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Chang-ning left no son to succeed him ; and Chang-yong, a descendant
of the brother ofhis predecessor, was installed by the Emperor
of China in his stead. This prince, notwithstanding the unsettled state
of affairs, and the danger he had to apprehend from Japan, paid the
usual tribute to China, and introduced into his country from tlieiice
the manufacture of delft-ware, and an inferior kind of porcelain.
About eighty years afterwards, A. D. 1643, the famous revolution
occurred in China, which fixed the Tartar dynasty on the throne of that
empire; and Chang-tche, who at that time was King of Loo Choo, sent
ambassadors to pay homage to the new sovereign; when the KingChang-
tche received a sign manual from the Tartar monarch, directing that
Loo Choo should not pay tribute oftener than once in two years, and
that the number of the embassy should not exceed a hundred and fifty
persons.
In 1663 the great Emperor Kang-hi succeeded to the throne of
China, and received the tribute of Chang-tche on the occasion. This
magnanimous prince sent large presents of his own to the King of Loo
Choo, in addition to some of an equally superb quality which were intended
for that country by his father. His ambassadors passed over
to Loo Choo, and according to custom confirmed the king in his
sovereignty, the ceremony on this occasion being distinguished by additional
grandeur and solemnity.
Kang-hi, probably foreseeing the advantages to be derived from
an alliance with Loo Choo, which had so long continued faithful to
the empire of China, turned his attention to the improvement of
the country with great earnestness and perseverance. He built a
palace there in honour of Confucius, and a college for the instruction
of youth in the use of the Chinese character, and established examinations
for different branches of literature. Several natives of Loo Choo
were sent to Pekin, and educated at the expense of the emperor, among
whom was the king’s son. The tribute was better adapted to the
means of the people; and those articles only which were either the
produce of the soil, or the manufactures of the country, were in future
to be sent to Pekin for this purpose. In short Kang-hi lost no opportunity
of gaining the friendship and esteem of his subjects. On the
occasion of great distress in Loo Choo, which occurred in 1708, when
the palace of the king was burned, and hurricanes did incalculable
mischief, and when the people were dying daily with contagious
diseases, Kang-hi used every endeavour to mitigate their distress, and,
by his humanity and generosity, secured to himself the lasting gratitude
of the inhabitants of Loo Choo.
In 1719 he sent Supao-koang, a learned physician, to make himself
acquainted with the nature and productions of the island, and to inform
himself of every particular concerning the government and the people.
Since that period nothing is mentioned of Loo Choo in Chinese history,
beyond the periodical payment of the tribute, and the arrival of ambassadors
from that country at the court of Pekin.
In 1771 the well-known Count Benyowsky touched at an island
belonging to Loo Choo, named Usmay-Ligon, where he found that
almost all the inhabitants had been converted to Christianity by a jesuit
missionary. I f we can credit his statement, he was treated by the natives
with the greatest hospitality and unreserve. Contrary to the
custom of the eastern Asiatic nations, these people brought their
daughters to the count and his associates, and pressed them to select
wives from among them. In short, the conduct of the inhabitants is
described as being so engaging, that some of Benyowsky’s crew determined
to remain with them, and ivere actually left behind when
the count put to sea. And the natives, on the other hand, are asserted
to have been so attached to their visiters, that they made them promise
to return and form a settlement among them, and signed a treaty
of friendship with the count. The veracious traveller found muskets
with matchlocks in use with these people, and to add to their means
of defence, on his departure he presented them with 80 muskets of
his own, GOO swords, and 600 pikes, besides 20 barrels of powder and
10 barrels of musket-balls.
Loo Choo in 1796 was visited by Captain Broughton, and in 1803
by the ship Frederick, of Calcutta, which made an unsuccessful effort
to dispose of her cargo. The inhabitants on both these occasions were,
as usual, extremely civil and polite, but resisted every attempt at opening
a commerce. The next mention of this interesting island is in the
well-known publications of Captain Basil Hall, and of jMr. IM’Cleod, the
surgeon of the Alceste.
Mav,
1827.
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