longest being accounted the fairest Their Habit is grave and modest being a long Robe that reaches down to their heels much like that of the Japonneses without any distinction of Sex This Habit is bound about at the wast with a Girdle of Silk interwoven with Gold and Silver the Workmanship whereof is alike on both sides As for the Souldiers their upper Garments reach no farther then their Knees only their Breeches reach down to the mid Leg without either Hose or Shoes The vulger sort of People are altogether slaves for one part of the year For unless they be the Citizens of the Capital City where the King keeps his Court all the other Handicrafts of what Trade soever as Joyners Carpenters Locksmiths Masons and the like are oblig'd every year to work three Months at the King's Palace and two Months or Moons more For the Tunquineses reckon their Months by the Moon for the Mandarins or great Lords The rest of the year is for themselves all which time they have liberty to work for the support of their own Family This Service in their Language is callâ—d Viecquan or the Condition of a Slave But they are liable to other drudgeries worse then those before mention'd as to lop Trees with which they chiefly feed their Elephants This is a severe days work to which they were condemn'd by the great Grandfather of the King that now reigns after he had put an end to the Civil Wars that turmoil'd his Kingdom and that he had brought his rebellious Subjects to submit themselves They had occasion'd him a great deal of trouble and in regard he could not subdue them without a great hazard of his Army his Council advis'd him to famish them but he rather chose to give them their Lives and to condemn them and their Posterity to this laborious Service of which he might in time reap the benefit I have told you elsewhere that the Tunquineses take great delight to live upon the Rivers which are there free from Crocodiles and all other dangerous Animals which haunt the Waters of Nile and Ganges Where we are to observe that these Rivers overflow their Banks every year after the Rains are fall'n with that terrible violence that many times they carry away whole Towns and Villages at what time a good part of the Kingdom looks like a Sea resembling the lower Egypt under Water upon the Inundation of Nile CHAP. VII Of the Marriages of the Tunquineses and their severity toward Adulteresses THE Tunquineses cannot Marry without the consent of the Father and Mother or if they be dead without the allowance of their nearest Kindred They must also have the permission of the Judge or Governour of the place where the Marriage is to be made for the obtaining of which they must give him some Present But in regard they were wont to exact upon the poor people more then they were able to give them so that many Marriages were disappointed to the great damage of the Public the King who reign'd in the year 1639 being inform'd of these Extortions and their ill Consequences set forth a Law to regulate those Abuses and to curb the Authority of the Governours He order'd that the young Man who was desirous to Marry should pay no more then such a Sum according to the proportion of his Estate amounting to one or two fourths per Cent. and that they were not worth above a hundred Crowns should pay nothing Now in regard the Common People both Men and Women are naturally laborious all that the Maids can get they preserve for their Portions and to buy them two or three handsom Garments with a Neck-lace of Coral or yellow Amber and a certain number of Beads to garnish their Locks which they suffer to hang down upon their Backs accounting the beauty of their Hair to consist in the length There is no Wedding kept without a great Feast and they must be very poor when the Feast lasts not above three days for sometimes they junket for nine days together The next day after the Wedding the Bridgroom calls the Bride his Sister and she calls the Bridegroom Brother The Law of the Land permits the Man to divorce his wife when he pleases which they do many times for very slight causes But the Woman has not the same Priviledge or at least if she desire a separation it is much more difficult to obtain and the occasion must be very notorious The Tunquineses say that this Law was made to keep the Women in subjection and to oblige them to be respectful to their Husbands When the Husband desires this separation the Ceremony is this You must know that many of the Eastern People never touch their Victuals with their hands but make use of two little sticks about six inches long gilt and varnish'd which serve them instead of Forks The Husband then when he goes about to repudiate his Wife takes one of his own sticks and one of his Wife 's and having broken them they take each one half and sow it up in a piece of Silk in which they keep it Then the Man is bound to restore the Woman what she brought with her and to keep the Children which they had between them But these Divorces are not half so frequent as formerly The Laws are also very rigorous against Adulteresses So that if a woman accus'd of this crime be convicted thereof she is cast to an Elephant bred up to this purpose who presently throws her up into the Air with his Trunk and when she comes to the ground tramples her under his feet till he can perceive no life in her While my Brother was at the Court at Tunquin he was a witness of the severe Punishment to which a Princess was condemn'd for being taken in the Act with a certain Prince It is the Custom in the East when a Prince dies to shut up in the most private and retir'd part of all his Palace all the women which he made use of in his life time There they are allow'd two Maids to attend them they eat alone and see no person living any more to the very day of their deaths I cannot tell by what means one of the Princes of the blood had got a view of one of the deceased King his Uncle's wives but being desirous to see her again and to overcome all difficulties that oppos'd him and to deceive the Guards that watch'd the Dores he made use of a slight not easily discover'd For you must know that in the Kingdom Tunquin as in all the Kingdoms of Asia in the Houses of the Kings and other great Lords the Kitchin is usually separated from the House and that the Garden is between them so that for the better carrying the Meat from one place to another the Servants make use of a kind of Flasket or rather Iron Chest And to keep the Meat warm the Dishes are supported by little sticks laid athwart about an inch distant one from another
regulated Kingdoms are always full and the Chineses who always sought an opportunity to regain what they had lost after a bloody Battel he possess'd himself of the Kingdom it being never known what became of his Predecessor But this new King enjoy'd the Fruits of his Victory but a small while For two years afterwards a Mandarin of the House of Trin having espous'd the Daughter of another great Lord openly declar'd War against his Soveraign with a design utterly to extirpate the House of Marr. Unhappily for him death put a stop to his designs though he left two Sons behind him able enough to have pursu'd his undertakings But the eldest naturally timorous and fearing to engage himself in a dangerous War voluntarily submitted himself to the King who gave him the Government of a Province and marry'd him to one of his Sister's Daughters The younger Brother being a valiant Prince and having his deceased Father's Army at his Devotion though the King propos'd him great advantages would give ear to nothing but out of his ambition to Reign himself continu'd and successfully accomplish'd what his Father had begun In the second Battel which he gave the King who was there in person he took him Prisoner together with his Brother who had submitted to him and some few days after he put them both publicly to death at the head of his Army the one as an unjust usurper of the Throne the ether as a desertor who had abandon'd his Father's Army and so ill follow'd his intentions Now though as Victor he might easily have ascended the Throne and tak'n upon him the Name and Title of King yet he would not accept of any higher Title then that of General of the Army and the better to Establish himself in his Authority and to gain the affection of the People he caus'd Proclamation to be made through all the Provinces of the Kingdom that if there were any Prince of the House of Le yet remaining alive he should shew himself with full assurance that upon his appearing he should be put into possession of the Kingdom There was but one to be found who had been so closely pursu'd by the House or Marr while it rul'd that to save his Life he was forc'd to abscond himself in the Frontiers of the Kingdom under the Habit of a private Soldier The General was overjoy'd to find that there was yet a lawful Heir of the House of Le to be found that he might place him upon the Throne So that so soon as he was known to be of the Legitimate Race all the Equipage and Attendance of a King was sent to him with Order to all the Provinces as he pass'd along to receive him as if he were already crown'd The whole Army march'd two days march to meet the King and brought him to Checo the capital City of the Kingdom where he was plac'd in the Throne of his Father and with great Pomp proclaim'd King of Tunquin But General Trin who car'd not so much for the Royal Title as the Royal Power so order'd his business that leaving to Le all the outward shew and Pomp of Royal Authority he reserv'd to himself the whole command of the Army and the greatest part of the Revenues of the Kingdom absolutely to dispose of at his own pleasure So that from that time to this hour we may affirm that there has been and still are two Kings of Tunquin of which the first has only the Name and Title of King and is call'd Boüa and the second Choüa who has all the Authority disposing of all things at his pleasure while the other remains shut up in his Palace like a Slave not permitted to stir abroad but upon certain days and then he is carry'd through the Streets of Checo like an Image though with a magnificent Train and Royal Equipage He has generally 2000 Soldiers for his Guard and sometimes 20000 which are quarter'd upon the Frontiers chiefly toward Cochinchina He also has ready upon the Frontiers 50 Elephants for War And upon the Rivers of the Kingdom where the Enemy can come to damage him he usually keeps 100 great Galleys with a vast company of small Galliots to which the Soldiers and Rowers that belong have more pay then the others at Land And these that they may row with more strength row standing with their Faces toward the Prow quite contrary to our Rowers who turn their backs The King gives public Audience almost every day but he makes no Edict or public Decree that is of any effect if it be not also Sign'd by the Choüa At these Audiences he has with him thirty two Councellors of State and besides these a hundred others to judge of all Appeals of the Kingdom The Eunuchs have a very great Power at Court as in all other Courts of Asia and the King as to his most important affairs confides more in them then in his own Children The eldest Children do not always succeed their Father for the Choüa or General with all the Councellors which are generally his Creatures thought it convenient that when the King should have more Sons then one he should make choice of whom he pleas'd to succeed him So that so soon as he has nam'd him the Choüa attended by the principal Officers of the Army Councellors of State and Eunuchs come to congratulate him and to give him their Oaths to set him upon the Throne after the death of his Father and for the other Brothers they are always shut up in the Palace as in a Prison without medling with any affairs of State They never stir out of the Palace but four times a year and they never stay abroad above six days at a time the Officers that attend them being put upon them by the Choüa who is as it were Lord high Constable of the Kingdom The first of these six days of liberty they go to visit the Temples and the Priests to whom they give large Alms the two next days they take their pleasure in hunting and the three last days they spend their time upon the Rivers in Galleys sumptuously trimm'd and adorn'd The Kingdom of Tunquin is divided into eight large Provinces every one of which has its Governour and its Magistrates from whose sentence there lies an Appeal to the Court We should wrong this Country to say that there were no Nobility therein as indeed there are none in most Kingdoms of Asia But they must all attain to this degree their merit some by the Warrs and some by their Learning They who attain their Nobility by Arms have wherewithall to live handsomly at home and they begin to learn their Exercises betimes at farthest by eleven or twelve years of Age. The first thing they are to understand is how to handle their Swords the Blades of which are streight long and broad like those of the Switzers having but one Edge They are also taught to aim with their Bows and to fire a Musket with Matches
liberality that by their converse he not only learnt the Language but by vertue of their good Character the Emperour would often send for him and ask him several Questions concerning our Europe in reference to the Qualities of the Countries the Manners of the People the several Forms of Government the Extent of the several Kingdoms their Riches Strength and War-like Discipline of all which the Admiral gave him so handsome an Accompt that the Prince took great delight in his Discourse And at length he had gain'd so much the favour and confidence of the Emperour that he utterly laid aside all the ill thoughts which he had of him and condemn'd to Death as a false Witness and a Traducer the Japonese that had accus'd him After so fortunate an escape the Admiral thought it but common prudence to make a fair retreat in the Grandeur of his Reputation and thereupon he took leave of the Emperour who loaded him with Honours and Presents The Courtiers were also sorry for his departure so that some of them accompany'd him back and took order for his entertainment which was very magnificent all the way to Nangisaqui where he took Shipping a few days after and return'd to Batavia All the People throng'd to the Port to see him when he Landed He told them in few words the success of his Voyage Some applauded his ingenuity and courage others extoll'd the Service which he had done the Company and Nation The Council receiv'd him also with thanks and praises and gave him all the Gold and Plate which he had brought back A while after he departed for Amsterdam where he was no sooner arriv'd but he presented a Petition to the States General against the East-India Company for sending him back to Japon and for reparation of the violence and injury done him The business was long in debate but at last the Company was condemn'd to pay him great damages and Interest for the same But to return to the President He began now to be weary of being confin'd to one Factory though he made up his Pack well enough where he was But his Ambition carry'd him farther and he thought he had done Service enough to be advanc'd to a higher Dignity Neither was his presence so necessary at Japon where he had settl'd the Dutch Trade in as good a condition as it could well be And in truth the Hollanders had then almost the whole Trade of the East-Indies They had taken from the English Formosa Amboyna and â—ooleron and by that means engross'd all the Trade of Cloves Mace and Nutmegs They had taken Baton by surprize The Inhabitants of the Celebes Ternate and Tidor were become their Vassals and the King of Macassar having made an Alliance with them had expell'd the Portugueses out of his Dominions By means of their Factories in Sumatra they had got all the Pepper Trade of the Western Coast of that Island into their hands besides several other advantages which they had in several other places where they had encroach'd upon the Portugals Spaniards and the English themselves The East-India Company at that time entertain'd 140 Ships part Men of War and part Merchant-men provided with great Guns Ammunition and Provision of all sorts and in these Ships above 6000 Men part Souldiers part Mariners Batavia was the Soul of their Conquests made upon the Ruins of the Portugueses which had they lain all together would have made a large Empire and by which they might have grown infinitely rich had not the expences of their Navies and Souldiers eaten out the gains of their vast Trade One of their wisest Generals told me frequently We have said he but too many Fortresses we need no more then the Cape of Good Hope and Batavia Factories well settl'd good Ships and honest Men to serve us For in short their Officers pillage unmercifully and cause the Commerce and Dominion of their Country men to be detested by the Indians through their Covetousness and Cruelty I know my self that in the year 1664 the Expences of the Hollanders in the East-Indies amounted communibus annis to twelve Millions a year not to reckon Shipwracks decay of Ships and wast of Goods and yet their Cargo's for Asia and Europe have not amounted to above ten Millions and sometimes the Cargo's are so mean that the Receits do not answer the Expences Nevertheless their perseverance and courage were worthy of admiration For what could be more to be admir'd then to see that a small number of Merchants assembled at first upon the single score of Trade should afterwards presume to make War in Regions so far distant assail so many Princes and Nations plant so many Colonies besiege so many Cities and Forts and lastly set forth so many Navies at such prodigious Expences that it would put many potent Soveraigns to a plunge to do as they did This was the Estate of the Holland East-India Company at what time the President the principal Subject of this Relation was recall'd from Japon to Batavia there to take upon him the Office of Chief Director He carry'd thither great store of Wealth and built several magnificent Houses in the City His Authority also was very large but he exercis'd it according to his usual custom and was hated by all the Officers of the Company and the Citizens themselves He thought himself secure of the Employment of General but he was deceiv'd in his hopes upon which he took pet and return'd for Amsterdam where he liv'd quietly for some years At length his turbulent and ambitious Spirit put him upon new Designs to revenge the injury which he thought he had receiv'd To which purpose he return'd to the Indies His undertaking was not so prosperous for those that employ'd him and who merited to have been better serv'd He pillag'd couzen'd and caus'd several disorders in their affairs and at length returning home again perish'd in the River of Lisbon with his Money and Jewels as hath been already related The End of the First Part. A RELATION OF What pass'd in the Negotiation of the DEPUTIES Which were sent to PERSIA and the INDIES As well on the behalf of the KING as of the FRENCH COMPANY for the settling of Trade IN the Relation which I have undertaken I shall make a faithful Report of things in such manner as I saw them transacted by the Deputies sent to Persia and the Indies as well on the behalf of the King as of the French Company for the settlement of Trade The Thirteenth of July 1665. the Sieur Lalin Gentleman in Extraordinary to the King and the Sieur de la Boulaye a Gentleman of Anjou with the Sieurs Beber Mariage and du Pont Deputies of the new French Company for the settling of Trade in Persia and the Indies arriv'd at Ispahan and took up their Lodgings at Zulpha being the Suburbs of the same City where also at that time liv'd the Sieur L'Estoile a French Merchant Lalin and Boulaye without saying any