The 26. of Iuly hee sent one of our Gentlemen with some of his men and nine slaues abord our ships.
The situation of the towne of Bantam, the principall towne of traffique in the Island of Iaua, their strength and manner of building, with their traffique, what people come thither, what wares are there most desired, what nations bring them thither, or come to fetch them, together with their religion, customes and manner of house keeping.
Bantam lyeth in the Islande of Iaua maior, about 25. miles to sea ward within the Isle, between Sumatra and Iaua: On both sides of the Towne there runneth a Riuer, about 3 foot and a half deep, so that no shippes can enter into them: The towne is compassed about with a Riuer: The towne is almost as great in compasse as the olde towne of Amsterdam: The wals are made with flankers: They haue great numbers of Peeces therein, but they knowe not how to vse them, for they feare them much: all their Peeces are of brasse, and they haue many brazen bases. Their walles are not aboue two foote thicke made of brickes: euery flanker hath diuers mastes and peeces of wood, which they vse when they are besieged by their enemies. The houses are made of straw and reedes, standing vpon 4. woodden postes. The rich haue their chambers all hanged with silken Curtins, or els with cotton linnen: Their houses are most placed vnder Cocus trees, whereof the towne is full: Without the walles are many houses, wherein strangers for the most part haue their dwellinges. The towne hath three great market places, wherein dayly there is markets holden, where you may buy all kindes of wares, and where there commeth a great number of people, very strange to beholde: Within the towne there is a great church or muske of wood, wherein they obserue the law of Mahomet: Gentlemen and men of any qualitie haue their owne muskes in their houses. The towne is not built with streetes, nor the houses placed in order, but very foule lying full of filthy water, which men must passe through, or leape ouer, for they haue no bridges: In the towne there is great resort of diuers Countries and nations, as of Malacca, Bengala, Malabar, Guihereters of Pegu, Sani Malicas, Banda, China and of many Kingdomes that haue great traffique for Pepper, that groweth rounde about Bantam, which in August and September is ripe, there you haue nutmegs, out of the Island of Banda, and Cloues from Moluca, which the Portingalles doe most buy vp: Wee bought Nutmegs there for a blank a pound: All victuailes and necessaries are there in great aboundance to be had, as Hennes, Hartes, Fish, and Ryce, and diuers kindes of fruites, as Auanas, Cocus, Bonanas, Manges, Doroyens, Iacca, Pruna, Grapes, Oranges, Lemons, Pomegarnets, Cocombers, Melons, Onions, Garlicke: but breade they haue none, but in steade of it they eate Ryce: Beefe is there the dearest victuaile, for an Oxe in that place is worth 7. 8. or 9. Rialles of 8. The Chinars have the greatest and most trafficke in that towne. They come thither in the Month of Ianuarie, with 8. or 9. great shippes, bringing all sorts of Porseline, silks, Damaske, gold thread, Iron pannes, and Iauas money called Caixas, whereof 12000 make a Ryall of eight: They are hanged vpon stringes by two hundred together, for the which they both buy and sel al kinds of marchandises, and there they lade Pepper which they carrie into China: Without the towne they haue a great place wherein they commonly vse to sell their wares, and there they dwell, and haue greater and better houses then any are within the towne, all made of reedes, onely that in euery house they haue a square place made of stone, wherein they put their wares to keepe them from burning, as some riche men in the towne likewise haue: The Chinars are very subtill and industrious people, and will refuse no labour nor paynes to yearne money, there they make much Aqua vitæ of Ryce and Cocus, and trafficke much therewith, which the Iauars by night come to buy, and drinke it secretly, for by Mahomets law it is forbidden them. The Chinars liue there with free libertie: When they come to remaine there for a yeare or more as they thinke good, they buy themselues a wife or two, or more as they thinke good, and liue together like man and wife, and when they meane to depart, they sell their wiues again, but if they haue children they take them with them and so returne to China: They haue no special religion, but pray vnto the Deuill, that he would not hurt them, for they know that the Deuill is wicked, and that God is good, and hurteth no man, therefore they thinke it needlesse to pray to God. They acknowledge not the resurrection of the deade, but when a man dyeth they thinke he neuer riseth again: In their houses they have great painted Deuils, before the which they place wax candles, and sing vnto them, praying them not to hurt them, and the more monstrous that their shapes be, the more they honour them. These people liue very hardly and poorely within Bantam, for there is not any work or labour how filthy soeuer it be, but they will do it to get money, and when they haue gotten something they returne againe to China. They are verie like Iewes in our country, for they neuer goe without a paire of ballances, and all thinges is good wares with them, and are ready to do any seruice. When we came first, before Bantam, they came euery day in great companies into our shippes, and there set out their wares to sel, as silkes, sowing silkes, and porselines, so that our vpper deckes were full of pedlers, that wee could hardly walke vpon the hatches.
The manner, condition, custome, going, standing, apparell, housekeeping, wares, and behauiour of the Iauars in Bantam.
The Iauars and inhabitants of Bantam, are proude and obstinate, with a very stately pace, they hold the law of Mahomet, which they haue not had aboue 35. yeares, for as yet there are many heathens among them that neuer were made Mores: it is a very lying and theeuish kind of people, not in any sort to bee trusted. Their apparell both of rich and poore is a cotton cloth, and some of silke about their middles, which they tie about them with a girdle, the vpper parte and from the knees downeward all naked: most of them goe bareheaded, but the principallest of them haue a wreath or Turkish roule about their heades, and some little cappes: Their priestes come out of Meca in Arabia, and are yellowe of colour: [Sidenote: What weapons they wear.] Their weapon is a poinyard, which they call Crisis: it is made with hilts, and the handle is a Deuil cut out of wood or bone: the sheathes are of wood: with them they are very bolde, and it is accounted for a great shame with them if they haue not such a Dagger, both yong, old, rich and poore, and yong children of fiue or sixe yeares olde, and when they go to the warres they haue targets, and some long speares, but most of them such poinyardes: The vse neyther great shotte nor caliuers when they go against their enemies: for a small matter one King wil make warre against another. When we came first before Bantam, we offered to make a contract with the Gouernour and the counsell of the towns, that they should deliuer vs a certaine quantitie of Pepper, and wee would goe with our shippes before Palimbam, and helpe them to reuenge the death of their Kings vppon their enemies, for (as they said) we might goe within a bowe shot of the towne with our shippes, and the Towne is but of wood without walles, so that we would presently haue beaten it downe to the ground. They offered vs some of their principall Gouernours to be left for pledges in our shippes, and their men woulde sayle in their fustes, such as shoulde go on land, and we should doe nothing els but shoote out of our shippes, but our Captaines would not do it, considering our small number of men. [Sidenote: How many wiues they haue.] The Iauars take as many wiues as they will and are able maintaine; but the common people haue but one, and some two married wiues, and some 10. 20. and 30. concubines: For a small matter they will send their married wiues home agayne vnto their fathers, when they haue layne fiue or sixe dayes with them, saying they like them not, and so their marriage is vndone, when they desire it.
The manner, custome, housholding, childbearing, sporting and cleanlinesse of the women in Bantam.
The women of the towne are well kept from such as are circumcised, whereof the riche men haue many, and from other men or their friendes, for their owne sonnes may not come into the house where the women are. They lie all naked and chaw Betelle, and haue a slauish woman that continually scratcheth their bodies, that is, such as are married women, but such as are concubines are as waiting Gentlewomen, to the married women, when they goe out to giue them more maiestie, and those that haue the greatest number are of most estimation: The Concubines haue but fewe children, for the married women poyson their children, and these concubines are bought and solde: by their apparell a man can hardly discerne the riche from the poore, for they goe all with a Cotton cloth about their bodies vp to their breastes, and bounde about their middles with an other cloth, bare footed and their heads vncouered, their hayre bound right vpon the top of their heads in a heape, but when they are in their pride, they weare crownes vpon their heads, whereof some of them are of pure golde, and ringes of golde, and some of siluer about their armes, euery one according to their abilitie. They are very curious about their bodyes, for they washe themselues at the least fiue or sixe times euery day: they neuer ease themselues nor haue the company of their husbandes, but they presently leape into the water and wash their bodies, and therefore the water that runneth through Bantam is very vnwholesome; for euery one washeth themselues in it, as well pockie as other people, whereby wee lost some of our men that drunke of the water: The women are verie idle, for they do nothing all the day but lie downe; the poore slaues must doe all the drudgerie, and the men sit all day vpon a mat, and chaw Betele, hauing ten or twentie women about them, and when they make water, presenly one of the women washeth their member, and so they sit playing all the day with their women: Many of them haue slaues that play vppon instrumentes much like our Shakebois, [Footnote: Musical instruments mentioned in Nichol's Coronation of Anne Boleyn, p. 2. Probably Sackbuts.] they haue likewise great basons whereon they strike, and therewith know how to make good musicke, whereat the women daunce, not leaping much, but winding and drawing their bodies, armes and shoulders, which they vse all night long, so that in the night time they make a great noyse with basons and other instruments, and the man he sitteth and looketh vpon them, euerie one of the women striuing to doe her best that she may get her husbands fauour and her secreat pleasure. [Sidenote: How pepper groweth in that countrey.] The Gentlemen, Citizens, and marchantes haue their Gardens, and fieldes without the towne, and slaues for the purpose to labour in them, and bring their maisters all kindes of fruit, Rice and Hennes in the towne, also the Pepper that groweth there, which runneth vp by another tree, as Hoppes with vs, and groweth in long bunches like Grapes, so that there is at the least 200. graines in one bunch: it is first greene, and after it becommeth blacke, and is there in great aboundance, so that it is the right Pepper countrey; for when we came thither they said vnto vs, Aqui ai tanta Pimienta, como terra, that is, here is as much Pepper as earth, and so we found it, and yet we departed from thence by our owne follies, without our lading of Pepper: Wee staide for new Pepper, meane time the Portingalles sent their letters into euery place seeking to hinder our trade: At the first we might haue sufficient, for there we founde enough both to buy for money or to barter. We likewise had money and wares sufficient: we might easily have had sixe or eight hundred tunnes, as we were aduertised by some of the countrey, that we should presently buy, for that the Portingalles sought by all the meanes they could to hinder vs, as after it appeared; and therefore he that thinketh to come soone enough, commeth oftentimes too late, and we vsed not our time so well as it fell out.
[Sidenote: A letter sent by our men in the town that were kept prisoners.] The 29. of August we had a letter sent vs by night from our men that were in the towne, that lay in a maner as prisoners, to will vs to let our pledge go a shore, otherwise they feared they shoulde hardly escape with their liues, and great danger might fall vpon them: this pledge came aborde with the 9. slaues.
The 30. of August we sent the pledge and the rest of our Iauars to land, with promise that he would do the best he might to get our men leaue to come aborde: about euening of the same day wee had newes from our men by foure of our saylers that as then they were better vsed, saying they thought they should come aborde when two shippes were gone that ment to saile for Malacca, being laden with Nutmegs and other things.
The first of September, and the 2. 3. and 4. wee sent many letters to the Gouernour and hee to vs, and likewise to our men that were in the towne, being nine in number, all our best marchants and captains, hauing with them about 6. or 7000. Guildernes in marchandise, and they againe to vs.