The Dutch Factory at Tidore
Testimony of a Dutchman named Juan who was taken in the factory at Tidore
In the port of Tidore, on the sixteenth day of the month of March, in the year one thousand six hundred and six, the captain and sargento-mayor Christoval Asqueta Minchaca of the regiment of the master-of-camp Joan de Esquibel, the royal commander of this fleet, declares that the said master-of-camp, Joan de Esquibel, sent to him in his ship a foreigner, whom he found with others in the factory[1] at Tidore, that he might undergo examination.
The following interrogatory was put to this man: “What are the names of this declarant and his companions? In what vessels did they come? How many are there in Maluco and in these Eastern Yndias? In what regions have they been, each of them, and how long in each region, and in what vessels did they come? To whom do these vessels belong? who equipped them? on whose account did they make their voyage? and for whom is this factory conducted? Are this factory and that of Terrenate all one, belonging to the same owners? With what permission did they come to these regions?”
He said that he was named Joan and was a native of Amberes, a Christian, and had been baptized in the said city. Of his companions, the factor, named Jacome Joan, is a Dutchman, a native of the city of Absterdaem; the second is named Pitri, a native of Yncussa in the islands of Olanda; a third is named Costre, by his last name, and this declarant does not know his first name. He is a native of Campem, of the states of Olanda. This declarant came to these regions in the ship of the [Dutch] vice-commander, which voyaged in company with the other four; and they seized Ambueno and this fort of Tidore. It is eight months since they left him on this island, and two months before they had anchored in the said port, the said five ships had halted for supplies in Java, where they remained fifteen days. Jacome Joan, who is at present factor of this island of Tidore, has spent five years in Terrenate. The declarant does not know from what place he came. The merchants of Jelanda of the city of Millburg—named Joan Comne, another Burriel, and another Muniq, natives of Amberes—are known to this declarant, and have other associates in Olanda in the city of Ambstradama, in Cuyssem and in Horrem.[2] All of these together have a common purse, and it is all one amount; it is they who have equipped these vessels for this expedition. The names of the citizens of these cities of Olanda and Gelanda are known to one of the associates of this declarant, the one named Costre. The factories of Tidore and of Terrenate are all one, owned by the same persons. In Ambueno, in Java, in Banda, in Sunda, in Pajani, in Achi, on the coast of Vengala,[3] and in some regions the names of which are not known to this declarant the said merchants have factories, under such an arrangement that the whole affair is all one thing, owned by the same proprietors. Of these fleets none set sail except by permission of the prince of Oranje, to whom is given the part which pertains to him as lord. And this is his answer.
He was asked, “What ship is the one which was met by this fleet? whence comes it? what arms and artillery, powder and provisions does it carry? whence are they obtained and provided? and where have they their factory?” He answered that the ship about which the inquiry is made is one of the five which came with this witness when they seized the said forts of Ambueno and Tidore. The captain was a certain Gertiolfos, a native of Olanda. He set sail from Yncussen with money and provisions for only two years. He has been cruising about these islands for ten months, and in the opinion of this declarant the said ship carries at present forty seamen, more or less; while the exact number of the forces in the said ship will be stated by Costre and Pitri, since they came as seamen in her. This declarant does not know that they carry more arms than are needed to arm all the men on board her. Their weapons are muskets, arquebuses, and half-pikes. When this declarant went aboard the ship, it seemed to him she had twenty-nine or thirty pieces of artillery. As for her provisions they get them in places where they have factories. He does not know how much gunpowder they carry, except that they came out from Olanda and Jelanda provided with it.
He was asked what treaties they had with the king of Tidore and the king of Terrenate, and what oaths the king of Tidore had made to them; he replied that the treaty which they had made is of the following nature: The king of Tidore at the time when they took this fort told the commander of the fleet, who was called Cornieles Bastian, that they should leave here forces and that he would build a fort where these might be kept, so that if Portuguese or Castilians came they might be able to defend the country; while he would assure them that the country should be for the Dutch. The commander answered that he had not a sufficient force to be able to leave any to defend the country; and the said king asked him to leave three or four Dutchmen, that they might carry on their trade and barter. When the commander asked with what security he could leave them, and what the other would do, the said king then caused the books of his Mahometan religion to be brought; and, laying his hands upon them, made an oath after his custom that he would protect, favor, and defend the Dutch as if they were his own sons. In the same manner he swore that he would sell cloves to no people except to the Dutch, unless extreme need of food should force him to sell them to some other people, in which case he would not sell them except to Java. In this manner was carried out that which is contained in this interrogatory. Being asked if the kings of Tidore and Terrenate were at peace, and how and under what conditions, for how long a time, and who intervened in forming the peace—he answered that it is a matter of public knowledge in this region that they have not made peace or amity, but that both kings are at war.
When asked what goods they have in the factory on this island of Tidore, what amount of cloves is due to them, who they are who owe the Dutch, and how many the king owes—he answered that the goods which they have in the factory are bales of cloth—such as fine muslins and linens, gauzes [word illegible] and iron. This declarant knows that the king of Tidore owes the factory a great amount of cloves, and that some of the people of Tidore likewise owe some. He refers to the accounts of the factor. Being asked who or which of them keeps the book of accounts and reckoning of the factory, that he might exhibit it, he answered that the factor, named Jacone Joan, had it, and he referred to him.
Being asked with what intention they remained in these islands, when they expected to leave them, and whether they intended to maintain a permanent trade there—he responded that this declarant and his companions remained in order that commerce with the people of Tidore and Terrenate might be opened, and that they were waiting for ships from Olanda in which a commanding officer and troops would come to remain as colonists and inhabitants, like the Portuguese, and to carry on commerce with the islands from Olanda and Jelanda. And this is his answer.
Being asked what offer they had made to the kings of Terrenate and Tidore as to aiding and assisting them against the Spaniards: he answered that the king of Tidore had agreed with the commander that if the Spaniards came with such a fleet that he would be unable to resist them he would be obliged to yield the country; and by consequence, if the Dutch had a force sufficient to take it from the Spaniards or Portuguese, he was not sufficiently powerful to defend the country against them. He knew that the commander had written to Java that six vessels which he had been informed were to go to Java should come here; after this had been done, the said commander went back to Patan, but the ships had not come. This declarant does not know that more vessels have arrived or set out than the five of which he has spoken.
Being asked if they expect any ships, how many there are, when they are to come, how many came out in a fleet from Olanda, and at what time they set sail—this declarant replied that he was certain, now that the commerce here had been begun and this fort established, that vessels would come. He does not know the number, but the said factor will have an account thereof. When this man who is making his confession set sail, there set out from Olanda and Jelanda twelve ships. They were divided after the following manner: Two of them separated from the others at the Cape of Buena Esperanza [i.e., Good Hope], at the island of Sant Lorenço, and two others at Masanvique [i.e., Mozambique]; three remained in Ambueno, to go to Banda to be laden with pepper; and the five others came to these islands. It may be two years since they left Olanda and Jelanda. This declarant does not know what course they followed, more than as a common sailor who went on board to get his livelihood.
Being asked of what he knows of affairs in Terrenate, and of the state in which they are, and of the fort and defenses there—he answered that the artillery was not inside the fort, but in a house intended for the sole purpose of protecting the artillery against the water. The height of the wall is four estados, as he thinks. This declarant thinks that the city where the fort is contains as many as two thousand men of war, armed with arquebuses, muskets, campilans, cuirasses, and helmets. This is his answer and it is the truth, under the penalty imposed upon him who testifies falsely; and he has signed this with his name. [Signature is lacking]
[1] The word “factory,” as here used, refers to the place where the factors, or agents, of a commercial company reside and transact the business entrusted to them.
[2] These names are merely phonetic renderings of the names of certain Dutch cities. Absterdaem and Ambstradama are for Amsterdam; Yncussa (and probably Cuyssem), for Enkhuysen (or Enchuysen); Campem, for Campen; Amberes, for Antwerp; Millburg, for Middleburg; Horrem, for Hoorn. Olanda and Gelanda are for Holland and Zeeland.
[3] That is: Achin (or Acheen), in Sumatra; Pajang, a province in Java; and Bengal, in India.