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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A69916	A voyage to the East-Indies giving an account of the Isles of Madagascar, and Mascareigne, of Suratte, the coast of Malabar, of Goa, Gameron, Ormus : as also A treatise of the distempers peculiar to the eastern countries : to which is annexed an abstract of Monsieur de Rennefort's History of the East-Indies, with his propositions for the improvement of the East-India Company / written originally in French by Mr. Dellon ...; Relation d'un voyage des Indes Orientales. English	Dellon, Gabriel, b. 1649.; M. C. Treatise of the distempers relating in particular to the eastern countries.; Crull, J. (Jodocus), d. 1713?; Rennefort, Souchu de, ca. 1630-ca. 1690. Histoire des Indes orientales. English. Selections.; Dellon, Gabriel, b. 1649. Traité des maladies particulières aux pays orientaux et dans la route et de leurs remèdes. English.	1698 (1698)	Wing D943A; ESTC R22348	179,184	326

and Customs are the same so that what we relate of the Kingdom of Cananor may be applied to all the rest of the Malabars The Air is very good all over the Country which is one of the most fertile in all Asia they reap Rice twice a Year and have good store of most excellent Fruits but quite different from those in Europe Though it be evident that the Cocoe is none of the most delicious Fruit of the Indies nevertheless its usefulness being so universal it deserves to be mentioned here and we will insert a particular Description of the Tree that bears so useful a Fruit. The Malabars call it Tencar which signifies as much as straight as having no Branches though the Tree it self be sometimes thirty or forty foot high seldom exceeding three foot in compass The Wood is spongy and consequently useless for Building unless it be when it grows very old when it becomes much more solid Cocoe-Tree described The roots of it are many spreading almost above ground notwithstanding which the Tree out-braves the utmost fury of Winds it being very rare to see them t●rn up even by the most violent Hurricanes Towards the top there sprouts out about a douzen leaves of ten foot long each and one and an half broad being divided in the middle like those of the Date-tree when they are dryed they serve instead of Tiles to cover Houses withall out of their finest Threads they make very fine Mats Tents and Huts of the courser Branches The middle part of the leaf serves for Fuel Their number is always the same for so soon as one falls another grows in its stead On the very top of the Tree there sprouts out a very large Bud not unlike a Cabbage or Cawly-flower but much larger and finer than ours enough to serve ten People for a Meal but because the Tree dies soon after the Fruit is gathered they commonly cut down the Tree near the Root when they intend to make use of it Betwixt the top and the leaves come forth abundance of young Sprigs about the thickness of a Man's Arm these they cut from whence destills a Liquor of a white Colour and a sweet and delicious taste which the Tieves such among the Malabars as apply themselves to Husbandry come to gather Mornings and Evenings in certain Vessels fastned to the end of the Sprigs Palm-Tree Wine from whence flows the said Liquor This is the Wine of the Country called by them Houry or Tary it is so strong as to inebriate a Man like our Wines Vinegar and Brandy in few hours it contracts a sharpness and in one Day and Night turns quite Sowre when it is used instead of Vinegar they having no other throughout the Indies They also make of it a kind of Aqua Vitae or Brandy which by repeated Destillations becomes excessive strong If you put this Liquor as soon as it is drawn from the Quick-tree into a Basin with a small quantity of Lime it becomes as sweet as Honey which they make use of for Preserves and if it be boiled for some time it becomes Sugar not quite so good as that which is drawn from Canes but which is nevertherless much used among the common People of Malabar the Natives call it Jagara and the Portuguese Jagre As long as the Tary destills out of the Sprigs the Tree bears no Fruit but if you let them grow there come forth great Bunches which produce the Cocoes hanging in Clusters to the number of ten or twelve Their skin is very tender at first Cocoes and easie to be slit from whence flows a very clear and fresh Liquor of a very agreeable taste some of them will afford not much above a pint of Liquor whereas others give near a Gallon This Liquor is by degrees converted into a solid substance which is very soft and white and then the Malabars call the Cocoes Elenir and the Portuguese Lagne Afterwards the moisture being all consumed the Fruit becomes hard and its taste is not unlike our Hasle Nuts They are so well known in those parts that it would be superfluous to give a particular account here to what use they are put in Europe since they are brought thither from all parts in so great quantities that they are no more look'd upon now a days as a rarity but are esteemed meerly for their Natural and intrinsick goodness The Tree brings forth Fruit three times a year some are as big as a Man's Head and because they are beaten down by the least Wind it is dangerous to walk under these Trees when the Fruit is come to perfection They make out of the outward Husk when dried a kind of Hemp the threads of which serve to make strong Cordage and Cables for the biggest Ships and as there is a prodigious quantity of this Fruit all over the Indies so besides what is consum'd by the Natives and what is exported by Foreigners they burn abundance of it to make Charcoals for the use of the Goldsmiths and others The Indian Cooks season their Meats with a certain Liquor which they get out of the Cocoes by scraping it and the poorer sort extract an Oyl of it which they both Eat and Burn in their Lamps They fatten their Poultry and Hogs with the remnants out of which the Oil has been pressed and so the poor sometimes make Bread of it Indian Paper The Pith of the Tree is White and as fine as any Paper for which use it is much sought after by persons of Quality Considering the extraordinary benefit reap'd from this Tree he may well be look'd upon as one of the most precious in the Universe though he be none of the rarest What has been related by some to wit That they make Ships that cross the Seas without any thing but what the Cocoe affords though it seems to savour of a Romance is nevertheless thus far true that they may equip a good large Barge with Masts Sails which are made out of the leaves and Cordage loaden with the products of the Tree and Fruits of the Cocoes There are besides this two other kinds of Palm-trees the first bears that sort of Dates which never come to maturity in the Indies the Tree is not above eight or ten foot high without Branches and bears its leaves on the top much like the Cocoe-tree but they are not near so large They bore a hole in the Arm of the Tree from whence by the help of a Pipe they draw a certain Liquor not unlike the Tary we have mention'd before The Inhabitants call it Nary and it serves them to make Vinegar of and Aqua Vitae but no Sugar The other kind is the Wild Palm-tree Two other sorts of Palm-Trees its fruit is good for nothing they call it Traf●uli but the Liquor which they draw out of it is not inferiour to that of the Cocoes The Tree exceeds the other in Bigness and its leaves are so

early in the Morning when having given the Signal to the Captain of the Pink we weighed Anchor at the same time and with a favourable Gale blowing from the Land put to Sea and safely passed the Bar of Batiepatan where we were to take in some Sand or Wood which the Sieur de Flacour had sent thither for that purpose We were fain to stay here two days and when we were just ready to set sail we discovered a large Vessel which our Mahometan Seamen assured us to be one of the Indian Corsairs who infest these Coasts Having got every thing ready we made all the sail after him we could ordering our Pink to enclose him on one side whilst we did the same on the other But after we had chased him for some hours we lost sight of him he being a nimbler Saile● that we Some of us went afterwards on Board the Pink where they were much rejoyced to hear news of the King's Ship we spoke of before in hopes they should soon meet with her on these Coasts We kept all Day long out at Sea but towards Night constantly approached nearer the Shoar to take the advantage of the Wind which blows from the Shoar always after Midnight in three days we came within sight of Mangalor where we intended to refresh our selves for a little time With much ado They are in danger of being lost we got safely into the Road of Mangalor by Eight a-Clock at Night but the Pink did not come to an Anchor there till the next Morning for fear of sticking upon the Sands if they should come in the Night-time as we did who trusting to the skill of our Mariners who pretended to be well acquainted with that port were in great danger of being lost for having put our selves in the Night into a Chaloup in order to go on shoar we miss'd the Passage which is the only way through which one may safely enter the River We expected every moment to have been split upon the Rocks which lay hidden just under the surface of the Water but at last we had the good luck to escape and get safely on shoar The Pink came to Anchor the next morning just by our ship and the Officers being all met the next day on shoar we pass'd that and the next following day in what diversion the place would afford and we should scarce have parted so soon if the Sieur de Barbot Commander of the Pink had not been in so much hast being impatient to join the French Fleet commanded by Monsieur de la Haye Mangalor is one of the most considerable places in the Kingdom of Canara Mangalor deprived eighteen leagues distant from Batiepatan It has a most excellent Road for ships to Anchor in and whilst the Rains last the ships may enter the River without any hazard it being all that time very deap and broad the most danger is at its entrance by reason of the Sand-banks which cannot well be passed without a great hazard unless at Spring-Tydes The Town is Situate upon a rising Ground inhabited by Pagans and Mahometan Merchants and near it you see the Factory of the Portugueses which they call in their Language Feituria Formerly all the Forts which are near the ports of the Kingdom of Canara belonged to the Portugueses but the Canarins as well as most of the other Indian People thinking their Pride insupportable took their opportunity whilst they were engaged in a War with the Hollanders to drive them from thence The Portugueses Portugueses chased out of Canara who knew the importance of these places after the Peace concluded betwixt them and the Dutch have left no stone unturned to regain from the Canarins these places for which purpose they sent a Fleet on that coast which ruin'd the commerce of that Kingdom to that degree that it was reduced to the utmost misery which obliged the King of Canara to sue for Peace to Lewis de Mendoza then Vice-roy of the Indies for the King of Portugal offering the restitution of the two most considerable Forts of Mangalor and Barcalor The Portugueses accepted the conditions but thinking it two chargeable to entertain two strong Garrisons at such a distance they were contented with erecting new Factories in these places reserving to themselves half the profits of all the customs paid from goods exported or imported in these two Ports The subjects of the King of Canara The Kingdom of Canara are for the most part Pagans the rest are Mahometans They don't follow the Laws and Customs of the Malabars especially in what relates to the differences and degrees of their Tribes they are seldom without being engaged in a War with the Neighbouring Malabars where the Canarins commonly are worsted They live in most respects according to the Laws and Customs of the Pagan Indians who are subjects of the Great Mogul the King of Canara being his Tributary The Canarins are of a Tawny Complexion and middle sized wear their Hair long and Cloath themselves not unlike the Indians of Suratte They are most of them very good Soldiers and most expert in Mining besides that they don't Fight so disorderly as the Malabars but they are not so brave being more addicted to Commerce for which reason you meet with them in all parts of the Indies to vend their Commodities The manner of Solemnizing their Feasts being the most extravagant in the World Their Feasts deserves to be taken notice of here At these Solemnities they carry their Idols in Triumph being placed in a Wagon adorned on all sides with Flowers But what is the most surprizing is that there are several sharp crooked Iron hooks fastned to the Wheels upon which these poor Superstitious wretches throw themselves and thus to signalize their Zeal cause themselves to be turn'd round with the Wheels till they are cut to pieces Others lie sprawling upon the Ground on purpose to be crushed to pieces by the force of the Wheels and the weight of the Waggon which passes over their Bodies All which is done out of a vain belief they have that by thus Sacrificing themselves for the Honour of their Gods they shall enjoy the bliss of Immortality hereafter The manner of Executing their Criminals How they Execute their Criminals as it is very Cruel so it ought not to be pass'd by in silence They strip them quite Naked and thus tied Hand and Feet expose them upon the Sands to the Sun where they die a most miserable and lingring Death being consumed by degrees by the violent heat of the Sun and the Flies And for fear that the place where they are laid should grow cool and afford them some intervals in their Misery they take care to remove them frequently till such time they expire amidst the most cruel Torments The Air of Canara is very pure and sufficiently pleasant and the Country tho' not of a very great extent extreamly Fertile this part of the Country furnishing all

by the Portugueses 〈…〉 of Daman who remain in possession of it to this day it is about 20 Leagues from Suratte and 80 from Goa it is not very large but strong and neatly kept the Streets are not Paved but very straight and regular The Houses are all handsome Buildings and the Churches very Magnificent especially the Parish Church and the Chappel of the Charitable Society Besides which there are 4 others belonging to the Jesuits to the Jacobin and Austin Friar● and to the Recollects The Inhabitants of Daman are look'd upon as the best Horse-Men in the Indies It● Inhab●tan●s they having once defended themselves with great bravery against an Army of the Great Mogul consisting of 40000 Men who had Besieged the place This Government is one of the most considerable the Portugueses are Masters of in these parts He that was Governour there at that time was one Manuel Furtado de Mendoza a Bastard Cousin German of the Portuguese Vice-Roy The River washes the Walls of the City where there is a very safe Harbour for Ships unless it happen sometimes that by the violence of the Current occasion'd by the overflowing of the Waters they are sometimes forced from their Anchors if they be not carefully look'd after The City lies not above a good Cannon Shot from the Sea side and on the opposite Shoar of the River is the Fort of St. Jerom The Fort of St. Jerom. which is a great addition to the Strength and defence of Daman for which reason it is that the Portugueses are more careful of this Fort than of any other they are Masters of in the Indies they not allowing any Negroes to be received among the Soldiers of the Garrison which always consists of 400 Men at least Every one of these are obliged to lie every Night within the Fort and if any one chances to do otherwise without special leave from the Governour who never grants it but upon extraordinary occasions they lose their Pay for that day for the first offence and the second time they are Cashier'd The Governour of this Fort has no dependance on the Governour of the City they are never above 3 Years in the same post a Custom observed by the Portugueses with all the rest of their Governours The Air about Daman is very pleasant and the principal Inhabitants of the City pass the greatest part of the Year at their Country Houses CHAP. XIX Concerning our stay at Daman NOT long before my Arrival at Daman the Sieur de St. James Son of a French Physician and another young French Man were Married there The last of these two had Married the Bastard Sister of a Lady of Quality called Donna Petronilla de la Cerda who after she was a Widow had Married a person of the first Rank among the Portugueses The Sieur de St. James had Married the Daughter of this Lady whose Name being Donna Rosa de Mello was in all respects answerable to her Youth and Beauty I having heard much talk of them at Suratte I thought my self under an indispensible obligation to pay them a visit But the first thing I did was to deliver my recommendation to the Rector of the Jesuit College who receiv'd me with all the Civility imaginable and conducted me to the Governour who after he had treated me according to his Quality proposed to me to stay at Daman where there was at that time no other Physician but some Pagan Indians whose Practice consisting only in a few Receipts they apply them indifferently to all Patients I return'd his Compliment desiring some time to consider of the matter and the Rector of the Jesuits observing my inclination to Travelling to be more prevailing with me than the Prospect of present advantages urged me to accept of the Governour 's offers assuring me that he would make use of all his interests for my further advantage The next following day I paid a visit to my two Country-Men of whom I spoke just now they were overjoyed to see me and Treated me with a most Magnificent Collation in the mean while the Sieur de St. James had spoke in my behalf to his Mother-in-law to desire her permission to let me Lodge in their House which she having easily granted they had without my knowledge sent for my Trunks so that when after some Hours stay I was going to take my leave they intreated me to accept of their House which at their reiterated intreaties I could not refuse to my two generous Country-Men I was not ignorant of the Custom of the Portugueses with whom you can scarce meet with sufficient circumspection in respect of the fair Sex I did not as yet mention one word concerning their Ladies but the next day they were the first that mentioned and proposed a visit to them I seem'd to be careless in the matter and having spent the greatest part of the day in visiting some of my Patients in the City at my return towards Night they introduced me to them in their Apartments where I entertained them with the same freedom as we do in France whereat they seem'd not at all displeased They did ask me many Questions which I answered as well as I could and Donna Petronilla Addressing her Discourse to me above the rest we did not part till late at Night I did not fail afterwards to visit them at least once a day and Petronilla treated me always with more than ordinary Civility She was of about 39 years of Age notwithstanding which she had sufficient Charms being of a very pleasing Aspect of an admirable Shape delicately featured and agreeable in all respects she had a very lively Eye and her Humour was the sweetest and most Complaisant in the World We diverted our selves together for some Hours every Night and I must confess that I never passed three Weeks more pleasantly than these in all my life time CHAP. XX. Of Trapor DOnna Petronilla's Seat was at Trapor she being only come to Daman about some particular Business she was to be at home with her Husband before Easter and desired me to conduct her Home being not above 10 Leagues from Daman Having first asked the Governour 's Leave I accepted of their kind offer and Travelled with their whole Family towards Trapor On the Monday of the Holy Week we laid at a place called Danou a Lordship belonging to the Eldest Son of Donna Petronilla near to this is the Mountain called the Picque of Danou resembling in shape a Sugar Loaf which lying betwixt Suratte and Bassaim serves for a guide to the Ships that Sail near this Coast there is here a small River which bears no Ships of any Burthen but only some small Craft Donna Petronilla's Husband met us at Danou and received me with all imaginable Civility and the Wednesday following we came to Trapor or Tarapour This is a small City Built on the Sea side half ways betwixt Daman and Bassaim belonging to the Portugueses who have here

to refresh themselves and to seek for a place of Retreat among Strangers is very chargeable and seldom granted but under very strict Limitations and consequently ought not to be relied upon nor to be made use of but in case of necessity These places will also afford another considerable advantage which is that such Persons that have lived there for sometime may be carried with much better prospect to the Indies than these who but lately were brought out of Europe forasmuch as they being already accustomed to the heats of the Climate their constitution must needs be more agreeable to the Climate of the Indies I would advise to carry to the Indies no other but Secular Priests the rest being generally Ambitious and too much addicted to their own Interests and always intermeddling with State-Affairs and such other Matters as have not the least affinity with the Character they ought to bear in the World I would have this Company take this for a Maxim in their Colonies One Nation one Religion The Dutch mixed with the French and the Hugonots with the Catholicks did never live in a good Union We are obliged for this to the Piety of Lewis le Grand that in France there is now but one and that the true antient Religion neither see I the least reason why the French should have any occasion to make use of strangers in their Colonies in the Indies I am well assured that the French are alone in a capacity to live under what Climate soever They Inhabit a Country surrounded by the Spaniards Portugeses English and Dutch who have establshed themselves under the torrid-Torrid-Zone in the Indies and in America To give the French their due there is not a more Civiliz'd Nation in the World their Manners and Conversation being look'd upon as most agreeable to Introduce themselves in all places Besides which they are very Populous Brave and Daring which makes them have an easie access wherever they come I appeal to experience the kind Reception they met with in the Empire of the Great Mogul of Calicut Siam and other places in the Indies of late years are so many convincing demonstrations that these Princes received them in their Territores with a more than ordinary satisfaction Care ought to be taken that some Persons may be sent into Japan to undeceive that Prince concerning the wrongful opinion the Japoneses are preposess'd with in prejudice of the Catholick Religion And all opportunities ought to be courted to get footing in this as well as the Chinese Empire But it ought to be observed that the persons intrusted with these Negotiations in these two Empires as well as in the other parts of the Indies ought to be men of Experience and Authority These as well as all other publick Affairs of Consequence ought not to be left to the management of Merchants as it is in Holland where Merchants have a great share in managing Affairs of state and the Courts of Justice and consequently are better qualified for such business than those of France Care ought to be taken that from time to time Envoy's may be sent to those parts who may relieve one another and that they may be provided with good Yearly Salleries which must be paid them exactly without being pinch'd in their Allowances by those who have the management of the Treasury in their hands For if Persons in such a Station find themselves neglected they will be sure to lose no opportunity to retrieve themselves at any rate It is also absolutely necessary for the Company to have a Certain City both in the East and West-Indies which lying as near as can be in the Center of the French Colonies must be the residence of the Generalissimo's each in his respective place The Cities ought to be of an Advantagious situatition both in respect of their Fortifications and the conveniency of their Harbours The Isle of Madegascar ought to be considered as the chief place of Retreat for such Ships of the Company as Sail to the East-Indies I am absolutely of opinion that the first project made in France concerning that Island ought not to be laid aside but is to be pursued to all its intents and purposes For besides that it is not for the Honour of France thus to abandon an Enterprise which they look'd upon as so advantagious to the Nation The situation of this Island its Products and Riches are sufficient Invitations for us to establish our Colonies among them It ought to be taken into Consideration that this Island lies betwixt the two Indies there is as good a Road near Fort-Dauphine and in the Bay of Antogil Beef there is in such plenty that we have taken forty Thousand Oxen at a time after we had defeated one of their Grands Wild-Fowl Fish Fruits Grapes Honey and Wax it produces in great abundance and the very Mountains bring forth good store of Rice Their Waters are excellently good and the Ground is very Rich and Fruitful There is not the least question but that if the Grounds were carefully cultivated they would produce very good Wheat and the Grapes might be brought to maturity But if it were otherwise Wheat may be easily Transported thither from Suratte from the Coast of Malabar and Coromandet where it is very Cheap The defect of good Wine might be easily supplyed from the Canary Islands where it costs not above four Pence a Pint and a Pint considering its strength will go further than a Quart of French Wine besides that this Wine gows better by keeping it being much finer after it has lain four years than it was at the first It would also be no difficult matter to transport thither of our Grave Wine Persian and Goat Wines and as much Brandy as they have occasion There is scarce any Commodity which the Europeans are Masters of in Africa America and Asia but what you meet with in the Isle of Madagascar They have Pepper a sort of Nutmegs and Clove-Trees all sorts of Gums Riches of Madag●scar Spices Sugar Tobacco precious Stones Silver and Gold I cannot be persuaded that what the Natives tell us is true to wit that what Gold they have was brought into the Island by some Ships which Casually came near that shoar whereof some perished thereabouts there being scarce a Man or Woman so mean but what have some Golden Ornaments about them not to mention here the Treasures hoarded up by their Grands which they never touch but in case of the greatest extremity and seems to be a convincing argument that there are some Gold Mines in this Island The Sieur de la Case was not ignorant of this advantage and Monsieur de la Milleray was so well convinced of the Riches and true Value of the Products of this Island that he would never part with his right while he lived The Sieur de Caron got once into his possession a piece of Amber-Greese weighing Eighteen-Ounces There is a Prodigious quantity of Silk

and Cotton in the Island and yet these are the chief Commodities which are brought out of the Territories of the Great Mogul and of fourteen other Kings his Tributaries who all must be courted by great Presents to allow the Exportation of these Commodities As for the Air of Madagascar it is very wholesome and pure witness those of its Inhabitants who arrive to a great age it being common among them to see some of a Hundred and Twenty years of Age. It cannot be deny'd but that it has not proved so agreeable to the Fren●h constitution but if the matter be duly weighed it will appear that this proceeded more from the change of Diet and from their carlesness in not keeping their Stomachs warm than from any other cause For I have made this observation that those born under a cold Climate if transported into those parts ought not to neglect that point as they tender their health and lives There is one objection to be made to wit That several other Nations who have taken a view of the Isle of Madagascar never shew'd any Inclination to P●ant their Colonies here But this I think derogates nothing from the true value which ought to be put upon this Island For it is possible Why other Nations never setled in this Island that these Nations who are less powerful than the French being before settled in many other places found themselves not in a capacity to Conquer an Island which is the biggest in the whole World The Portugueses have their Settlements in the Indies and the Ports of China The Dutch in the Isle of Ceylon and the Molucees and in short in all other places in the Indies where the Portugueses had established themselves before The English have their Forts on the Malabar Coast at Coromandel and several other places in the Indies where they Traffick with less charge and inconveniency than in a place which they were first to be possess'd or by force of Arms. The re-estab●ishment of the French in the Isle of Madagascar ought to be committed to the management of a Person who by his Merits and long Experience has acquired a great Reputation abroad This being a point of that ●icety and such a nature where one man by his Conduct may be able to do more than a thousand others who act without prudence The first thing the French have to do after their Landing is to re-fortifie the Fort Dauphine which they ought to look upon as the Capital of their Colonies here and must be the residence of the Governour by reason of the temperature of the air and its convenient situation which is on the Point of Madagascar The Conquest of this Island is not so difficult as some have Imagined the Grands or Lords of the Country being divided among themselves by so many different Interests that the most Powerful among them is not in a capacity to bring one hundred part of the Inhabitants 〈◊〉 Arms. Their Arms having no comparison to ours they are so frightened at our Fire-locks that we have seen 160 Frenchmen Force one third part of the Isle to do homage to them Dian Manangve who being one of their Principal Lords and the only person that had got an insight into the French Affairs is now dead and their Reb●llion chiefly carried on by his advice against the French ought to serve them as a precaution for the future not to admit any of their Grands into their Councils and to let them have any knowledge in the Military Art The Madagascarians are naturally jealous of their Liberty Rebel●●ous Mistrustful and Revengeful seldom forgetting an injury It will be therefore the Duty of a Governour to take such measures as may be most effectual to curb their Insolency and especially so to clip their wings for time to come as to put them beyond all probability to execute their vengeance and cruelties upon their Conquerers FINIS