Hamilton's account of the east indies.
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that cannot be counted, I return bade to Nagapatam, from whence I took my departture, and ftretch along the coaft of Chormondel.
I begin at the river of Nagapatam, becaufe it is the fouthermcfl bounds of Golcon-dah, and coaft along fhore to Trincumbar a fortrefs and colony belonging to theDanes. The fort is ftrong, the fea walking one half of its wails; but the colony ismiferably poor. In anno 1684, they were fo diftreffed with poverty, that they pawnedthree bullions of their fort to the Dutch , for money to buy provifions, which then wasvery fcarce and dear in that country ; but next year they redeemed all again, paying theirdebts by an unknown fund, which Hill remains a fecret: but that the Englilh had a{hip called the Formofa, which, in her pafiage home to Surat, called at Calecut forwater, wood and other ftores. The Danes, at that time, had two Ihips cruizing be-tween Surat and Cape Comerin, upon what account none could tell but themfelves. TheFormofa left Calecut at midnight, and ftood to fea, in order to proceed on hervoyage, and being out of fight of land, about 1 x in the forenoon, thofe afhore heardS. great firing of cannon from the fea, and.the Formofa, nor none of her crew wereever heard of fince that time. They Hill keep their fort, but drive an inconfiderabletrade either to and from Europe, or in India , for what they have to live by, is thehire that they freight their Ihips for to Atcheen, Malacca and Johore , and fometimes,but rarely, to Perfia, by which they keep up the name of a company, but refembleone no more than that of the Mifiillipi does in France .
They have a fet of clergy there lately come as miffioners from Denmark , to teachthe natives Chriftianity, which deferves both commendation and encouragement, butwhat profelytes they make, I cannot tell, though I faw fome of the poorer fort be-come difciples. The product of the country is cloth, white and dyed.
The next place of commerce is Porto Novo , fo called by the Portugueze, when thefea-coafts of India belonged to them; but when Aurengzeb fubdued Golcondah, andthe Portuguefe affairs declined, the Mogul fet a Fouzdaar in it, and gave it the nameof Mahomet Bander. The Europeans generally call it by its firft name, and thenatives by the laft. The country is fertile, healthful andpleafant, and produceth goodcotton cloth of feveral qualities and denominations, which they fell at home, or exportto Pegu, Tanafereen, Ouedah, Johore, and Atcheen on Sumatra . The bulk of the.people are Pagans .
Fort St. David is next, a colony and and fortrefs belonging to the Englifh. Aboutthe year 1686, a Moratta prince fold it to Mr. Elihu Yale , for 90,000 pagodoes, forthe ufe and behoof of the Englifh Eaft-India Company. The fort is pretty ftrong and{lands clofe to a river; and the territories annexed to the fort by agreement were asfar as any gun the Englifti had, could fling a lliot, every way round the fort; butwhether the buyer or gunner were conjurers or no, 1 cannot tell, but I am fure thatthe Englifti bounds reach above eight miles along the fea-fhore, and four miles withinland. The country is pleafant, healthful and fruitful, watered with feveral rivers thatare as good as fo many walls to fortify the Englifti colony. And ever fince the timethat Aurengzeb conquered Vifapore and Golcondah, there are great numbers of mal-contents and freebooters that keep on the mountains, and often fall down into theopen country, and commit depredations, by ravaging and plundering the villages; andall the Mogul’s forces cannot fupprefs them.
When the Englifti bought Fort St. David, the Dutch had a little faflory there*about a mile from the fort, and the good-natured Englifh fuffer them ftill to continuea few fervants in it. Our company did not find fo much grace from the Dutch atCouchin, nor the gentlemen of Bantam and Indrapoura, when the Dutch feized thole