Venetians: before the discovery of the sea route to India and the East Venice was the first maritime and commercial power in the world. The route round the Cape of Good Hope was discovered by Vasco de Gama in 1497.
Moluccas: a group of tropical islands between Celebes and New Guinea, rich in pearls, spices, and precious woods.
Calicut: the port in Madras, where Vasco de Gama first landed in May 1498. The cotton cloth called calico was first brought thence.
Moorish pirates: North Africa has always been a haunt of pirates. In 1816 Lord Exmouth had to bombard Algiers, and even as late as 1860 the European Powers had to suppress piracy in Morocco.
Dordrecht: a commercial town in the south of Holland, near Rotterdam.
The South Sea Company is celebrated above the other trading companies for the great speculation in its shares called the South Sea bubble in 1720.
[46. PLAYS AND PAGEANTS. PART I.]
Mummers: men who played in entertainments masked and in various disguises.
masque: a kind of play in which the actors wore masks. Milton's 'Comus' is a well-known masque of high character.