Footnote 5: [(return)]
Exactly five farthings and two-fifths of a farthing the pound.E.
Footnote 6: [(return)]
Supposing these troy pounds, the value may be estimated at L. 240,000 sterling.E.
SECTION XIII.
Some Account of the Residences of Cheribon, Siam, and Mockha.
The chiefs of those factories belonging to the Dutch in India are termed Residents, and correspond directly with the governor-general at Batavia, and are not dependent on any subordinate governor or director. The first of these independent residents is fixed at Cheribon, on the coast of Java, at the distance of about forty leagues from Batavia, where a very advantageous commerce is carried on by the company in coffee, cardamoms, indigo, and cotton. The land at this place is as fertile in rice and other provisions as perhaps any country in the world. This district is of considerable extent, and was formerly under the dominion of four great lords, who used to be styled pangerans, but have now the titles of sultans, though their authority is not much extended by these more splendid titles. One of these is called the company's sultan, because always attached to the interests of the company, though in truth they might all get the same appellation, as they are all under the protection of the company, and freed from apprehensions of the king of Bantam, who used formerly to be continually at war with them, and must have reduced them under subjection, but for the assistance of the Dutch. Since then, both from gratitude for past favours, and in expectation of future protection, they have granted great privileges to the company in their dominions. The company maintains a fort at Cheribon, with a garrison of sixty men, and has an excellent factory.
About half a league from the fort of Cheribon, the tombs of the princes of Cheribon stand in a vast temple, splendidly built of various fine kinds of stone, and are said to contain vast riches, yet are left unguarded, from an idea that they are protected by some supernatural power; and they tell strange stories of persons having dropt down dead, on approaching the places where these riches are hidden, with an intention to steal. Many people believe that the Javanese priests, who are Mahometans, have the power of causing sudden death by means of incantations; and that they are able to enchant crocodiles and serpents, causing the former to go into and out of the water at command, and the latter to remain in any posture they please. A great number of priests are maintained about this great temple, many of whom have made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and are therefore held in much veneration. These priests are all governed by a sovereign pontiff or mufti, who is even more respected than the sultans. There was formerly a considerable English factory at Cheribon, having a small town belonging to it: But the persons of the factory so provoked the people, by intriguing with their wives, that they rose one night and massacred them all. Perhaps this might have been set on foot by their Dutch neighbours.
Another resident has the direction of the company's affairs in the kingdom of Siam, where the company carries on a considerable trade in tin, lead, elephants-teeth, gum-lac, wool,[1] and other commodities. The king of Siam is a prince of considerable power, and his dominions extend nearly 300 leagues. Being favourable to commerce, all nations are allowed to trade freely in his country; but ships of no great burden are forced to anchor at the distance of sixty leagues from his capital; because the river Menan, on which it is situated, is so rapid that they find great difficulty in getting higher up. This river, like the Nile and many others, overflows its banks at a certain season, so that most of the country is under water for half the year, for which reason all the houses are built on posts. The capital is a large city, consisting at least of 50,000 houses, with a prodigious number of temples.[2] The natives are all pagans, and hold this singular maxim, "That all religions are good, provided they tend to the honour of God." They think, however, that their own is the best; though they sometimes own that the God of the Christians is most powerful, because the head of their principal idol has been twice beaten to pieces by thunder. This is perhaps the largest idol in the world, and is called by the Dutch in derision, The great blockhead of Lust. He is represented sitting cross-legged like a tailor; in which posture he measures seventy feet high, and every one of his fingers is as large as the body of a man. About three leagues from the capital there is a temple of vast size, having an idol not quite so large as the other, which the priests say is his wife; and that once in seven years, one of these goes to visit the other. The priests also pretend that both of these idols are of solid gold; but the thunder-clap, which destroyed the head of the larger idol detected that part of the cheat, shewing it to be only brick and lime, very artificially gilded all over. One may justly wonder that this accident did not put an end to the adoration of so wretched a deity; but where superstition once prevails the plainest proofs very seldom produce any effect.
The country of Siam is very rich and fertile, and there is a considerable trade carried on here by the Chinese. The Dutch have here considerable privileges, and are the favoured nation, especially since the great revolution, when they got into great favour with the new king, because the English had been entrusted by his predecessor, whom he murdered, with the best places in the government, both civil and military. The Dutch have a factory on the side of the river, about a mile below the city, where they collect great numbers of deer-skins; which are sent annually to Japan. The Siamese are themselves much addicted to trade, and the Chinese who reside here still more; so that they send ships every year to Japan, which, considering the difficulty of the navigation, is not a little extraordinary. The Siamese boast of having used the compass above a thousand years before it was known in Europe: But the Jesuits very justly observe, that the Siamese and Chinese compasses are very imperfect.
The third resident is fixed at Mokha, being always a merchant, having two factors under him. This country is under the government of an Arab prince, styled Imaum, who resides in the inland country, about 200 miles east from Mokha. The sea-port of his dominions was formerly Aden; but as that was found very inconvenient, he removed the trade to Mokha, then only a fishing village. Mokha is situated close to the sea, in a large dry sandy plain, which affords neither fruits nor water, except what is brackish and unwholesome, and those who are forced to drink it have long worms bred in their legs and feet, which are very troublesome and dangerous. The town is supplied with very good and wholesome water from Musa, a town at the distance of twenty miles; but it is so dear, being brought by land carriage; that it costs as much as small beer does in England. Mokha is large, and makes a fine appearance from the sea, the buildings being lofty, but they look much better without than within. The markets are well supplied with provisions, such as beef, mutton, goats, kid, lamb, and camels flesh, antelopes, poultry, guinea-fowls, partridges, and pigeons. The sea affords a variety of fish, but not well tasted, owing probably to the nature of their food. It is also furnished all the year with excellent fruits, as grapes, peaches, apricots, and quinces, of which they make great quantities of marmalade, both for their own use and exportation. Yet there is neither tree nor shrub to be seen near the town, except a few date-trees, and they seldom have above two or three showers of rain in a year, sometimes no rain for two or three years. Among the mountains, however, about twenty miles inland, seldom a morning passes without a moderate shower, which makes the vallies very fertile in such corn and fruits as suit the soil and climate. They have plenty of wheat and barley, but no rice.
Since Mokha has been made a free port, it has become a place of great trade. Besides the Dutch factory, it has one belonging to the English East-India Company. Trade is also carried on here by English free merchants, by Portuguese, Banians, and Moors; also by vessels from Basora, Persia, and Muskat. The country itself produces few commodities, except coffee and some drugs, as myrrh, olibanum or frankincense from Cossin, Soccotrine aloes from Soccotora, liquid storax, white and yellow arsenic, some gum-arabic, mummy, and balm of gilead, these two last being brought down the Red Sea. The coffee trade brings a continual supply of gold and silver from Europe, particularly Spanish money, German crowns, and other European silver coins, with chequins and German and Hungarian gold ducats, and ebramies and magrabees of Turkey. It is a settled point here, though other goods may be bought and sold on credit for a certain time, coffee must always be paid for in ready money. The European shipping that comes here annually rather exceeds 20,000 tons, and that belonging to other nations may amount to nearly the same tonnage. The whole province of Betlefackee is planted with coffee-trees, which are never allowed to grow above four or five yards high. The berries cling to the branches like so many insects, and are shaken off when ripe. They are at first green, then red, and lastly of a dark-brown colour.