We had very bad weather till the 11th of May, and the night being very dark, we missed the common passage, and found ourselves among many small islands; and as the wind was at E. we resolved to look out for some passage among these islands to the south. After infinite difficulty and much danger, we at length made our way through a strait, which we named St John's Straits, after the name of our bark. At this time we were boarded by a large Indian proa, on board of which was a freeman of Amboina, whom we acquainted with our great want of victuals, having had nothing for a great while to support us except a scanty allowance of spoilt flour and water, and so very little of that as hardly sufficed to keep us alive. He told us, if we would go to the island of Manissa, which was then in sight, he would be our pilot, where he had no doubt we might have enough of rice for our money to carry us to Batavia. We accordingly proceeded for Manissa, passing by the island of Keylan, which is small and high, but well inhabited, and clothed with many kinds of trees. Its chief produce is rice, and a few cloves; and on this island there is a Dutch corporal with six soldiers, whose only business is to see all the clove trees cut down and destroyed. From thence we proceeded to Manissa, where we arrived about midnight, and came to anchor in a small bay at the N.W. end of the island, when our Dutch pilot sent two men ashore with a letter to the governor, acquainting him of our urgent wants.
Early of the 23d May, a Dutch corporal and two soldiers came on board, and read to us a general order from the Dutch East-India Company, that if any ships, except their own, came there to anchor, they were not to be supplied with any thing whatever. We told him that extreme want of provisions had constrained us to put in here, and that we should not have touched any where before reaching Batavia, if we could possibly have subsisted; wherefore we requested he would inform the governor of our urgent wants. This he engaged to do, seeing us in a very weak condition, and came back about four in the afternoon, saying that we could have no provisions here, but might be supplied at Amboina. We were forced therefore to leave this unfriendly place, and to attempt going to Amboina, if the wind would serve. Manissa is about fifteen miles from S.E. to N.W. and about eight in breadth, in lat. 3° 25' S. and about twenty miles west from the island of Bonou. It is a remarkably high island, and pretty well inhabited by Malays, as are all the Molucca Islands. It is surrounded by shoals almost on every side, and some of these stretch a league and a half from the shore, so that it is very dangerous to come near, unless with very good charts, or with an experienced pilot. It has several good springs of fresh water, and the Dutch have a small fort with six guns on its S.W. side. It is governed by a Dutch serjeant, having under him three corporals, a master gunner, and twenty European soldiers; and produces vast plenty of rice and cloves, both of which are sent to Amboina. The inhabitants are mostly fishers, and catch such abundance of fish as not only supplies themselves, but enables them also to carry a great deal to Amboina.
We stood to the S.W. having the wind at S.S.E. and blowing fresh, so that we sailed under our courses, and were now much out of heart, not expecting to reach Amboina, the S E. monsoon being now set in; which was right against us. Almost in despair, we continued our course till we were over against the island of Bouro, and then the wind veering to the S.S.W. we stood away S.E. but finding a strong current setting to leeward, we rather lost ground, and seeing no likelihood of getting to Amboina, we, by general consent, shared among us all that was eatable on board, each man's share being six pounds and three quarters of flour, and five pounds of bran, every one resolving to use his share as sparingly as possible. On the 25th, the wind veered to S.S.E. when we tacked to S.W. and soon weathered the island of Amblow. This is a small island of moderate height, in lat. 4° 5' S. tolerably furnished with trees, but not inhabited. On the 26th, we had a fine fresh gale at S.E. when we tacked and stood away N.E. for the island of Amboina. Continuing the same course all the 27th, we got sight of Amboina early in the morning of the 28th, bearing due N. about six leagues distant. We now stood directly for the island, and about noon came just off the harbour, a joyful sight to us then, though we soon had cause to think it the worst thing that had befallen us.
As we entered the harbour of Amboina, we met two Dutch ships coming out, laden with cloves and bound for Batavia. The captain of one of these came on board our bark, desiring to know whence we came and whither we were bound, and required to have a journal of our voyage, promising to return it when he again met us at Batavia. We gave him the best answers we could to all his questions, and the agent of our owners gave him a succinct relation of our voyage, which was of happy consequence to us, as to that we afterwards owed our preservation as will appear in the sequel. We stood into the harbour that night, and next morning, which, according to our account, was Tuesday, but with the Dutch Wednesday, two Dutch orambies, as they call the vessels used at that place, came on board us, each of which was paddled by forty men. In these vessels came the fiscal and several Dutch gentlemen, with eighty soldiers, who immediately took possession of our bark. They also went below and sealed up all our chests, after which the two orambies towed us farther into the harbour, so that by noon we were up as high as the town of Amboina, where they moored our bark in the ordinary anchorage.
We continued on board till the 31st, two days, not knowing how they meant to dispose of us; in which time they would not supply us with any victuals, though we offered a crown a pound for beef, pork, or bread. In the evening of this day they took us all on shore, lodging us in two rooms near the Stadt-house, our bark, with all our money and goods, being taken from us, except what we happened to have about our persons, and soon after our vessel and goods were sold by auction. We were fed with bad meat, which our stomachs could ill digest, being very weak with having been so long on short allowance, and if we desired to have better we had to buy it with our own money. Several of us had fortunately some money about us, and as long as that lasted we purchased provisions from our keeper. For a Spanish dollar, which was worth five shillings and a penny, he would only give us five Dutch skellings, or the value of about two and six-pence; and even for this he gave us no more victuals than we could have bought for five-pence, if we had been at liberty to go into the town; so that, instead of five shillings for the Spanish dollar, we in reality had only five-pence. During my leisure, I had many opportunities of enquiring into the condition of Amboina, by which I was enabled to draw up a pretty large account of the island and its inhabitants, which I flatter myself will be acceptable to the public, as the Dutch are careful to prevent any accounts of this place from being published.
This island of Amboina, so famous, or rather infamous, for the cruelties and injustice formerly committed there by the Dutch upon the English, is twelve leagues long from N. to S. being high and mountainous, with intermediate vallies, which are very fertile, but the hills are in a great measure barren. The soil of the vallies is black, and affords salt-petre. The middle of the island is in lat. 3° 40' S. The original inhabitants of the island are Malays, who are of middle stature and tawny complexions. The women are brighter than the men, and have long black hair, reaching to the calves of their legs. They have round faces, with small mouths, noses, and eyes. Their dress is a linen or cotton waistcoat, reaching only below their breasts, and a cloth round their waists, four yards long and a yard broad, which serves as a petticoat, as the Dutch women only are permitted to wear petticoats; neither are any of the men allowed to wear hats, except the king or rajah. The natives are numerous, yet the Dutch possess the whole sea-coast, and have here a strong castle, built of stone, mounted by sixty pieces of cannon, besides several small forts in other parts of the island. Near the castle is a small town of about 100 houses, of stone, brick, or timber, inhabited by the Dutch. None of the houses exceed one storey, as the place is subject to earthquakes, which would endanger the houses if higher, and even low as they are they often fall. While we were there we had a great earthquake for two days, which did much mischief as the ground opened in several places, and swallowed up several houses with their inhabitants. Several of their people were dug out of the ruins, but most of them dead, and many others had their legs and arms broken by the fall of the houses. Where we were, the ground swelled up like a wave of the sea, but no damage was done.
This island is governed by a council of five, consisting of the governor, the senior merchant, or ober koop-man, the Malay king, the captain of the fort, and the fiscal, which last is the judge. There are said to be on the island 350 Dutch soldiers, with 120 or 130 Dutch freemen and petty officers, and about as many Chinese, who reside here for the benefit of trade, though not allowed to participate in the spice trade, which the Dutch reserve entirely to themselves. I thus estimate that the Dutch are able to muster in this island about 550 fighting men, including themselves and the Chinese; for they can count very little on the Malays, who would gladly join any other nation against them. The Malay women are said to be very loose, and not ashamed of having intercourse with men. They are soon ripe, being often married at nine years of age, and are said to have children by ten or eleven. All who reside near the coast must live under the Dutch government, which is very dissolute and tyrannical, and they are severely punished for even small faults, being often reduced to slavery, and condemned to wear an iron on their legs for life. Those dwelling near the coast under the controul of the Dutch are a kind of Christians; but those in the interior, among the hills, are Mahometans, and are always at war with the Dutch. When these hill Malays take any prisoners, they never give quarter; but, after detaining their prisoners a few days, without meat or drink, they are produced in public, and have their breasts ripped open, and their hearts taken out, all the Malays present making great rejoicings. The heads of these slaughtered prisoners are then embalmed with spice, and those who can shew the greatest number of Dutch heads are held in highest honour. In retaliation, when the Dutch take any of these hill Malays, they load them with irons, and after keeping them some days in prison, they cut off their ears and noses, and after being kept some time longer in prison, they are publicly racked to death.
When any of the Malays, living under the Dutch government, are found guilty of thieving, their ears and noses are cut off, and a great iron chain is fastened to their legs, in which condition they are made slaves for life. While we were there, about 500 poor wretches were in this condition, who were kept constantly employed, in sawing timber, cutting stones for building, carrying burdens, or other work. They are let out of prison at sunrise, the men being kept in one prison and the women in another, and are kept hard at work till noon, when they return to prison for an hour, being allowed for dinner a pint of coarse boiled rice for each. They return again to work at one o'clock, and return to prison at six in the evening, when they have a similar allowance for supper. Soon afterwards they are locked up in their lodgings, where they lie on the bare boards, having only a piece of wood for a pillow. Sometimes these poor wretches make shift to escape, but are used with great severity if again caught. One of the female slaves having escaped, and being retaken, cut her own throat to avoid the severe punishment awaiting her, when she was dragged out by the hair all round the town, and then hung on a gibbet by the feet. Such as are in debt, and cannot satisfy their creditors, are turned over by their creditors to the Dutch company, who send them to work among their slaves, having the same allowance of boiled rice with the rest, with two-pence a day towards paying their debts; but they seldom get free till carried out dead.
Though the poor natives are thus harshly treated, the Dutch wink at the faults of their countrymen, who are seldom punished for any crime, unless it be for murder, as in any other case they get off for a small sum of money, even for a great fault. The women slaves belonging to the free Dutch burgesses have all reasonable indulgence, but are obliged to find their own clothes and provisions, and pay an acknowledgement of about a sixpence daily, in default of which they are severely used. If they bring the daily tribute, they may whore or steal, and have no questions asked, provided no complaint is made against them. The chief products of this island are cloves, ginger, pepper, rattans, canes, and a few nutmegs.
The clove-tree is rather slender, and is from twelve to thirty or even forty feet high, having small branches, with tapering leaves about five inches long and two broad, which smell strong of cloves, when rubbed between the fingers. The cloves grow out at the tips of the branches, ten, twelve, or fourteen in a cluster, being white at first, then green, and lastly of a dark copper colour, in which state they are ripe and fit for gathering. At this period, they spread cloths or sheets on the ground round the bottom of the tree to a good distance, and shake the tree, when all the ripe cloves fall down. This is repeated every six or seven days for four or five times, till all the cloves have ripened and are shaken off. The usual time of gathering is October and February, those got in October, which is the end of their winter, being called winter cloves, and are not accounted so strong and good as the others. These are commonly preserved in small jars of about a quart each, of which great quantities are sent to various parts of the world. Those gathered in February are termed summer cloves, being better and stronger than the others, as ripening in the best part of the summer; whereas the former have not above a month of fair weather, all the rest of their winter season, which is our summer, being rainy and cloudy, so that the cloves want sun to ripen them. It is a common opinion, but extremely erroneous, that cloves, nutmegs, and mace grow all on one tree. One clove-tree commonly produces sixty, seventy, or eighty pounds of cloves in one season; and every sixth year they are sure to have a double crop.