131 
M A L A C C A. 
and Slamefe; who were by profeffion Mahometans, and 
tributary to Siam. The town is built of reeds and wood, 
but the mofque of brick ; and the commerce was conducted 
by the Chinefe and Portuguefe fettlers, while the native 
Malays were chiefly employed in fifhing and agriculture. 
From this traveller we lc-arn, that in Malacca there are 
continued rains with a north-ealf wind during the months 
of November, December, and January. Agriculture was 
conducted with oxen and buffaloes, the chief product be- 
ins rice. Game and fruits were abundant, and the forelts 
fwarmed with monkeys, tigers, wild boars, and wild ele¬ 
phants. Befidesthe tiger and elephant, Malacca produces 
the civet cat; and Sonnerat fays that wild men are found 
here, meaning perhaps orang-outangs. Some Angular 
birds are alfo found ; and it likewil'e produces a delicious 
fruit called the mangoften. The Portuguefe were accuf- 
tomed to purchafe annually from Patani about 1500 cat¬ 
tle for their fettlement at Malacca. The kingdom of Jo¬ 
hor comprehended the foutbern extremity of the Cherfo- 
liefe ; and its chief towns were Linga, Bintam, Carimon, 
and Betufabea; the laft of which was the capital, fituated 
in a marfhy fituation, on the river Johor, about fix leagues 
from the lea, and confilting of houles elevated about eight 
feet from the ground. The whole of this country belonged 
to the king, who afligned lands to thofe who demanded 
-them; but the indolence of the Malays left it to the wild 
luxuriance of nature. 
According to the account of Valentyn, the peninfula 
of Malacca is bounded on the north by the river Riadang, 
which runs by Linga to the eaft:, and by a fmall range of 
hills that feparate it from the kingdom of Siam ; and it 
contained five provinces, which derive their names from 
their capitals. On the ealtern coaft are thofe of Patani 
and Pahang, followed by the moil fouthern kingdom 
of Djohor, or Johor; and on the wellern coaft are thofe 
of Keidah, or Quedah, and Perah, followed by another 
province called the Malay coalt, and of which the capi¬ 
tal is Malacca. The inland part of the peninfula feems 
to remain full of extenfive and original forefts, with¬ 
out towns or villages; but the country, though not fuf- 
ficiently explored, is now known to produce peppef and 
other fpices, with fome precious gums and woods. The 
chief mineral is tin, in which Quedah and Perah are rich ; 
and a high mountain north-eaft: of Malacca fupplies ri¬ 
vers that afford fmall quantities of gold-duff. In the ri¬ 
ver Pahaung, flowing near the town of Malacca, lumps of 
gold about five or fix ounces in weight have been found 
at the depth of from three to ten fathoms. 
From an account of the ancient hittory of this coun¬ 
try, cited by Valentyn in his Defcription of the Dutch 
Settlements in the Eaft Indies, 1726, from a Malay manu¬ 
script written in the Arabic character, we are led to be¬ 
lieve that the Malays were firff fettled on the eaftern coaft 
of Sumatra, in the kingdom of Palambang, oppofite to the 
Jfle of Branca, at the river Malajee, which encircles the 
mountain Mahameirac, and afterwards joins the river Ta- 
tang. Some have fuppofed that the river derives its name 
from the Malays ; but Valentyn is of opinion that they de¬ 
rived their name from the river, and communicated it to 
their prefent peninfula, which formerly belonged to the 
king of Siam, and was inhabited by fifnermen. This ma- 
nufcript being recent, we can only infer from it that the 
■Malays came from the weft. The traditions founded on 
this and other funilar manufcripts report, that the Ma¬ 
lays, during their refidence in Sumatra, chofe a king who 
reigned forty-eight years, and pretended to be a defcen- 
dant of Alexander the Great. This happened about the 
year 1160 of the Chriftian era. During this reign, it is 
faid, the Malays proceeded to the oppofite coaft, and fet¬ 
tled on the north-eaft corner, whence they gradually 
fpread ; and the country aflumed the name of Tana/i Ma¬ 
lajee, or Malay Land, extending from 2 0 to n° N. lat. 
After a relidence of fome years, the Malays built their 
firft town Singapoera, which gave its name to the fouth¬ 
ern ftrait. The laft king of Singapoera was compelled by 
Vol. XIV. No. 965. 
a hoftile fovereign of a diftrifl; in the Ifle of Java to retire 
northward, where, in the year 1253, he built a new capi¬ 
tal, called Malacca, as it is faid, from the name of a tree 
under which he had taken (belter, while he was hunt¬ 
ing. Having eftahlilhed falutary laws, he died in the year 
1274. As this king had adopted the appellations of Shah 
and Sultan, it furnifhes a pfefumption, that Mahometanifm 
was now introduced. The fecond in fuccelfion after this 
prince, who is efteemed the firft Mahometan fovereign, 
reigned fifty-feven years. He extended more widely the 
name of Malays; and, having acquired by marriage the 
kingdom of Aracan, he died in 1333. In procefs of time, 
the commercial town of Malacca was regarded, with Mad- 
japit and Pod, ns the third celebrated city in thefe re¬ 
gions. Sultan Mantfoer Shah, who afcended the throne in 
1374, and in the courfe of his long reign of feventy-three 
years annexed by marriage the kingdom of Andrigiri, on 
the eaft fide of Sumatra, to Malacca, became fo powerful, 
that he was ftyled emperor. In confequence of an alliance 
with the emperor of China, whofe daughter he married, 
he fubdued the kingdom of Pahang. Malacca was now 
efteemed the chief city in thefe parts of the eaftern world. 
Mantfoer died in 1447. During an inglorious reign of 
Iiis fon and fucceffor, the eleventh king of the Malays, the 
fixth of Malacca, and the fifth who profeffed the Maho¬ 
metan religion, Malacca became fubjedl to Siam; but at 
his death, in 1477, lie was fncceeded by a prince, under 
whofe government, in the year 1509, the Malays threw 
off the yoke of Siam. It was in this year that the Portu¬ 
guefe difcovered Malacca, to which they were led by the 
vain idea of finding the golden Cherfonefe of the anci¬ 
ents. With this view, Emanuel king of Portugal fent out 
a fleet of fixteen (hips under the command of Sequeira. 
Among the officers of this fleet was Magalhaens, or Ma¬ 
gellan, who afterwards became famous as the firft circum¬ 
navigator of the globe. Many attempts were made to af- 
faflinate Sequeira; who, finding it impoflible to make a 
commercial arrangement advantageous to his country, re¬ 
turned to Portugal. At this time Albuquerque was the 
Portuguefe viceroy in the Eaft Indies. On the ift of Au- 
guft, 1511, he arrived before Malacca with a powerful 
fleet, while the king of Pahang was in the town on occa- 
lion of celebrating his nuptials with the daughter of ful- 
tan Mahmud Shah, the fovereign of the peninfula. Ma¬ 
lacca was taken by ftorm; and the king fled to Johor, 
where he founded a new town and kingdom. The Portu¬ 
guefe, havinggained complete poffeflion of Malacca, formed 
an alliance with Siam. The king of Johor died in 1513, 
and was fucceeded by his fon l'ultan Ahmud Shah, who 
afterwards made a treaty with the Portuguefe. Among 
the Portuguefe governors of Malacca was Peter Mafca- 
renhas in 1526, from whom was, probably, derived the 
name anciently given to the Ifle of Bourbon. During the 
reign of a fovereign called Alawoddin, who took poflef- 
fion of the throne, in 1591, the Dutch arrived, and formed 
an alliance with this prince againft the Portuguefe. In 
1606, the Dutch, in conjunction with the king of Johor, 
attacked Malacca; they made various attempts in fuc- 
ceeding years to gain poffeflion of the country; but were 
obliged to content tliemfelves with a factory in Johor. 
At length Anthony Van Diemen, the famous governor- 
general of the Dutch fettlements in the Eaft Indies, find¬ 
ing a favourable opportunity for the execution of his pur- 
pole, difpatched, in June 1640, a fleet of twelve (hips and 
lix (loops to blockade Malacca; and thefe were joined by 
about twenty fmall veffels of Johor. The Dutch foon 
ereded a battery ; and the fiege was accompanied with fa¬ 
mine and pdtilence. In January 1541, the famine was 
fo fevere, that the inhabitants were obliged to expel their 
women and children. The Dutch alio fuftered much 
from heat and fatigue; and at length impatience and des¬ 
peration produced a general affault, which was executed 
on the 14th of January ; and the governor capitulated. 
Valentyn reports, that during the fiege more than 7000 
died in the.town, and a greater number found means to 
3 A efcape. 
