrange veffeis, made fail and leudded away diredtly 
before the wind. One of thole canoes was, howe.er, 
overtaken by a boat, and a fifherman was conveyed on¬ 
board. He was an old man, with iunken eyes, his head 
thinly covered with a few grey ltraggling hairs, and a ■ 
countenance haggard with age and terror. He left, in 
his boat, two young men, probably his fons ; for, as he 
was extremely apprehenfive of intended mifehief, 1 when 
the meflenger from the (hip infilled upon taking fome one. 
perlon from the canoe, he preferred freeing them- from 
the danger, though by expoling himfelf to it-. Of the 
Chinele on-board the embafly, nonecould render them- 
feives intelligible to this poor man, or underftand a'word 
of what he uttered. Queltions were written in the Chinefe ■ 
charadler before him ; but.he made figns to tellify that 
he knew not how to read or write. The found of the 
words Cochin-china and Turon, were perfectly unknown 
to him ; thefe names not having been given by the inha¬ 
bitants of that country, but by early European naviga¬ 
tors and geographers. He repeatedly threw himfelf upon 
his knees and-wept, notwithilanding the pains taken to 
foothe and- fatisfy him : and when, in the working and 
tacking of the (hip, her head happened to be turned from 
the land, his alarms increafed, and he fell into an agony 
of grief, imagining there was an intention to quit the coaft 5 
and carry him off for ever. Victuals were offered to him, 
of which he ate-reludlantly and fparingly ; but when a few 
Spaniffi dollars were put into his hands, he (hewed he had 
a knowledge of their value, by carefully-wrapping them 
up in a corner of hi? tattered garments. After repeated 
efforts, he was made to comprehend the-objedl for which 
he had been brought 011-board ; and, being fomewhat 
tranquillized, he pointed out the entrance into the bay 
of Turon, which is not readily-perceived by Arrangers. 
The only chart, known to have been publilhed, of that 
part of the coaft of Cochin-china, was a rough Iketch, 
taken by fome officers of the Admiral Pocock Indiaman, 
that had been accidentally driven there by 11 refs-of wea¬ 
ther many years ago; but it gives no information or in- 
llrudlion how to enter into the bay, and-was afterwards 
found to be erroneous in many refpedls. 
In making this part of the coalt, from .the■ fouthward, 
the moll remarkable objedl that attradls attention, is a 
group of maffy marble rocks, that look like an enormous 
8 Y. cattle. 
