Beaumont found him in a most
miserable condition, the wounds or sores occasioned by the torture bound
up, but the blood and matter issuing through the bandages. Taking Mr
Beaumont by the hand, he conjured him, when he came to England, to offer
his duty to the Honourable Company, and others of his friends whom he
named, and to assure them he died innocent, as was well known to
Beaumont.
It is needless to dwell upon the minute circumstances of the catastrophe
of this bloody tragedy: Suffice it to say, that ten Englishmen, one
Portuguese, and eleven Japanese, were publicly executed; of whom the
following is a list:
English.
Capt. Gabriel Towerson, agent for the English at Amboina.
Samuel Colson, factor at Hitto.
Emanuel Thomson, assistant at Amboina.
Timothy Johnson, assistant at the same place.
John Wetheral, assistant at Cambello.
John Clark, assistant at Hitto.
William Griggs, factor at Larika.
John Fardo, steward of the factory at Amboina.
Abel Price, surgeon to that factory.
Robert Brown, tailor.
The only Portuguese was Augustine Perez, born in Bengal, who was
superintendant of the slaves in the employment of the English at
Amboina.
Japanese.
Hititso, Tsiosa, and Sinsa, natives of Firando.
Sidney Migial, Pedro Congie, Thomas Corea, from Nangasaki.
Quinandaya, a native of Coaets.
Tsabinda, a native of Tsoncketgo.
Zanchae, a native of Fisien.
Besides these, there were two other Japanese tortured, who both
confessed a participation in the pretended plot, but were not executed,
or even condemned, for reasons which the surviving English did not
learn. The executions were all by cutting off the heads of the condemned
with a scymitar; and the Dutch prepared a black velvet pall for Captain
Towerson's body to fall upon, which they afterwards had the effrontery
to charge in account against the English East India Company.
SECTION XV.
OBSERVATIONS DURING A RESIDENCE IN TISLAND OF CHUSAN, IN 1701, BY DOCTOR
JAMES CUNNINGHAM; WITH SOME EARLY NOTICES RESPECTING CHINA.[318]
Among the early voyages of the English to the East Indies, none have
been preserved that were made to China, nor have we been able to
discover any satisfactory account of the commencement of the trade of
our East India Company with that distant country, now said to be by far
the most profitable branch of the exclusive commerce. In the Annals of
the Company,[319] several references are made to the China trade, but
more in the nature of notices or memoranda for the purpose of after
investigation, than as conveying any actual information on the subject.
In this singular paucity of materials, we are reduced to the following
short "Observations and Remarks, by Doctor James Cunningham, made during
his Residence as Physician to the English Factory at the Island of
Chusan, on the Coast of China." Doctor Cunningham is stated by Harris to
have been a fellow of the Royal Society, distinguished by his natural
talents and acquired accomplishments, well versed in ancient and modern
learning, and to have diligently used these advantages in making
judicious remarks on the places where he resided in the service of the
Company.
