Hamilton’s account of the east indies. 267

lotted them. As foon as the boys can fpeak a little Portugueze, they are baptized,.and fo become very zealous Catholics , fit to execute any bafe defigns their ghoftly fa-thers {hall think fit to put them on ; and after baptifm, they have a little crucifix, or afaint of brafs or ivory, hung about their necks, which they are as fond of as a monkeyis of a young kitten to play with.

And fome that have the good fortune to be young and docile, and fall into thehands of a zealous fuperftitious mailer, are brought up to letters, and in the end cometo be priefts. I have known many coal-black priefts about Goa .

The country of Quiloa lies between Mofambique and Mombafs ; its fea-coaft is dan-gerous, which admits of no trade but in boats. The diftance between Mofambiqueand Mombafs is about 225 leagues.

Mombafs is alfo an illand that lies near the continent, {lightly fortified by art, butvery well by nature ; it belonged to the Portugueze for near 200 years, but in anno1698, the Mulkat Arabs took it with very little trouble, and put about 20 Portuguezeto the fword, that were there to defend it, and the conquerors found a booty of about200 tuns of teeth, which was worth in India , about 125,0001. fterling. The elephantsof this country are very large, and fo are the men, who are all barbarians, exceptthofe who were near neighbours to the Portugueze, who, for conveniency, were bap-tized, and became good Catholicks; and fince the Arabians are become their neigh-bours, they are turned very zealous muffulmen, which religion pleafes their ftupiditybetter, being better adapted to their humours, and dear cuftom of polygamy andconcubinage.

Patta is now in the hands of the Muflcat Arabs, and affords good {lore of teeth andHaves for Mulkat. Formerly the Englilh, Portugueze, and Moors from India , had afmall, but advantageous trade thither, which the Arabs envied them of, and fent acolony about the year 1692, and fettled there, prohibiting commerce with all othernations. The inland countries are inhabitated by barbarians, but on the fea-coafts ofMagadoxa, Zeyla and Yeman , to Cape Guardafoy, which ftretches about 330 leaguesnorth eaftward. The religion, by law eftablilhed, is Mahometan, yet every countryretains fome fragments of their ancient cuftoms and ceremonies, with the traditions oftheir fathers. The Arabians from Mocha, and other parts of Arabia the Happy, whoreckon themfelves Mahomet’s bell difciples, and who have travelled much to teachand 'confirm them in their religion and philology, declare them to be the greateftfchifinaticks and obdurate hereticks that profefs the Mahometan religion.

Magadoxa, or, as the Portugueze call it, Magadocia, is a pretty large city, about 2or 3 miles from the fea, from whence it has a very fine afpect, being adorned withmany high fteeples and mofques. There are feveral reafons why merchants do notfrequent it on account of traffick ; one is, that a reef of rocks lies all along the fhore,about a mile more or Iefs from the fandy ftrand, between which and the rocks it ispretty fmooth, and two or three fathoms water; but there is no river to fecure veffelswhen a ftrong fea wind bloweth. The fecond impediment is, that violence and rob-beries are fo much praftifed and countenanced, that common faith is not to be reliedon ; and I will give a very tragical inftance of their barbarity, viz. In anno 1700, the^mglilh new Ealt India company fent out a {hip called the Albemarle, commanded byCaptain William Beawes. Being bound for Surat , he had the misfortune to meet theoafterly monfoons or trade-winds, fooner than he expe&ed. In the channel betweenMadagascar and the coaft of Ethiopia , thofe eafterly monfoons always bring ftrongcurrents with them from the eaftward, which checked him over to the coaft of Maga-doxa, but that being a dangerous Ihore, he ftood over to the ifland of Johanna, and

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