We Shall Conclude Our Notice Of Ceylon, As Described By Cosmas, From The
Account Of Sopatrus, With Mentioning A Few Miscellaneous Particulars,
Illustrative Of The Produce And Commerce Of The Island.
The sovereignty was
held by two kings; one called the king of the Hyacinth, or the district
above the Ghants, where the precious stones were found; the other possessed
the maritime districts.
In Ceylon, elephants are sold by their height; and
he adds, that in India they are trained for war, whereas, in Africa, they
are taken only for their ivory. Various particulars respecting the natural
history of Ceylon and India, &c. are given, which are very accurate and
complete: the cocoa-nut with its properties is described: the pepper plant,
the buffalo, the camelopard, the musk animal, &c.: the rhinoceros, he says,
he saw only at a distance; he procured some teeth of the hippopotamus, but
never saw the animal itself. In the palace of the king of Abyssinia, the
unicorn was represented in brass, but he never saw it. It is extraordinary
that he makes no mention of cinnamon, as a production of Ceylon.
The most important points respecting the state of Eastern commerce in the
age of Cosmas, as established by his information, are the following: that
Ceylon was the central mart between the commerce of Europe, Africa, and the
west of India, and the east of India and China; that none of the foreign
merchants who visited Ceylon were accustomed to proceed to the eastern
regions of Asia, but received their silks, spices, &c. as they were
imported into Ceylon; and that, as cloves are particularly specified as
having been imported into Ceylon from China, the Chinese at this period
must have traded with the Moluccas on the one hand, and with Ceylon on the
other.
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