overpowr'd by their Enemies so as to be constrain'd to yield the City to them they could overwhelm both it and them in a whole Deluge of Water by breaking down that Bank From this City passing down that Branch of the River Orietan which runs towards the North you come to Orietan the whole Course of the River being extreamly delightful the Banks being cover'd with tall Trees always green and shady which bending their Head towards the Water make one continued Arbour and defend the Travellers from the scortching Sun And the variety of Apes or Peacocks flying or skipping from branch to branch adds very much to the pleasure of the Passage Orietan is a City of great Concourse of Merchants from most Countries of the East Pegu China Japan Malacca and from Malabar Westward and other parts of India 'T is govern'd by a Deputy appointed by the King at his Coronation receiving a Crown from his Hand and always enjoying the Title of King himself this City being one of those Twelve the Capitals of Twelve Provinces subject to the Kingdom of Arracan which are always govern'd by Crown'd Heads Not far from this City arises the Mount of Maum which imparts its Name to a Lake washing the Foot thereof thither are sent all those that are Exil'd by the King who causes strict Guards to be kept in all the Passes and further to prevent the flight of the Criminals cuts off their Heels The Mountain is hardly passable for Travellers being not only craggy and impervious but so infested with wild Beasts that it is a difficult thing to escape them From the Mountain of Maum Peroem crossing the Gulph you come to another City Peroem which being situate near the Sea and having a good capacious Harbour is a Town of great Traffick 'T is likewise the Residence of a Governour who exercises absolute Authority within his Precincts and keeps a Court answerable to the Majesty of a King Ramu is another City of equal Condition with Peroem Ramu from which it is not many Days Journey distant but he Way betwixt them very dangerous whether by Land or by Water The Sea being subject to sudden tempestuous Storms and that by Land lying cross the Mountains of Pre which separate Arracan from Pegu as dangerous by reason of the Wild Beasts as the former What is further taken notice of in there parts is a Mountain called Pora which in the Language of the Country signifies God or an Idol which Name it borrows from an Idol plac'd upon the very top thereof sitting cross-legg'd upon a Pedestal to which those Heathens resort with great Devotion By this place runs a large River from which some Engineers would have perswaded the King to have cut a Channel as far as Arracan but he absolutely refus'd to hearken to the Proposal because he thought he should thereby expose the place of his Residence to the Incursions of the Great Mogul who might with Ease convey his Forces down such a Channel Dianga The next Town of Note along a tempestuous Coast is the City of Dianga or Diango which seems to belong to the Kingdom of Bengala but made by Father Tosi a principal City of this Indeed this City as well as Chatigam which was undoubtedly once a City of this Kingdom and the Government thereof commonly allotted to the King 's second Son has run the risque of Frontier Towns frequently to change its Master and to be sometimes in the Hands of one of the Neighbouring Princes and sometimes in those of the other The greatest part of its Inhabitants are Portuguese Fugitives who live here and injoy great Priviledges and Immunities granted by the King The Fathers of St. Augustine have here likewise a firm Residence with a good House and very decent Church Many of them likewise make their abode in two neighbouring Villages Arracale and Angarracale Other places along this Coast subjected to this King are Coromoria Sedoa Sundiva Zara and Port Magaeni To which let me add the Island of Sundiva which is an Island in the Gulph of Bengala scarce twenty Miles remov'd from the Continent of that Kingdom 'T is about an Hundred Miles in Compass and affords such vast quantities of Salt that it needs no other Commodities to give in Exchange for any of those of the Neighbouring Countries being able with it alone to lade two Hundred Vessels every Year 'T is so well fortifi'd by nature alone without the Assistance of Art that 't is almost impossible to seize it without the consent of the Inhabitants which made the Portugueses cast an Eye upon it with intent to make it a Retreat for themselves Accordingly in the Year 1602 they took it from the Moguls who some time before had depriv'd its lawful Prince thereof who after they had 〈◊〉 it confirm'd their Title to it by a free Grant of all his Right and Claim thereto But they never quietly enjoy'd it first the Inhabitants molesting them and when they were Defeated the King of Arracan fearing the growth of their strength in those parts endeavour'd to dislodge them and tho' at first he was constrain'd to raise the Siege and to make an Agreement with them yet in the Year 1603 they were compell'd to yield it to him and retire into Bacala and other parts of the Kingdom of Bengala Assaram Tipora Chacomas Upon the Northern parts of this Kingdom lie the Cities of Assaram Tipora and Chacomas all said to be the Capital Cities of so many Kingdoms but all subject to this of Arracan Indeed I take their Kings to be no more than Deputies or Vice-Roys and Governours of these Cities plac'd there with the great vaunting Title of Kings by the King of Arracan as we are assur'd of those Governours afore mention'd and that there are no less than Twelve of the same Dignity in his whole Dominions Nor do I meet with any thing remark'd of any of them but that being places upon the Frontiers they are constantly provided of good Garrisons Unless I may have leave to add what Mr. Tavernier has Recorded of three of the Subjects of Tipora which he calls Tipra that he found them such notable Topers that they never gave out 'till they had drunk him dry and at last when all his Wine was spent seem'd to express a great deal of concern that they could have no more He tells 't is true further that there is a Gold Mine in the Dominions of this Prince but so very course that it is not fit to be exported that the King exacts no Subsidies of his Subjects but obliges the prime of his Nobility to work six Days in the Year in his Mines in lieu of them There are besides some Silk-works here of which they make good Advantage Taking the Southern Stream from Arracan it conducts you to the City Dobazi Dobazi which is a place of very great Traffick being a Port much frequented by Strangers Thence continuing your Voyage along the Coast
I am under to a very worthy Gentleman Mr. Daniel Sheldon in the free and kind Communication of these Memoirs I shall not therefore detain the Reader with any further account of this matter but pass on to what I am satisfied will be very agreeable to him viz. The History of this Revolution in Golconda The present King of Golconda was Son to an Arabian of good Family and Esteem but low in Estate and Fortune to raise which resolving to Travel and seek Employment from some Foreign Prince he came to Golconda and by the Favour of some persons of Quality had the opportunity of presenting himself and his Service to King Cotub sha who being pleased with his Person and manner of Address gave him a small Government wherein he behav'd himself so well that he was advanc'd to one of the most considerable Commands in the Kingdom in which and his Prince's favour he continued 'till his Death After which his Estate being very great was seiz'd on by the King who is the general Heir of all his Nobles and Persons employ'd by him none of those Countreys having any Hereditary Estates so that his Son was reduc'd to a very poor Condition but having that left which could not be taken from him viz. his Father's Wit and Courage he resolv'd to follow his Example hoping to find his Fortune Full of which hopes he enters himself into Munsub that is the Kings Pay and had allow'd him twelve or fifteen new Pagotha's which is about four Pounds sixteen Shillings or six Pounds Sterling per Month with which and the hopes of better Preferment he made a shift to maintain himself The King Cotub-sha had at this time no Son but three Daughters the Eldest of which was Married to Sultan Mamood Eldest Son to the Great Mogul Aureng-Zebe The second to an Arabian of great Quality Meera Mamood and the third was unmarried To this unmarried Daughter an Arabian of high Birth and Quality called Siud Sultan was an importunate Suitor and the King grown Old and oppress'd with the Factions of those to whom he had left the management of Affairs having all his time wholly minded Pleasures and left Business and the Concerns of the Kingdom to the Cares of others and mortally hating Sultan Mamood who by a cruel War almost to the utter Ruine of him and his Kingdom had forc'd his Consent to the Marryage of his Eldest Daughter hoping thereby after Cotub-sha's Death to add the Kingdom of Golconda to the Empire of the Great Mogul and having no Kindness for his second Daughter or her Husband but being extreamly fond of his Youngest he design'd to Marry her to one whose Quality Parts and Courage might make him able either to break or manage the Factions of his Court withstand Sultan Mamood who he resolv'd should not succeed him and one who being rais'd by his Favour he thought would wholly depend upon it and thereby only expect the Succession And this Young Servant to his Daughter being an Arabian who in these Countreys are thought the Wisest and fittest for Government and of the Cast of the Siuds that is of the Family or Kindred of Mahumet and therefore much reverenc'd by all likewise of a brisk and lively Wit and Spirit He thought him a fit Person by whom to manage his Designs and consequently to Marry his Daughter therefore countenanc'd his Adresses to her but the young Man was so dazled with the prospect of so glorious a Fortune that he could not see his right way to it for presuming too soon upon the King and Princesses Favour instead of contriving how to increase and strengthen his Interest by gaining the Consent and Support of the great Ministers of State he carried himself so insolently towards them that he utterly disoblig'd and made himself hateful to them and they fearing the Tyranny of one who when their Equal began to exercise it over them resolv'd to disgrace and ruin him by hindring the Match The chiefest Persons about the King were Moso Cawne Siud Meer Zapher and Musshuke these three managed the King and his great Affairs for Meera Mamood the King's Son in Law being not in Favour was not in Business yet not so quite laid aside but that he had free Access to the Court and Presence and was by all respected as one that having Married the King's Second Daughter Circumstances consider'd was likely enough to succeed him Therefore having great hopes and not enduring the Insolent Carriage of this new Favourite nor to think of his Marrying the King's beloved Daughter put himself in the Head of the Faction against him And the Old Courtiers perfectly knowing the King and the usual and surest ways of working him to their Designs soon unsetled the unwary young Man in his Affections and then threw him from the height of his Prince's Favour to the contempt and scorn of the meanest Subject For they possessed his Majesty with an Opinion that he was an high Spirited Ambitious Man and aim'd at great things that he was at the Head of a great Party and Faction at Court that if he were once strengthen'd with so near an Alliance to the King he might do whatsoever he design'd what he design'd they knew not but he gave them great Reason to fear it was not his Majesty's safety nor the Kingdom 's Peace and Affairs being wholy manag'd by their Directions and all Officers at Court about the King being their Creatures they made their Information seem more than probable The King being naturally jealous and frighted with the Shadow of any thing that he thought might disturb his Pleasures was quickly perswaded not to marry the Princess to so dangerous a Person and immediately upon the breaking off the Match one of the three Persons before mention'd 't is not certainly known which of them but thought Musshuke advis'd his Majesty to find out some one for the Princess of small Fortune but noble Birth and Courage a comly Person and of a generous and chearful Disposition and inclin'd rather to Pleasures than Business for if he was qualified with high Birth and the Endowments of Nature it lay in the King's Power to supply the Defects of Honour Riches c. and Men of such Dispositions being given to Pleasure were seldom ambitious or designing therefore such a one being Created meerly by his Favour would wholly submit by it and enjoying what he most desir'd his Pleasures would not disturb himself or them with the thoughts of Business or Cares of Government but be Obedient and perfectly contented with the Condition he was in without aspiring to untimely Greatness The Advice was liked and communicated to the two other Counselors who considering it was a way for continuing them in their Governments and all Affairs and Business in their management confirmed the King by approving of the Counsel given him and having his Order to find out such a Person the Young Arabian Souldier whose Father 's Estate had been seiz'd on by the
the Vest for to put it on he desir'd the Secretary to present his humble Duty to the King and tell him he very much fear'd he would have more reason to Cherish and Preserve such Subjects as he was than to delight and sport himself in the Contrivance of their Deaths The Secretary was by Order strictly to observe both what he said and how he behav'd himself and therefore did not interrupt him but permitted none but himself and Jabber Beague to help him on with his Vest after which with a low Salam or Reverence he told him they were not sent by the King to Execute any Sentence of his Displeasure but to conduct him to his Favour and the greatest Honour he could bestow upon him therefore desir'd him to go along with them chearfully and immediately So with them he goes not very well assur'd of his Safety 'till they brought him a goodly Horse with rich Furniture and desir'd him to mount which he did and betwixt the Secretary and Jabber Beague rode to Court where he was the same Night Married to the Princess And the whole business was managed with so much privacy that Meera Mamood who had Married the King's second Daughter had not the least knowledge of it 'till it was publickly declared to whom the King had Married the Young Princess Which made Meera Mamood almost mad with Rage railing at the King and his Nobility but perceiving no body took notice of it but those that laugh'd at and despis'd him he left the Court and Kingdom and went to Delly where making his Addresses to Aureng-Zebe the Great Mogul he was kindly entertain'd and allow'd a Royal Pension The King is every Day more and more satisfied with his Son in Law yet being resolv'd not to trust him with any Command or Business nor to give him any opportunity of inriching himself or getting more Money than he spent gives him no Munsub that is no Command of Souldiers nor Government of any place or Province and orders one of his Eunuchs constantly to pay his Expences be they never so great but not to furnish him with any Money thereby to give him opportunity of laying up any The Young Sultan having an Excellent Understanding quickly perceiv'd the Design and wisely resolv'd to comply with it and be wholly govern'd and manag'd by the King's pleasure without taking any notice of his Jealousie So he seems not to care for nor so much as to think of any Command Business or getting of more Money than would pay for his Pleasures which did not only fix the Omrahs or Nobles and Governours to him they verily believing that if he were once King they should be all such in their general Governments but made the King himself even dote on him as a Man sent from Heaven to Marry his Daughter being just such a Person as in his thoughts he had wish'd for He therefore contrives by all the ways he could desire to secure the Succession to him for being sick and worn with Age and Pleasures to which he had been all his time wholly addicted and thinking he should die he summons all his Omrahs before him and publickly declares for his Successor Sultan Abdulla Hoosan his Son in Law conjuring them by the last Request of their Dying King to settle him after his Death in the Throne and to submit to his Government making them one by one not only promise but swear upon their Alcharon to perform what he had commanded after which he immediately dyed having liv'd above Eleven Years since the Marriage of his beloved Daughter who in that space of time had comforted him with a Son and two Daughters The King was no sooner dead but his second Daughter Wife to Meera Mamood having made a small Party seizes upon and secures the Palace on the behalf of a Son her Husband had by a former Wife for by her he had none whom she endeavour'd to make King but Moso Cawne Siud Meer Zapher and Musshuke quickly suppressed the Tumult she had made and immediatel proclaim'd Sultan Abdulla Hoosan Potshaw or Prince Abdulla Hoosan Emperour After all the Ceremonies both of a Funeral and Coronation were perform'd the King begins to think of gratifying those that had made him so for tho' he had long observ'd Moso Cawne and Siud Meer Zapher to be corrupt and ill Governours yet they had done him good Service and he could not without lessening his Name in the World but continue and something increase their Honour and Commands nor perchance was it in his power to lessen them in either since those that had made him King might still be made able to make another so yet it very much troubled him to think he should add to the too great Power they already had therefore taking some little time to consider what was fit for him to do at last he concludes that the way to lessen these two powerful Noble-men was to make them both too great for very well knowing they mortally hated one another and would never endure each others greatness but be always striving which should throw the other out of his Prince's Favour he therefore resolv'd so to divide the Administration of Affairs between them that they should be sure to check one the other and to carry himself so equally that it should not be discern'd which he most favour'd by which he both answer'd the Opinion the World had of his Bounty a thing much regarded in rewarding them with Honour and great Imployments and yet secur'd himself from the danger of two such powerful Subjects by making them too great ever to agree in an Attempt against him and setting them both up at so equal and spreading a height that they must of necessity justle one another down concluding they could not be dangerous to him while they were so to one another and sought only by the advantage of his Favour to ruine each other To Moso Cowne he therefore gives the Title of Cawne Cawna and being a Man of Courage makes him General of his Army To Siud Meer Zapher he gives the Title of Emir Zemla and being a Man of Business makes him Duan in which Office is comprehended both that of a Chancellour and Treasurer so that the General being to receive the Army's Pay of the Duan was sure to find delays and affronts and the Duan being by his Place to inspect into the Disposal of the King's Money and Payment of the After the King had honoured and Rewarded others likewise that deserved well of him he seems wholly to retire from Business to his Pleasures but posted himself at so convenient a Distance that he had perfect Knowledge of every thing that pass'd In this time of leasure he would often sequester himself from all kind of Company to meditate and write and it s since certainly known that when he was thus retir'd he took particular notice of all the Abuses in the State and the best ways of redressing them likewise set down in Writing
several Rules and Maxims for his future Government In the mean time the two great men or rather Kings strove who should procure the finest Women best Minstrels and Dancers to divert the King thinking by such Charms to continue him in the Lethargy they thought he was in But what the Wise Prince foresaw soon came to pass for they not enduring each others Greatness and inrag'd at the equal Favour of the King endeavour'd by finding out matter of Accusation aginst to ruin each other and the Duan being by his place to inspect into the Payment of the Army receiv'd many Complaints against the General whose wretched love of Money made him defraud the King and his Souldiers of great Sums Of this the Duan complains to the King who seems not to believe and takes little notice of it The Duan therefore resolving to bring such Evidence as should convince the King of the Truth of his Complaint seizes the General 's Braman or Accountant who kept all the Accounts of the Army at which the General is so inrag'd that taking some Souldiers with him he is resolv'd to go and cut the Duan in pieces but the Duan being a notorious Coward is the more careful to have Valiant Men about him and always paying them well they now serve him faithfully stoutly defending him against the General 'till the King sent and Commanded him to retire At first he was so out of his Wits that he would not but being perswaded by better temper'd Men and his Friends at last he return'd to his own House leaving the Duan half dead with Fear who coming to himself goes immediately to the King and desires him to consider with what safety he could be in his Palace if such Outrages were committed in the Garrison The King calmly tells him he will take care both for his own and his future safety by preventing such Violences for the time to come and by perfectly reconciling the General to him and tho' the Duan knew that to be impossible yet seems to go away contented The King sends to the General to let him know that he had undertaken a Reconciliation and therefore would have him frame himself to it but he storms and calls the Duan a thousand Names at last better remembring calms himself returns the King Thanks and a submission to what he shall Command Some few days after the King sends for him as accustomary and he having by that time considered the rashness of what he had done is unwilling to go but being perswaded by some he thought Friends there was no danger and that the King had inwardly more kindness for him than for the Duan to Court he goes and was no sooner entred the Palace Yard but is seiz'd on and clapt into Irons and Prison The Charge against him was for slighting the King's Commands daring to assault one of his Counsellours within his Garrison purloyning the King's Treasure and converting it to his own Use and for refusing to pay several Sums of Money to the Embassadours of the Great Mogul very much to the Dishonour of the King he having pass'd his word for the punctual Payment of them for which and some other things he was Imprison'd and had all his Estate seiz'd on in his House being found in ready Money Five Hundred Thousand new Pagotha's which is about Two Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling besides Jewels wherein he was very Rich having for many Years been Governour of the Diamond Mine of Coulour Immediately after he was seiz'd on the King muster'd the Army pays them their Arrears gives the Command to Musshuke but to their great satisfaction inrolls them in his own Rolls and promiseth to take care of them himself for the Future The Duan is infinitely pleas'd at the fall of the General and thinking he had no Equal in the King's Favour takes upon him to meddle in every Man's matter depriving several of the Benefit of their Places by taking their Business out of their Hands and the King lets him go on without taking notice of small Presumptions so that by degrees he grows so confident of his own Authority and the King's neglect that he begins to do things of the greatest Consequence without acquainting his Majesty and at last having made himself hateful by doing and undoing every Man's Business according to his own Interest and Designs his Ruin was so generally wish'd that there was a necessity of removing so great a grievance which gave the King a fit opportunity of doing what he had so long design'd Notice is therefore given that such a Morning the King intends to appear at the Durbar that is at the place where he usually shows himself to his Nobles so that the Duan and all the rest of his Omrahs or Nobles were to come according to Custom to make their Salam When the King was sat and had a little look'd about him he commands the Duan to stand before him and began to speak to him in so obliging a manner that every one at first verily thought he design'd him some fresh Honour and not Disgrace telling him how particular a kindness he always had for his Person how great a Confidence in his Fidelities and Abilities insomuch that he had left almost the whole Affairs of his Kingdom to his management making him as it were King in Power and contenting himself only with the Name But that to his extreme Discontent he found himself quite deceived in him for he had made use of the good Opinion he had of him and his own great Abilities only to Affront his King and oppress and wrong his fellow Subjects Then in the sharpest Language he could speak tells him of all his Insolencies and Affronts by presuming to do things of the greatest consequence without acquainting him likewise reckons up all the Miscarriages of his Administration then telling him that he preferring his own Honour and the good of the Publick even before his own Life he could not expect he should spare his but Sacrifice it to his own Vindication and publick Justice on the behalf of his oppress'd and injur'd Subjects However as a Reward of some former good Services he had done he gave him his Life and the Government of such a Province commanding him immediately upon the forfeiture of both to retire to his Government and for the future not to meddle with any Business but what concern'd it And so without further Disgrace dismiss'd him not permitting any to affront him but commanding all to respect him as the Governour of a Province The King with Reputation and the infinite satisfaction of his People having thus lad aside his two Partners in the Government as if he thought himself then and not before a King leaves his Retirement dismisses the lew'd Women and Dancers and breaks the Charms of his former Pleasures with the Thoughts of Business which he wholly minds and delights in appears frequently at the Durbar inspects into the whole Affairs of his Kingdom calls for all the
Accounts of his Revenues the auditing of which he leaves to Musshuke who is now the Favourite rewards bountifully punishes not with Death but other ways very severely giving his People great assurance of being happily Govern'd for the future by a Wise and most excellent King THE KINGDOM OF ARRACAN CRossing the Gulph of Bengala and the Out-lets of Ganges Name and Bounds from the Kingdom of Golconda towards the East you arrive in the Kingdom of Arracan by some called Orracan and by Father Tosi sometimes the Empire of Mogo which is a Title lately assum'd by the King Vol. 2. p. 29. probably upon his late Conquests over the Emperour of Pegu to whom he was formerly Tributary and Dependent It is bounded on the North-West by the Kingdom of Bengala some Authors making Chatigam to be its first Frontier City but Texeira and generally the Portuguese Writers reckon that as a City of Bengala and not only so but place the City of Bengala it self upon the same Coast Baudrand more South than Chatigam Tho' I confess a late French Geographer has put Bengala into his Catalogue of imaginary Cities and such as have no real Existence in the World but I wish he had given us a more particular account of his Reasons Along the Coast which is wash'd by the foremention'd Golph it is extended as far as the Cape called by the Portuguese Nigraes where it touches upon Pegu and is inclos'd by it on the South and East Towards the North it borders upon Ava But to fix all these limits to a determinated Point is altogether impossible by reason of those frequent Alterations and new Conquests that are made on the one side or the other daily Arracan The Metropolis Arracan from whence the Kingdom it self takes its Denomination is situate in the middle of a Valley containing no less than fifteen Miles in compass and being inviron'd on all sides with a continued Ridge of steep and craggy Mountains which serve it instead of Walls and appear on the inside as such being artificially cut to resemble the Fortifications of a strong City The Outlets which serve for Gates are hewn out of the Rocks by main force and being defended by Bulwarks make the City impregnable Besides these outward Fortifications it is defended by a Castle of that incredible strength that the King of Brama coming against it with Three Hundred Thousand Men and Forty Thousand Elephants was forc'd to raise the Siege with Disgrace Thro' the Valley runs a large River which Maginus calls Chaberis which dividing it self into several little Rivolets and Streams passes thro' all the streets affording thereby a wonderful Advantage to the City by the ready Conveyance of all sorts of Merchandises and Provisions unto every part thereof At its parting from the City which is said to be about Forty Five or Fifty Miles from the Sea all these little Rivolets are Collected again into two Channels which opening towards the North and South at length fall Westward into the Gulph of Bengala that towards the North at Orietan and the other at Dobazi or Duabacam both which places are much frequented by Merchants but the alternate Ebbings and Flowings of the Sea are so violent especially about the time of the Full Moon that the Ships can hardly ride safely in the Ports But before we leave Arracan to speak of these places it will be convenient to say something of its Buildings which are indeed ordinarily mean tho' there are several spacious Piazza's or Bazars which afford both Conveniences for Markets and tolerable Prospects to the Spectators For Timber they make use of Bambou Cane and instead of Nails tie the pieces together with the smaller sort of the same Cane which when slender and Green is so pliable that it may be wreathed and twisted as you please The Princes and Nobiliry make use of a different sort of Wood and are very profuse in adorning the Insides of their Houses with exquisite Carvings and Guildings Nor are their common sort destitute of Ornaments to set off and Beautifie them The Palace Royal is vastly large but not so beautiful for its structure It is supported with large and tall Pillars made of whole Trees and cover'd over with Gold with Chambers above built with the most precious and odoriferous Wood the East will afford as Red and White Sandal and a sort of Bois de Aquila In the Middle and as it were Center of the Palace stands a great Hall which they call the Golden House because the Inside is wholly over-laid with Gold from the Bottom to the Top and over a rais'd place hangs a Canopy of Massy Gold round which hang above an Hundred Combalenghe as they call them which are large Wedges of the same Mettal made in the Fashion of Sugar-Loaves each of above Forty Pound weigbt Here also are to be seen seven Idols of massie Gold likewise of the heighth of an ordinary Man and about two Fingers in thickness but within hollow which are also adorn'd with precious Stones Rubies Emeralds Saphirs and Diamonds of an exiraordinary Bigness upon their Foreheads Breasts and Arms and about their Middles In the midst of this Hall stands a square Stool of three Hands breadth all of pure Gold which supports a Cabinet of pure Gold also and overlaid with precious Stones containing the two Caneques i. e. two famous Pendants made in the Form of two Pyramids of two Rubies of the length of a Man's little Finger and the Circumference at the base as wide as that of an ordinary Pullets Egg. The Quarrel about these Jewels is said to have caused as much Bloodshed among the Neighbouring Kings hereabouts as might have been sufficient for the obtaining an entire Empire the Contest being not so much for the value of the Jewels as that they are suppos'd to bring along with them a right or at least a claim of Dominion over the Neighbouring Princes And now they are in the Hands of this King but never worn by him except upon the Day of his Coronation In another Apartment stands the Statue of the King of Brama treacherously Murther'd by his Subjects so natural and to the Life that it causes Admiration in all the Spectators which are very Numerous he having obtain'd the Reputation of a great Saint and being fam'd for Curing the Diseases of those that resort to him especially the Bloody Flux In the whole City are numbred no less than six Hundred Pagods or Idol Temples the Inhabitants amounting to an Hundred and Sixty Thousand besides Merchants and Strangers the City as indeed the whole Kingdom being said to be very Populous Not far from this Palace there is a great Lake with many small Islands therein which are Inhabited by their Priests which they call Raulini There are also constantly a great number of Boats running up and down in it but hinder'd from all Communication with the City by a Bank so contriv'd that should they be Besieg'd and
you arrive at Chudabe Chuda which being situate near the Sea and having a commodious Port is also a place much frequented by Strangers Not far from hence lies Cape Nigraes and by it the Island Munay famous for the Religion of the place Cape Nigraes being filled with Pagods and Temples one whereof is called Quiay Figrau or the The Temple of the God of the Atoms of the Sun and another Quiay Doceo the Temple of the God of the afflicted of the Earth and especially for being the place of Residence for the chief of the Raulini whom they sometimes call Xoxom Pungri This Xoxom Pungri is the chief of all the Ecclesiasticks in the Kingdom this Title importing as much among them as Pope at Rome on him depend all Spiritual Causes and he is had in so great veneration not only by the People but even by the King himself that he always places him at his Right Hand and never speaks to him without a profound Reverence This Island is likewise spoke of by Ferd. Mendez Pinto but as in the Dominions of the Emperour of Pegu. He tells us too that he happen'd to be in those parts at the Death of one of those great Men whom he calls only the Roolim of Munay and sets down at length he Ceremonies of his Interment with those of the Election and Inauguration of his Successor which would be too tedious here to recite Let it suffice that the King and all the Grandees of the Court together with all the Ecclesiasticks according to the Antient Custom of Pegu were oblig'd to attend the Funeral the Expences of which which were defraid by the King amounted to an Hundred Thousand Ducats besides the Garments which the King and Nobility gave to Thirty Thousand Priests See Ferd. Mendez Pinto ch 60 61 62. Leaving Munay and doubling the Cape Nigraes you come to Siriam which Tosi makes the last City of Arracan Siriam tho' others account it a City of Pegu. However they differ not in the Situation thereof all placing it upon the Borders of the two Empires But Father Tosi adds that it was thither the Emperour of Mogo retir'd with his Victorious Army laden with the Spoils of the City of Tangu Subject to the King of Brama where he found not only a vast Treasure but the white Elephant and the two Caneques before mention'd The City of Siriam is not at present in that Splendour and flourishing Condition it has formerly been having once been the Metropolis of a Kingdom and the place of Residence for the King and Court and encompass'd with very strong Walls the Foot steps whereof remain to this Day But the last King thereof being in the Year 1567 besieg'd therein by the King of Pegu with an Army of Fifteen Hundred Thousand Men and having sustain'd a tedious Siege to the Destruction of no less than the third part of the Enemies Army when he could no longer hold out rather than fall into their Hands destroy'd himself by Poison leaving the City with all its Nobles and Treasury a Prey to the Conquerour who Transported them to Pegu. From this place to Arracan you may pass by Barges along a small River that runs between them In short this Kingdom of Arracan or Empire of Mogo is said to comprehend twelve lesser Kingdoms and twenty four Provinces of which besides those already mention'd my Authors have not given me so much as their Names Inhabitants OF ARRACAN THE Inhabitants of Arracan Tosi vol. 2. pag. 46. Features and Diet. for their Shapes and Features seem most to affect those which are most contemned by those of other Nations they prize a broad and flat Forehead to effect which they bind a Plate of Lead hard upon the Fore-heads of their Children as soon as they are born which they do not remove 'till it has had its effect Their Nostrils are large and open their Eyes small but Quick their Ears reach down to their Shoulders like the Malabars and no Colour is so pleasing to them as a dark Purple In their Feasts they have always plenty of Provisions but such as are neither pleasing to the Eye nor grateful to the Palate They mix with their choicest Dishes Rats and Mice and Serpents c. which to those that are not accustom'd to see such things upon their Tables are very offensive Fish they never eat but when putrid and Corrupted affirming them then to have the sweetest Relish Of these also they make a kind of Mustard which they call Sidol taking out the back-bone and beating their Putrid Flesh into a Consistency after it has been dried in the Sun and with this they sprinkle all their Victuals The poorer sort especially make use for this purpose of a Fish so rotten and of so ill a savour that no man can pass by the places where 't is prepar'd without stopping his Nose The Richer use Crab-fish less Corrupted with some other Ingredients mixt therewith which makes it less unsavoury Their manner is to set upon the Table a Hundred or two Hundred small Dishes at once that every one may taste what he likes best but Bread they have none instead of that serving themselves of Rice either parch'd or bruis'd or otherwise order'd by them in the Flower Customs about the Sick When they are sick they make use of the Physician but send for the Raulini who are their Priests who coming to them blow upon them with their Mouths and repeat some certain Prayers over them which if it immediately effects not the Cure as you may believe it seldom does then they make use of the opportunity of making their Advantage of the Patient They tell him he must offer a Sacrifice to Chaor-Baos i. e. the God of the four Winds who they perswade them is the Author of all Distempers This Sacrifice they call Calouco consisting of fat Capons and Hens Hoggs and other Creatures according to the Abilities of the Sick Person and must be repeated four times to every Wind distinctly if he does not recover before upon all which the Raulini's feast themselves with a great deal of Jollity But if all this does not avail to the driving away the Distemper then must the Wife or nearest Relation of the infirm Person make a solemn Vow to perform if he recovers another Ceremony which they call a Talagno The performance whereof is thus the Person that makes the Vow having provided a Convenient Chamber and hanged it with the richest Tapestry and erected an Idol upon an Altar at the end thereof with other necessary Preparations upon the Day appointed the Priests and Relations of the Sick repair to the place and are entertain'd with most sumptuous Feasts for Eight Days together all sorts of Musick attending all the time But what is the most absurd part thereof the Person that makes the Vow is oblig'd to dance as long as he is able to stand and when his Legs will support him no longer he must take hold of
This Letter was sent by a faithful Servant of Aureng-Zebe's into his Sons Camp who pretended to come from him to his Father but was there stopp'd and the Letter open'd and read and the Resbouts upon it were so inrag'd that all the Protestations Cha-Egber could make were impossible to appease them or perswade their Engagement of themselves any longer in his Service Some therefore left him and others refused to advance a step forwards 'till Aureng-Zebe had time given him to unite his strength and muster his Forces whereby he vanquisht the Enemy and forc'd his Son to a speedy flight In this disgrace and haste he fled to Persia where he was honourably entertain'd by that Emperour Cha-Egber's flight to Persia with all those Lords that attended his Flight and is since married at that Court to the Emperour's Daughter He daily waits for some favourable Revolution when he may return to India again whither he hopes to be recall'd by his Father's death and with the powerful Alliance and Aid of Persia and the united Interest of his Friends in India he expects to gain the Crown he unfortunately lost and establish his glory in that Kingdom to which he is now forced to continue on Exile Whenever the Indian Emperour is proclaim'd 't is with Publick Jubilee Great Rejoycing at the Proclaiming of the Emperour with Songs and Musick Mirth and Revellings with Fireworks and gawdy Shows in all parts of the Kingdom on this day their Ships hang out their Flags and Ensigns and expose their Pendants not only at the Top-mast-head but deck the Shrowds with ten or twenty more The Crown he wears is of invaluable price and the Throne he ascends is reckon'd at 300 Lack of Roupies Each Lack is one hundred thousand Roupies which with us is 11250 l. Sterling reckoning a Roupie at 2 s. 3 d. Neither are these Solemnities observ'd upon an Anniversary day only according to European Customs but in Cities Garrisons and places of note it obtains a weekly Celebration not with extraordinary Illuminations and publick joyful Feasts but with something of Mirth and Musick more than usual Sunday is the day of the Inauguration of the present Mogul and solemnized with the Musick of the Trumpets at Suratt in the Castle there I wisht when first I saw it that they had converted the Civil into a Religious observation of that day There is another day in India as well as England The 5th of November remarkable in India which is eminently remarkable the 5th of November This day the great Mogul is weighed and if it 's found that he has increas'd in bulk above what he weighed the preceding Year The Weighing of the Mogul this adds excess of Mirth and Joy to the Solemnity but if he prove lighter in the Scales this diminishes their Triumphs and damps their chearful Entertainments The Grandees and Officers of State prepare for this Feast two Months before its approach what costly Jewels and curious Rarities they can any where meet with which they present to the Emperour at this Ceremony either to secure his Favour or to ingratiate with him for a more exalted station or Honourable Employ The Moguls are sometimes weighed against Silver which has been distributed to the Poor When any Indian Subject stands so fair in the Eye of his Prince New names given by the Mogul to his Subjects as to be raised to some advanc'd degree of Trust or Honour he acquires at the same time a new Name according to the Prince's Fancy according to what we read in Dan. 1.7 Thus the preceding Governour of Suratt was named Muck Teer Chan i. e. Lord after my own Heart the present is stiled Anamat Chan or Conscientious Lord because of his Fidelity and Integrity For all the Lands of Indoston belonging intirely to the Mogul the Omrahs there cannot derive their Titles from their Earldoms Lordships or Mansion-Houses as with us because they are none of their Propriety only Tenants at will during the Mogul's pleasure and therefore the Mogul confers upon them such Names of Dignity as by their personal Conduct or Accomplishment he thinks they merit And as he bestows Titles proper to his Generals of Invincible or Victorious so to his Nabobs or Governours he bethinks himself of Names suitable to their Stations or his Opinion of their Excellencies and Endowments This is a common thing practis'd likewise in other Kingdoms of the East The King of Siam's Name conceal'd as at Siam the King there gives Names not only to his Domesticks and Mandarins or Nobles but to his very Elephants Tho his own Name is industriously conceal'd lest his Enemies by some Enchantment might work upon it Thus Pharaoh called Joseph's Name Zaphnath-Paaneah Gen. 41.45 and Job called his Eldest Daughter Jemimah i. e. clear as the Day The 2d Keziah i. e. Pleasant as Cassia or sweet Spice The 3d. Keren-happuck that is Horn or strength of Beauty The dependance upon the Prince's Favour makes Obsequiousness fashionable The flattery of the Eastern Subjects and Flattery practis'd in all the Courts of the East So that tho' they require an account of their Affairs and expect to be informed yet they think it a diminution to their Grandeur to be acquainted with any thing that may disgust or told any thing that looks displeasing Except among the Chinese with whom the liberty of Admonishing their Emperour was established by a Law The freedom used by the K. of China's Subjects with him which impowred them to use importunate Applications to him upon any failure and caus'd them instantly to remind him of taking care of his Life and Actions and that the virtuous Pattern of his Royal Behaviour was the best and only method for deriving Justice Integrity and Loyalty upon his Magistrates and People They likewise admonished him that if he deviated from the transcendant Virtues of his Ancestors his Subjects would inevitably digress from their Duties of Allegiance and Fidelity to him For it is a receiv'd Maxim among those People That the Subjects are like Ears of Corn wherewith a Field is cover'd and the Morals of their Emperour are like a Wind which inclines them which way it pleaseth But the Indian Emperours are incontroulable in what they say as well as in their Actions so far that it is an allowed Maxim in this Court Court Flattery That if they say at Noon-day it is Night you are to answer Behold the Moon and the Stars This flattery of their Subjects has made them fancy themselves more than Demi-Gods and vaunt themselves in the most exorbitant swelling Titles Thus the Emperour of Japan calls himself Son of the Sun Proud Titles of the Eastern Kings and for this Reason when the Imperial Diadem is upon his Head will never after appear in the sight of the Moon for fear of debasing his Gratness and because he thinks it would Eclipse his Glory Thus the present Mogul's Father stiled himself Cha-Jehan i. e.
has not alter'd these hundred Years as is evident from Journals of that date On May the 16th about ten at Night we came to an Anchor at the Cape Our Arrival at the Cape but the Commander being a Stranger in the Bay fir'd two Guns to signifie we were in Distress which presently brought two Dutch Masters on board us who told us that we Anchor'd in bad ground whereupon we weighed and stood near the Shoar and there dropt our Anchor in better We found in the Road ten Dutch-East India Ships most of them of good Burthen richly laden bound for Europe these staid expecting two or three more from the Indies and six had sail'd a little before from thence to Holland And every Year the Dutch Trade to the Indies employs near 20 Ships and as many return home The prodigious advantage of the Dutch E. I. Company which with the Trade that they drive there where they Traffick with at least an Hundred Sail advances their Profits to some hundred Thousands I had almost said some Millions every Year For by their very Commerce at Suratt which is inconsiderable in respect of the Advantage which they reap from several other Factories in India that not exceeding the twentieth part they reckon an Annual Gain after the deduction of all Expences of their Factory of fifteen hundred thousand Gildars which in English Money rises almost to an hundred and fifty thousand Pounds This Account I had from one intimately acquainted with those Concerns The Harbour of the Cape The Harbour here is very safe and commodious for Ships free from all inconvenience and Danger except it be towards mid Winter which is there in June at the Suns approaching the Tropick of Cancer then the North-West Winds blow sometimes so very fierce that the Ships are unable to ride against them For by a violent Gust from that Quarter in A. 1692 about the latter end of May two Dutch and one English Ship not able to bear up against the fury of the Weather were driven upon the Shoar and Foundred The Convenience of the Cape to the Dutch All the Holland East India Ships both those outward and homeward bound touch in here for fresh Provisions and furnish the place with plenty of all Commodities both from India and Europe By which means there is scarce one part of all the Tripartite Continent that is furnisht with that abundance of Conveniences which the Cape can boast of And that I may present the Reader with a more regular Account of this famous Promontory and give him a more methodical Idea of the place The method of this Discourse I shall insist upon the following Description of it in this manner First in observing its situation its pleasant Air and fertile Soil Secondly in considering the Nature and Customs of its Original Inhabitants And thirdly in shewing the Profit and Convenience which this Plantation affords the Dutch First therefore the Cape of Good Hope is situated between thirty four and thirty five Degrees of South Latitude The Situation of this Cape and is the furthermost Tract of our Continent towards the most Southern part of Africa and esteem'd by all the most Renown'd Promontory in the World The Greeks and Latins as far as we can see have had no certain knowledge of it much less those before them yet from some Ancient Authors it is evident that the Barbarians that is the strange Nations have made or caused to be made the Circum-navigation of Africa which could not be done without knowing of this Cape It s Discovery Bartholomew Diaz was the Portuguese who first discover'd it in A. 1487 which occasion'd Emanuel King of Portugal to give it the name of Cape Bone Esperanse because he hoped a Passage would be open'd to the E. Indies by the doubling of it which accordingly happen'd to the mighty inriching of his Kingdom and of his Subjects who settled there It was the second time discover'd by Vasco da Gama in A. 1497 at the command of Don Emanuel King of Portugal And was at those times esteem'd so dangerous a Promontory that the Navigators were wont to call it the Lyon of the Ocean or the Tempestuous Cape because of the ruffling Weather and boisterous Winds which used to discourage their touching upon it The storms at the Cape unless they were constrain'd by some Necessity The Thunder and Lightning and Impetuous Storms which have been observ'd upon the Cape Sierra Leona have made some conjecture that this place was called by Ptolomy and Hanno of Carthage the Chariot of the Gods And to this day if the Ships from India are retain'd beyond their proper Season of returning they sometimes beat the Ocean at the Cape for a Week or a Fortnights space and after all that Toil and Danger are forc'd upon retiring to the Island Mauritius 'till the Winter is past The inaccessible Heights and craggy Clifts of some of the Mountains towards the South have made the Portuguese give them the name of Os Picos Fragosos i. e. sharp-pointed because they rear their lofty forlorn Heads so high in the Clouds The Neighbourhood of Cape Bone Esperanse The Reason of the coolness of the Air at the Cape to that vast Ocean towards the South cools the Air to some Degrees beyond what the proportion of that Latitude might otherwise seem to give For in the same Degree North as Mariners observe particularly where there is not the Extent of so wide an Ocean the coolness of the Air is not so perceptible The reason of it may be the spacious spreading Tract of Sea which gives the Air once agitated more liberty to continue its motion and constantly to increase its Coldness which on the contrary is straitn'd and repress'd on Land by the meeting of Mountains Trees Houses and other Obstacles and therefore not so impetuous neither so Cold because the Sulphureous Vapours which arise from the Earth and make fiery Exhalations often intermixing with the Nitrous which make Wind qualify them in some measure As at Suratt the Winds are by much Hotter which fly over the Land to us than those that come from the Sea The South Winds here therefore are observ'd to be the coolest because they blow from the great Sea The Air however is not scorching here for this Reason nor very Cold because of its nearness to the Fountain of Heat The moderation of the Climate It has no excesses but what are tolerable to Children nor any thing offensive to Old Age. 'T is temperate and sweet healthful and pleasant and is very agreeable to the Constitution of the Dutch as well as the Natives to whom it gives Activity and Vigour It quarrels with no kind of natural Temper and cherishes all sorts of Animals as well as Plants Nor did I ever know any that had been in this Paradise of the World who denied it the Character of one of the loveliest Regions they had ever seen
Francis Douee A VOYAGE TO SURATT A VOYAGE TO SURATT In the Year 1689. Giving a large Account of that City and its Inhabitants and of the English Factory there Likewise a Description of Madeira St. Jago Annobon Cabenda and Malemba upon the Coast of Africa St. Helena Johanna Bombay the City of Muscatt and its Inhabitants in Arabia Felix Mocha and other Maritine Towns upon the Red-Sea the Cape of good Hope and the Island Ascention To which is addded an Appendix containing I. The History of a late Revolution in the Kingdom of Golconda II. A description of the Kingdoms of Arracan and Pegu. III. An Account of the Coins of the Kingdoms of India Persia Golconda c. IV. Observations concerning the Silk worms By J. Ovington M. A. Chaplain to his Majesty Qui mores Hominum multorum vidit urbes Horat. Orbesque novos trans aequora pandit Grot. LONDON Printed for Jacob Tonson at the Judges Head in Fleet-street near the Inner-Temple-Gate 1696. To his EXCELLENCY CHARLES Earl of Dorset and Middlesex Lord Chamberlain of his Majesty's Household Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter c. And one of the Lords Justices of England May it please your Excellency AS the Eastern Princes upon the News of any Foreigner's Arrival are wont to expect some Curiosities of the Place from whence he came to prepare the way for his Reception and Introduce the Stranger into their Presence so in imitation of this respectful Custom this Foreign Voyage hopes for admittance to your Favour and Acceptance upon that Stock of Novelty which it presumes upon and which it brings with it as well from Africa as several remoter Parts and Kingdoms of the East For in those Places there are several Things here taken notice of which have escap'd the Observations of other Travellers I need not mention my Lord with what facility you can employ your Judgment to penetrate into all that is any where useful whilst your vigorous Fancy can as readily present to you all that is divertive in its Entertainment And tho' I confess I have very great Reason to dread the strictness of your Censure upon the strength of your admirable Endowments yet methinks I find a relief to this Fear in that Native Candor which so easily tempers the Accuracy of your Thoughts with favourable Constructions But I will not transgress those Measures of Civility of which your EXCELLENCY is so absolute a Master by being too tedious in this Address nor there violate those Decencies and Respects which your Practice recommends so fully to the World and of which none have had more sensible Demonstration than my self Especially considering how much is due to you from the Sacred Order which you treat with that constant uncommon Civility as if you design'd to ballance that Contempt which is too apt to be cast upon it Imitating as in other Perfections so in this too the Ancient Poets who instructed Men in Reverencing not only the Gods but in a due Regard to such as were their immediate Servants and in all things maintaining still that Greatness by your Munificence which you freely part with in your Condescensions I need not determine with how much Reason the Eastern Subjects ascribe this Character to their Emperours That their Royal Condition is owing to their Merits and that they as far transcend other Mortals in those as they do in Power but I am satisfied 't is the unquestionable Loyalty Prudence Greatness of Mind and other Virtues which have justly rais'd you to that Sphere wherein you move kindly influencing the Affairs of this great Kingdom and from whence you look down like the Heavenly Bodies from the highest Orb with a kind and obliging Aspect And that their other Opinion of their Princes That they are the Adopted Sons of Heaven may be your happy Portion too is not more unfeignedly desir'd by any than Your EXCELLENCY's Most Obedient Most Obliged and Devoted Servant J. Ovington TO Mr. J. OVINGTON ON HIS VOYAGE TO SURATT HArd is our Task to Read with fruitless Pain The Dreams of ev'ry Cloyster'd Writers Brain Who yet presume that Truth 's firm Paths they tread When all the while through wild Utopia's led With Faiery-Feasts instead of Science fed As dreaming Wizzards Midnight Journeys take And weary with imagin'd Labour wake So vain is Speculation's fancy'd Flight But search of Nature gives sincere Delight Through her vast Book the World a curious Eye May Wonders in each pregnant Page descry Make new Remarks which Reason may reduce To Humane Benefit and Publick Use Then Happy they who quit their private Home And gen'rously through Foreign Climates roam Who like Ulysses can despise the Toil And make each Land they meet their Native Soil See Men and Manners scarce by Rumour known Visit all Countreys to improve their own But ah how few my Friend with your Design On such Discov'ries bound have cross'd the Line For sordid Gain new Worlds they will descry Seize Nature's Wealth but pass her Wonders by Their Fleet returns opprest with Trafficks Weight But Knowledge makes no part of all the Freight Yet this of Old was Jason's Noble Prize 'T was this that plac'd his Argo in the Skies Experience was the far-fetcht Golden Fleece The Prize so much admir'd by Ancient Greece From whence may be inferr'd what Thanks are due From Britain's Sons Industrious Friend to you Fame shall in State your useful Book Install In Bodley's Pile the Muses Capitol You have so lively your Discoveries Writ We Read and Voyage with you as we sit With you hoise Sail and reach the Indian shore The real Scene cou'd scarce delight us more As when some Prophet from a Trance awakes And to Attentive Crowds Description makes Of Wonders which he did in Rapture view The Listners think they see the Vision too Thus Entertain'd with Nature and with Art We hear your Travels told and well-pleas'd Guests depart N. TATE THE CONTENTS OF THE Principal Places and Things THE Island of Madeira p. 4 The Island of St. Jago 38 The Island of Annobon 54 The Coast of Africa 59 Malemba on the Coast of Africa 73 The Island of St. Helena 89 The Island of Johanna 108 The Island of Bombay 129 The Island of Elephanta 158 Of the Great Mogul 165 The City of Suratt 214 The Moor Inhabitants of Suratt 235 The Bannians at Suratt 275 The Faquires near Suratt 359 The Persies at Suratt 371 The Halalchors at Suratt 382 The English Factory at Suratt 385 The Confinement of the English at Suratt in the Year 1691 1692. 410 Muscatt in Arabia Felix 420 Mocha and other Places on the Red Sea 447 The Cape of Good Hope 479 The Island of Ascention 512 The late Revolution in the Kingdom of Golconda 525 The Kingdom of Arracan 553 The Kingdom of Pegu. 583 The several Coyns in India Persia c. Observations concerning the Nature of the Silk-worms 599 The Reader is desir'd to Correct these Errata following viz. PAge
182. line 25. after the Throne read the Titles of the King of Bisnagar p. 109. l. 9. for gralis r. gratis p. 171. l 8. r. pursue for persue p. 393. l. 11. for place r. plate p. 397. l. 10. for added r. clodded p. 493. l. ult dele of before all A VOYAGE TO SURATT c. ON April the 11th The Ship 's departure from England 1689. the Memorable Day whereon their Majesties King William and Queen Mary were Crown'd did the Ship Benjamin break ground from Gravesend towards her intended Voyage to Suratt in the East Indies Whither she was sent as an Advice-Ship of that wonderful Revolution whereby their Sacred Majesties were peaceably setled in the Throne and had been receiv'd with the Universal Joy of all the Nation In all places where we came we were welcomed with loud and chearful Acclamations and were entertain'd with unusual Congratulations and Respect as happy Messengers of as grateful News as ever arrived in those Parts They were every where truly sensible of their unexpected Deliverance from that Misery and Thraldom which even there threatned them and likewise of the invaluable Blessing of living under a Peaceable Government free from their former Apprehensions either of violence upon their Temporal Enjoyments or disturbance to the Tranquility of their Minds We had not long left the Lands-End of England before we espied a great Fleet of Ships which appear'd to us at a distance like a floating Forest and seiz'd us with no little Consternation Their lying off not far from Brest made us for some time conjecture them to be French till we were happily undeceived by the approach of an English Frigot which discover'd them to be Friends However one of our Company who had faithfully ingaged to stand by us and on whose Assistance we depended without any Ceremony being apprehensive of the danger clapt upon a wind and so left us After this we kept on our course with a favourable Wind till we arrived at Madeira a small Island appertaining to the Crown of Portugal situated about the Two and Thirtieth Degree of Latitude it is in length about Twenty Five Miles about Eight or Ten broad and Sixty in its Circumference THE ISLAND OF MADEIRA The Island of Madeira THis Island as we are inform'd by good Historians was first discover'd by John Gonsalvo and Tristan under the Patronage of Henry Infanto of Portugal But the present Inhabitants give us a different Account of its Discovery viz. That in the Year 1344. an English Gentleman The discovery of this Island by the English having Married a Lady of a considerable Fortune and setting out with her for France from the Port of Bristol was by gusty weather and opposite winds driven into this Island Where upon his Landing finding it a forlorn Place both Uncultivated and Unpeopled he fell into an extream fit of Melancholy and yielding too much to that black Distemper contributed by his own Death to make it still the more desolate The Mariners however who were not so readily dejected at this Misadventure set Sail with their Vessel and landed safely on the Coast of Barbary where after some Refreshment and Respite upon the place they fortunately fell into the Company of some Ingenious Portuguese to whom after a little Conference they Related the Hardships of the Voyage the Situation and Native Pleasantness of the uninhabited but most habitable Island they had left and the just hopes and prospect they had of regaining a sight of it were they but provided with Ships and Men. This excited the Attention of the Portuguese and likewise without much reluctancy procur'd their Promise of endeavouring with their Prince to incline him to hearken to these Proposals and likewise to equip them with Necessaries and Conveniencies for a second Undertaking And succeeding with him according to their wishes they set forward found the Island landed their Men and in a short time converted the Wilderness into a Garden of Pleasure The discovery of this Island by the Portuguese Some say Madeira was discover'd by the Portuguese in Anno 1429. and deriv'd its Name from the abundance of Wood that grew there It was overspread with Wildernesses and plenty of Trees which gave it this Name as with one intire Wood the tedious thoughts of cutting down which perswaded them to a more speedy Method of destroying it by fire After it was kindled the Flames grew to such a head raged so violently and by degrees became so furious that the People were forc'd for their Ease and Preservation to betake themselves to the water to avoid the violence of the heat The reason of the fruitfulness of the Island The remaining Ashes contributed so much to the Fertility of the Ground that it at first produced sixty for one the fruitful Vines brought forth more Grapes than Leaves Clusters of two or three spans length and in all its Products their Beauty and Fertility were so remarkable that it gain'd the Title of the Queen of Islands It s good Air. The Air here to which the Pleasure as well as Health of Humane Life is so much owing is generally very Temperate and undisturbed and the Heavens smiling and serene For those Climates which are placed between the Thirtieth and Fortieth Degrees of Latitude enjoy a Temperature generally very equal and convenient infested neither with the excess of Heat nor rigid Coldness but moderately participating of those troublesome Extreams They seem indisputably to be most suited to the Pleasantness of Humane Life and accommodated to our Constitutions affording that delight to the Body which Virtue imparts to the Mind in avoiding all excesses as dangerous and ungrateful and opposite to the Ease as well of the Sensitive as Intellectual Part. The principal Town is Tunchal or Tonzal some of them term it Funchal The Metropolis from the abundance of Fennel which they say grew there 'T is the sole place of Trade from whence they Export all their Wine and their Sugar which is esteem'd superiour to any in the world The adjacent Rural Places are very Mountainous but however they Rival the Valleys in Fruftfulness and Delight tho both are much fallen from their Primitive Fertility and instead of sixty for one which was the Original Increase The present decay of the Island 's Fertility have gradually descended to twenty five Seven or eight Rivers with variety of Rivulets refresh the place which fall down from the Mountains which notwithstanding their heighth and steepness are Planted and Improv'd as well as the most Champaign ground in England At the utmost top of the high Hills the Corn thrives well but the abundance of Clouds that breed there are prejudicial to the Grapes Four sorts of Grapes that make the Wine The main product of the Island is Grapes brought hither first from Candy of which there are three or four kinds whereof they make their Wine One is coloured like Champaign of little esteem another is