Sambouanga costs the King of Spain a great deal, and makes no return. This post was established for the purpose of checking the incursions of the Moors of Jolo on the neighbouring islands; notwithstanding which these latter are not a whit less frequent in their visits to the bay of Antigue and that of Manila, carrying off not only the fishing-boats which fall in their way, but vessels richly laden. They are even daring enough to attack the inhabitants of Sambouanga; they land out of the range of the guns, and harass them close to the palisade; these unhappy beings are thus prevented from quitting their houses; they cultivate the land under the protection of cannon, of which they are compelled to avail themselves of several pieces in such fields as they are desirous of tilling.
The soil is fertile, and requires little culture; it produces rice abundantly. The cattle are very numerous, and of little value. The King having turned some loose upon an immense plain which adjoins the settlement, they have multiplied to such a degree, that when I was there they were estimated at six thousand. A wooden fort, of eight guns, has been constructed in the middle of the plain to check the Moors. Upon another plain, separated from this by a chain of mountains, the Spaniards have turned horses and cattle, which have likewise increased prodigiously; both plains are bordered by a thin wood, full of stags and wild hogs. The rivers, as is the case in the island of Luçon, produce a great deal of gold.
A particular species of cocoa is found at Sambouanga; the tree which produces it differs in no respect from that with which we are acquainted; its fruit has the same form, but is a little less in size; the husk is not of a fibrous consistence like that of common cocoa, the flesh of it is analogous to the artichoke; it has its flavour, and, perhaps, we assigned a greater degree of delicacy to it, because we had not the means of comparing them: if this fruit is allowed to grow old on the tree, it changes its nature, and becomes stringy; in this state its taste is tart, and the cocoa is no longer fit for eating. I carried six to the Isle of France, but they did not succeed.
There is a volcano on the south side of Mindanao which burns incessantly, and serves as a landmark to vessels frequenting this navigation.
The island of Jolo, or Sooloo, seems to be the point of demarkation between the Philippines and the Moluccas. The Dutch pretend that it is a dependency on the Moluccas; and the Spaniards are so much persuaded it is one of the Philippines, that they have repeatedly attempted an establishment there; and not having succeeded by mild measures, they have endeavoured to render themselves masters of it by force. Every attempt has failed: the Jolois have never been induced to acknowledge but their own sovereign.
The English have had a factory on a small island to the east of Jolo, but they have been obliged to abandon it.
The French have attempted to form an establishment there. The King of the island, as a proof of his friendly intentions towards the nation, had even desired the French flag. I believe, however, there was good reason for not persevering in the attempt, as, sooner or later, the adventurers would have been the victims of the inhabitants, who are naturally warlike and fierce, though under the government of a good prince.
It was under the administration of M. Poivre, at the Isle of France, that a kind of alliance was formed between the French government and the Sultan of Jolo. M. Poivre had had some intercourse with this Prince, the most powerful of all the sovereigns in the Philippine Archipelago; and he had availed himself of it, to direct to that island the first expedition in search of the spice plants, under the command of M. de Tremigon. The Frenchmen attached to this expedition were hospitably received at Jolo. Alymudin, the Sultan, not only offered them his aid in the conquest, but a considerable territory in his dominions.
Jolo is only a small island of 30 to 40 leagues in circumference: it notwithstanding merits the attention of the European powers, on account of its being so well adapted for the cultivation of spices, and generally for commerce.
It produces a great many elephants; amber is found there, and there is a pearl fishery. Its harbour is a retreat for the Moors, who piratically infest these seas, distress the navigation of the Spaniards, and carry off in their incursions the colonists, of whom they make slaves; the coast is furnished with fish sufficient for the daily food of the inhabitants; here likewise are gathered the birds’ nests so highly esteemed by the Chinese.