Ships Fitted, Either To Trade Or To Fight, And Having On Board A
Great Number Of Soldiers, Were Sent Out Within A Very Few Years After The
Establishment Of The Company.
Amboyna and the Moluccas were first entirely
wrested from the Portuguese:
Factories and settlements were in process of
time established from Balsora, at the mouth of the Tigris in the Persian
Gulf; along the coasts and islands of India, as far as Japan. Alliances
were formed with many of the Indian princes: and in many parts,
particularly on the coasts of Ceylon, and at Pulicat, Masulipatam,
Negapatam, and other places along the coasts of Coromandel and Malabar,
they were themselves, in fact, the sovereigns. The centre of all their
Indian commerce was fixed at Batavia in Java, the greatest part of this
island belonging to them. From this general sketch of the extent of
country, which was embraced, either by their power or their commerce, it is
evident that the Indian trade was almost monopolized by them; and as they
wisely employed part of the wealth which it produced, to establish and
defend their possessions, they soon became most formidable in this part of
the world, sending out a fleet of 40 or 50 large ships, and an army of
30,000 men.
They were not, however, content, but aimed at wresting from the Portuguese
almost the only trade which remained to them; viz. their trade with China.
In this attempt they did not succeed; but in the year 1624, they
established themselves at Formosa. Soon after this, the conquest of China
by the Tartars, induced or compelled an immense number of Chinese to leave
their native country and settle in Formosa. Here they carried on a very
extensive and lucrative trade; and Formosa became the principal mart of
this part of Asia. Vessels from China, Japan, Siam, Java, and the
Philippines, filled its harbours. Of this commerce the Dutch availed
themselves, and derived great wealth from it, for about forty years, when
they were driven out of the island. In 1601, the Dutch received permission
to trade to Japan, but this privilege was granted under several very strict
conditions, which were, however, relaxed in 1637, when they discovered a
conspiracy of the Spaniards, the object of which was to dethrone the
emperor, and seize the government. The jealousy of the Japanese, however,
soon revived; so that by the end of the seventeenth century, the lucrative
commerce which the Dutch carried on with this island for fine tea,
porcelaine, lacquered or Japan ware, silk, cotton, drugs, coral, ivory,
diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones, gold, silver, fine copper,
iron, lead, and tin; and in exchange for linen, and woollen cloths,
looking-glasses, and other glass ware; and the merchandize of India,
Persia, and Arabia, was almost annihilated.
Before proceeding to narrate the events which arose from the arrival of the
English in the East Indies, and the effects produced on the Dutch power and
commerce there, by their arrival, it will be proper to take a short notice
of the commerce of the Dutch to the other parts of the world.
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