The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 429 pages of information about The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10.

The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 429 pages of information about The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10.

[Sidenote:  The Emperour ment to fall vpon the ships to rob them.] The 8. of Iuly the Emperour sent vnto our ships, and offered to make them a banket, bidding all the Captaines, maisters, Pilots, Gentlemen, Officers, Trumpets, and Gunners to come into the towne to him, and there he woulde make merrie with them:  This was done by the Portingalles aduise, thereby to haue all the chiefe and principall men out of our ships, but we perceiued their intent.

The 11. of Iuly the Emperour perceyuing that his deuise would not take place; hee went from Bantam to Iacatra.

The 12. of Iuly wee had a house offered vs within the towne.

The 13. of the same month Reyner van Hel with eyght Gentlemen went into the towne, taking certaine wares with him, of euery thing a little, and laid it in the house appointed for the purpose:  there to keep a ware house and to sel our marchandise, and presently both Gentlemen and Marchants came thither to buy and to sell vs Pepper.

The 15. and 16. many Gentlemen, Marchants, Chinars, and Arabians came to out warehouse and into our ships, offering vs Pepper, but our Factor offered them to little a price.

The 25. of Iuly the Gouernour came againe aborde our shippes, and there looked vppon certaine of our wares, whereof hee bought some, and counselled vs to buy Pepper:  [Sidenote:  The hatred of the Portingalles against them.] About the same time the Portingalles made great sute vnto the Gouernour, promising him many giftes to deny vs traffike, and to constraine vs to depart from thence, saying we were no marchantes, but that we came to spie the countrie, for they said that they had seene many Fleminges in Lisbone, but none like vs:  Among the Portingalles there was one that was borne in Malacca, of the Portingalles race, his name was Pedro Truide, a man well seene in trauayling, and one that had beene in all places of the world:  He was our good friend, and euery day came to talke with our Captaines, saying, you do not well that you make no more haste to take in your lading, you shall haue no better cheape wares, and withall shewed vs many other things:  wherevpon the Portingalles hated him, and not long after he was murthered in his bed.

In August we did little, and tooke no great store of lading in seeking to haue Pepper better cheape, which the Portingalles liked not well of, and saide vnto the Gouernour, that we desired not to buy; which the Gouernour began to hearken vnto, for they offered great summes of money that hee shoulde not permit vs traffique, so that in the end hee commaunded that no man shoulde carrie any Ryce aborde our shippes, whereby we were abashed, and thereupon we sent vnto the Gouernour for our money which hee ought for the wares hee had bought, which moued him.

The 26. of Iuly hee sent one of our Gentlemen with some of his men and nine slaues abord our ships.

The situation of the towne of Bantam, the principall towne of traffique in
  the Island of Iaua, their strength and manner of building, with their
  traffique, what people come thither, what wares are there most desired,
  what nations bring them thither, or come to fetch them, together with
  their religion, customes and manner of house keeping.

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The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.