A voyage round the world

by comte Louis-Antoine de Bougainville

Government of Ternate.

Ternate has four principal factories in its dependency, viz. Gorontalo, Manado, Limbotto, and Xullabessie. The chiefs of the two first rank as under-merchants; the latter are only book-keepers; several little stations, commanded by serjeants, likewise depend upon it. Two hundred and fifty men are garrisoned in the government of Ternate, under the command of a captain, a lieutenant, nine ensigns, and one artillery officer.

Government of
Macassar.

The government of Macassar, upon the isle of Celebes, which is occupied by an Edel-heer, has four factories in its department; Boelacomba en Bonthain, and Bima, where two under-merchants reside; Saleyer and Maros, of which the chiefs are only book-keepers. Macassar, or Jonpandam, is the strongest place in the Moluccas; however, the natives are careful to confine the Dutch there within the limits of their station. The garrison there consists of three hundred men, commanded by a captain, captain-lieutenant, two lieutenants, and seven ensigns; there is likewise an artillery officer.

There are no spices to be found within the district of this government, unless it is true that Button produces some, which I have not been able to ascertain. The intention in establishing it, was to make sure of a passage, which is one of the keys to the Moluccas, and to open an advantageous trade with Celebes and Borneo. These two great isles furnish the Dutch with gold, silk, cotton, precious sorts of wood, and even diamonds, in return for iron, cloths, and other European or Indian merchandizes.

Dutch politics in the Moluccas.

This account of the different stations which the Dutch occupy in the Moluccas, is pretty exact. The police which they have there established does honour to the understanding of those who were then at the head of the company. When they had driven the Spaniards and Portuguese from thence, by the most sensible combination of courage with patience, they well guessed that the expulsion of the Europeans from the Moluccas would not secure them the exclusive spice-trade. The great number of these isles made it almost impossible for them to guard them all; and it was not less difficult to prevent an illicit intercourse of these islanders with China, the Phillippinas, Macassar, and all smuggling vessels or interlopers that should attempt it. The company had still more to fear, that some of the trees might be carried off, and that people might succeed in planting them elsewhere. They resolved therefore to destroy as far as they could the spice trees in all the islands, only leaving them on some small islands, which might easily be kept; then nothing remained, but to fortify well these precious depositories. They were obliged to keep those sovereigns in pay, whose revenues consisted chiefly of this drug, in order to engage them to consent, that the fountain thereof should be annihilated. Such is the subsidy of 20,000 rix-dollars, which the Dutch company pays annually the king of Ternate, and some other princes of the Moluccas. When they could not prevail on any one of these sovereigns to burn his spice-plants, they burnt them in spite of him, if they were the strongest; or else they annually bought up the green leaves of the trees, well knowing that they would perish, after being for three years thus robbed of their foliage, which the Indians were doubtless ignorant of.

By this means, whilst cinnamon is gathered upon Ceylon only, Banda alone has been consecrated to the culture of nutmegs; Amboina, and Uleaster, adjoining to it, to that of cloves, without its being allowed to cultivate either cloves at Banda, or nutmegs at Amboina. These places furnish more than the whole world can consume. The other stations of the Dutch, in the Moluccas, are intended to prevent other nations from settling there, to make continual searches for discovering and burning all the spice-trees, and to furnish subsistence for those isles where they are cultivated. Upon the whole, all the engineers and mariners employed in this part, are obliged when they leave the service, to give up all their charts and plans, and to make oath that they keep none. It is not long since that an inhabitant of Batavia has been whipped, branded, and banished to a distant isle, for having shewed a plan of the Moluccas to an Englishman.

The spice-harvest begins in December, and the ships which are destined to take in ladings of it, arrive at Amboina and Banda in the course of January, and go from thence for Batavia in April and May. Two ships likewise go annually to Ternate, and their voyages are regulated by the monsoons. There are likewise some snows of twelve, or fourteen guns, destined to cruize in these parts.

Every year the governors of Amboina and Banda assemble, towards the middle of September, all the orencaies or chiefs in their department. They at first give them feasts and entertainments for several days; and then they set out with them in a kind of large boats, called coracores, in order to visit their governments, and burn all the superfluous spice-plants. The chiefs of every particular factory are obliged to come to their governors-general, and to accompany them on this visitation, which generally ends with the end of October, or at the beginning of November; and the return from this tour is celebrated by new festivals. When we were at Boero, M. Ouman was preparing to set out for Amboina, with the Orencaies of his island.