46s As i a t i c 1 S L Ë &
A mbötna. 'hut in 'the v éesbfa ckiïh 'and fandy. When Amboyna was-recently
1 fei-zëdby theTnglilh,* it was found, with its dependencies; tö'contam
! fotife,- ©fhvhich 17,8-13'were Pfoteftanjts, the reft Mahometans,
.•except- a few Chinefe and favages. ' The Dutch are tolerably-polifhed,
this being the' next fettlement -to Batavia in wealth and confequence.
The natives Cannot be praifed, but differ little from other'Malaysj and
when 'intoxicated with opium will commit' any crime'. V The drefs is a
loofe fhirt, or frock, o f cotton cloth -j’ and the chiefs arèfcaMed Rajas.
Cattle, grain, &c. are imported from Java. The Dutch difcouraged
% the growth of'indigo, left the natives fhould become rich-aud; rebellious ),
but the-fugar and coffee arc -excellent, and among many delicious fruits '
is the mingufteph of Hindoftam -About eleven.yeafs. ago nutmegs
were permitted to be cultivated in Amboyna, Banda ribt'furnHhing a
fufficlent fopiply.f- The chief-animals are deer and vtdld hogsj'ahd
among the birds is the caffowary. The mofj;'curioa&- woods'ar-e-brought
' from Ceram. The abominable, defpotifm o f the Dutch" "gofemmènt
and laws’is expofed in the above accourit; asonl'y teödiug4 o ipi'pdve^lh
and emifculate ^ e country. An ample defcrTpfron-.©frthe plants "q£
Amboyna has been publifhed by the induffrious Rumphius. : r
B»nda Banda is the chief ifle of a group which comprifès fix or Éven
others, Rojftgen, Ncra,' Gonong or Ganapez, (iii which there is-a -re-
markable volcano,) Way', and Rohn: Banda, or Latitoiy doe^rtot
exceed eight B. miles in length, to E., and the great éft hrdadthat
its eaftem extremity may be five. The*'nutmeg tree is chiefly cuhaN'lSed
in Nera, Gonong, A y , or Way, and Lantor, or Lontor, which laft is
a particular name for the largeft ifle, as all the Others are indifferently
ftyle^ Bandas j and flourifhes, not only in the rich black mould, hut
even amidft the lavas of Gonong, whicli is the higheft ifle, the fummit
being 1940 feet above the fea. When the Englifh feized thefe ifles
in 1796, the annual produce was about 163,000 pounds o f nutmegs
* The Wands of Amboyna and Banda were taken without refinance in February and March,
, 1796, by the Engliih Admiral Rainier.
The oblong , nutmeg is not eileemed, being of a lefs fpicey nature than tliofe cultivated at
Banda. Stayorinus, *. 342- Cloves have been introduced ij», the Weil .Indies, and in 1798
about jooolb. were exported.
' + See .the above account, where the author haa confounded the clove with the ’nutmeg.
14 and
A S I A, T Z C -IyS L E S.' aH
ancf 46^000 pounds of mace.*' The 'nutmeg.tree grows to the fize of Basda.
a-.pe4 vtr$b the -leaves refemblirig, pfithe laurel; add bears fruit:
from the .age of ten lO'pne-Aip^dredt/years. Miitmeg, when ripeoi^
the tree, has'both a very pwiows^andheauti^ appearance§?tit is about
t h e f i z p a fimilar ^^tirriwit^therjanie kindJ -
fe?W-°w mark- all rqmnd ijt |j in fhape it; is,fpmewh'at like a,pear: when
perjpilly ripe, the rjpd", over the.ma^rlc-.qpgjis, and^d^fcoversjthe- mace, o f
a-deep ted, growing over, ^ d .covering, m part, the thin fhell of the nut- , :
megt'^hlch is black.” 1*
ground^heing- chiefly -JjC^lpied with thefe precious plantations,-
ca^k%nd-gr|m,&c^e, imported fro^^atavitu and the-Clynefe’meri
p S l European articles even ta Papua or New Guinea.' The-
inhabitants- ofthhfI&vda .iflps ,were found tp'jBe- 5763. ^'The Dutch ftilf
pa^^cojkteo^tpbute to the. fultarx of Ternat, ^qEtCe,fpvereign- of Amboyna
"and Banda ; hut-from the Moluccas, ftri<ftly;ib ftyled, .little is
°bj*jne3, duff. The Engljflv. were expelled from Lantor,-
and Rofiri, or Pulo Rohn, prior to the maflacro of Amboyna-; but
feiZf d the whole Bpice.Iflands in 1796,' and reftpred them, to their Batavian*
matters b'y the treaty with Pranle 180*?^'
The-hurricane and-ea.rthquake, 1778, ahjrrafl annihilated, the nutmeg trees in J}anda,.{b that
A t Dutch have become tft| dupes of thefe own avarice. From 179$ to Mg8'|he Engliih Eaft’
ffli«^K pany imported 817,3!2 lb, c lo v e s ,- jj^ ^ lk nutmega.'^^^olB. mace, befides privatcK
tfade,^iAQuntingto abou t -a third part of the-above.. JStavorinus, ij. 4^8.,.
Afiatic Regift er, i 8qq, p. *16..,