The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, - Richard Hakluyt
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Cochin.
[Sidenote: Within Cochin is the kingdom of Pepper.] Cochin is, next vnto
Goa, the chiefest place that the Portugales haue in the Indies, and there
is great trade of Spices, drugges, and all other sortes of merchandize for
the kingdome of Portugale, and there within the land is the kingdome of
Pepper, which Pepper the Portugales lade in their shippes by bulke and not
in sackes: [Marginal note: The Pepper that the Portugals bring, is not so
good as that which goeth for Mecca, which is brought hither by the
streights.] the Pepper that goeth for Portugale is not so good as that
which goeth for Mecca, because that in times past the officers of the king
of Portugale made a contract with the king of Cochin, in the name of the
king of Portugale, for the prizes of Pepper, and by reason of that
agreement betweene them at that time made, the price can neither rise nor
fall, which is a very lowe and base price, and for this cause the villaines
bring it to the Portugales, greene and full of filthe. The Moores of Mecca
that giue a better price, haue it cleane and drie, and better conditioned.
All the Spices and drugs that are brought to Mecca, are stollen from thence
as Contrabanda. Cochin is two cities, one of the Portugales, and another of
the king of Cochin: that of the Portugales is situate neerest vnto the Sea,
and that of the king of Cochin is a mile and a halfe vp higher in the land,
but they are both set on the bankes of one riuer which is very great and of
a good depth of water, which riuer commeth out of the mountaines of the
king of the Pepper, which is a king of the Gentiles, in whose kingdom are
many Christians of saint Thomas order: the king of Cochin is also a king of
the Gentiles and a great faithfull friend to the king of Portugale, and to
those Portugales which are married, and are Citizens in the Citie Cochin of
the Portugales. And by this name of Portugales throughout all the Indies,
they call all the Christians that come out of the West, whether they bee
Italians, Frenchmen, or Almaines, and all they that marrie in Cochin do get
an office according to the trade he is of: [Sidenote: Great priuiledges
that the citizens of Cochin haue.] this they haue by the great priuileges
which the Citizens haue of that city, because there are two principal
commodities that they deale withal in that place, which are these. The
great store of Silke that commeth from China, and the great store of Sugar
which commeth from Bengala: the married Citizens pay not any custome for
these two commodities: for they pay 4. per cento custome to the king of
Cochin, rating their goods at their owne pleasure. Those which are not
married and strangers, pay in Cochin to the king of Portugale eight per
cento of all maner of merchandise. I was in Cochin when the Viceroy of the
king of Portugale wrought what hee coulde to breake the priuilege of the
Citizens, and to make them to pay custome as other did: at which time the
Citizens were glad to waigh their Pepper in the night that they laded the
ships withall that went to Portugale and stole the custome in the night.
The king of Cochin hauing vnderstanding of this, would not suffer any more
Pepper to bee weighed. Then presently after this, the marchants were
licensed to doe as they did before, and there was no more speach of this
matter, nor any wrong done. This king of Cochin is of a small power in
respect of the other kings of the Indies, for hee can make but seuentie
thousand men of armes in his campe: hee hath a great number of Gentlemen
which hee calleth Amochi, and some are called Nairi: these two sorts of men
esteeme not their liues any thing, so that it may be for the honour of
their king, they will thrust themselues forward in euery danger, although
they know they shall die. These men goe naked from the girdle vpwardes,
with a clothe rolled about their thighs, going barefooted, and hauing their
haire very long and rolled vp together on the toppe of their heads, and
alwayes they carrie their Bucklers or Targets with them and their swordes
naked, these Nairi haue their wiues common amongst themselues, and when any
of them goe into the house of any of these women, hee leaueth his sworde
and target at the doore, and the time that hee is there, there dare not any
bee so hardie as to come into that house. The kings children shall not
inherite the kingdome after their father, because they hold this opinion,
that perchance they were not begotten of the king their father, but of some
other man, therfore they accept for their king, one of the sonnes of the
kings sisters, or of some other woman of the blood roial, for that they be
sure, they are of the blood roiall.
[Sidenote: A very strange thing hardly to be beleeued.] The Nairi and their
wiues vse for a brauerie to make great holes in their eares, and so bigge
and wide, that it is incredible, holding this opinion, that the greater the
holes bee, the more noble they esteeme themselues. I had leaue of one of
them to measure the circumference of one of them with a threed, and within
that circumference I put my arme vp to the shoulder, clothed as it was, so
that in effect they are monstrous great. Thus they doe make them when they
be litle, for then they open the eare, and hang a piece of gold or lead
thereat, and within the opening, in the whole they put a certaine leafe
that they haue for that purpose, which maketh the hole so great. They lade
ships in Cochin for Portugale and for Ormus, but they that goe for Ormus
carrie no Pepper but by Contrabanda, as for Sinamome they easilie get leaue
to carrie that away, for all other Spices and drugs they may liberally
carie them to Ormus or Cambaia, and so all other merchandize which come
from other places, but out of the kingdom of Cochin properly they cary away
with them into Portugale great abundance of Pepper, great quantitie of
Ginger dried and conserued, wild Sinamon, good quantity of Arecca, great
store of Cordage of Cairo, made of the barke of the tree of the great Nut,
and better then that of Hempe, of which they carrie great store into
Portugale.
[Sidenote: Note the departing of ships from Cochin.] The shippes euery
yeere depart from Cochin to goe for Portugall, on the fift day December, or
the fift day of Ianuary. Nowe to follow my voyage for the Indies: from
Cochin I went to Coulam, distant from Cochin seuentie and two miles, which
Coulam is a small Fort of the king of Portugales, situate in the kingdom of
Coulam, which is a king of the Gentiles, and of small trade: at that place
they lade onely halfe a ship of Pepper, and then she goeth to Cochin to
take in the rest, and from thence to Cao Comori is seuentie and two miles,
and there endeth the coast of the Indies: and alongst this coast, neere to
the water side, and also to Cao Comori, downe to the lowe land of Chialon,
which is about two hundred miles, the people there are as it were all
turned to the Christian faith: there are also Churches of the Friers of S.
Pauls order, which Friers doe very much good in those places in turning the
people, and in conuerting them, and take great paines in instructing them
in the law of Christ.
The fishing for Pearles.
[Sidenote: The order how they fish for pearles.] The Sea that lieth
betweene the coast which descendeth from Cao Comori, to the lowe land of
Chiaoal, and the Iland Zeilan, they call the fishing of Pearles, which
fishing they make euery yeere, beginning in March or Aprill, and it lasteth
fiftie dayes, but they doe not fishe euery yeere in one place, but one
yeere in one place, and another yeere in another place of the same sea.
When the time of this fishing draweth neere, then they send very good
Diuers, that goe to discouer where the greatest heapes of Oisters bee vnder
water, and right agaynst that place where greatest store of Oisters bee,
there they make or plant a village with houses and a Bazaro, all of stone,
which standeth as long as the fishing time lasteth, and it is furnished
with all things necessarie, and nowe and then it is neere vnto places that
are inhabited, and other times farre off, according to the place where they
fishe. The Fishermen are all Christians of the countrey, and who so will
may goe to fishing, paying a certaine dutie to the king of Portugall, and
to the Churches of the Friers of Saint Paule, which are in that coast. All
the while that they are fishing, there are three or foure Fustes armed to
defend the Fishermen from Rouers. It was my chance to bee there one time in
my passage, and I saw the order that they vsed in fishing, which is this.
There are three or foure Barkes that make consort together, which are like
to our litle Pilot boates, and a litle lesse, there goe seuen or eight men
in a boate: and I haue seene in a morning a great number of them goe out,
and anker in fifteene or eighteene fadome of water, which is the Ordinarie
depth of all that coast. When they are at anker, they cast a rope into the
Sea, and at the ende of the rope, they make fast a great stone, and then
there is readie a man that hath his nose and his eares well stopped, and
annointed with oyle, and a basket about his necke, or vnder his left arme,
then hee goeth downe by the rope to the bottome of the Sea, and as fast as
he can he filleth the basket, and when it is full, he shaketh the rope, and
his fellowes that are in the Barke hale him vp with the basket: and in such
wise they goe one by one vntill they haue laden their barke with oysters,
and at euening they come to the village, and then euery company maketh
their mountaine or heape of oysters one distant from another, in such wise
that you shall see a great long rowe of mountaines or heapes of oysters,
and they are not touched vntill such time as the fishing bee ended, and at
the ende of the fishing euery companie sitteth round about their mountaine
or heape of oysters, and fall to opening of them, which they may easilie
doe because they bee dead, drie and brittle: and if euery oyster had
pearles in them, it would bee a very good purchase, but there are very many
that haue no pearles in them: when the fishing is ended, then they see
whether it bee a great gathering or a badde: there are certaine expert in
the pearles whom they call Chitini, which set and make the price of pearles
[Marginal note: These pearles are prised according to the caracts which
they weigh, euery caract is 4. graines, and these men that prise hem haue
an instrument of copper with holes in it, which be made by degrees for to
sort the perles withall.] according to their carracts, beautie, and
goodnesse, making foure sortes of them. The first sort bee the round
pearles, and they be called Aia of Portugale, because the Portugales doe
buy them. The second sorte which are not round, are called Aia of Bengala.
The third sort which are not so good as the second, they call Aia of
Canara, that is to say, the kingdome of Bezeneger. The fourth and last
sort, which are the least and worst sort, are called Aia of Cambaia. Thus
the price being set, there are merchants of euery countrey which are readie
with their money in their handes, so that in a fewe dayes all is bought vp
at the prises set according to the goodnesse and caracts of the pearles.
In this Sea of the fishing of pearles is an Iland called Manar, which is
inhabited by Christians of the countrey which first were Gentiles, and haue
a small hold of the Portugales being situate ouer agaynst Zeilan: and
betweene these two Ilands there is a chanell, but not very big, and hath
but a small depth therein; by reason whereof there cannot any great shippe
passe that way, but small ships, and with the increase of the water which
is at the change or the full of the Moone, and yet for all this they must
vnlade them and put their goods into small vessels to lighten them before
they can passe that way for feare of Sholdes that lie in the chanell, and
after lade them into their shippes to goe for the Indies, and this doe all
small shippes that passe that way, but those shippes that goe for the
Indies Eastwardes, passe by the coast of Coromandel, on the other side by
the land of Chilao which is betweene the firme land and the Iland Manor:
and going from the Indies to the coast of Coromandel, they loose some
shippes, but they bee emptie, because that the shippes that passe that way
discharge their goods at an Iland called Peripatane, and there land their
goods into small flat bottomed boates which drawe litle water, and are
called Tane, and can run ouer euery Shold without either danger or losse of
any thing, for that they tarrie in Peripatane vntill such time as it bee
faire weather. Before they depart to passe the Sholds, the small shippes
and flat bottomed boates goe together in companie, and when they haue
sailed sixe and thirtie miles, they arriue at the place where the Sholdes
are, and at that place the windes blowe so forciblie, that they are forced
to goe thorowe, not hauing any other refuge to saue themselues. The flat
bottomed boates goe safe thorow, where as the small shippes if they misse
the aforesayd chanell, sticke fast on the Sholdes, and by this meanes many
are lost: and comming backe for the Indies, they goe not that way, but
passe by the chanell of Manar as is abouesayd, whose chanell is Oazie, and
if the shippes sticke fast, it is a great chance if there be any danger at
all. The reason why this chanell is not more sure to goe thither, is,
because the windes that raigne or blowe betweene Zeilan and Manar, make the
chanell so shalow with water, that almost there is not any passage. From
Coa Comori to the Iland of Zeilan is 120. miles ouerthwart.
Zeilan. [Footnote: Ceylon.]
Zeilan is an Iland, in my iudgement, a great deale bigger then Cyprus: on
that side towards the Indies lying Westward is the citie called Columba,
which is a hold of the Portugales, but without walles or enimies. It hath
towards the Sea a free port, the awfull king of that Iland is in Colombo,
and is turned Christian, and maintained by the king of Portugall, being
depriued of his kingdome. The king of the Gentiles, to whom this kingdome
did belong, was called Madoni, which had two sonnes, the first named
Barbinas the prince; and the second Ragine. This king by the pollicie of
his yoonger sonne, was depriued of his kingdome, who because hee had
entised and done that which pleased the armie and souldiours, in despight
of his father and brother being prince, vsurped the kingdome, and became a
great warriour. First, this Iland had three kings; the King of Cotta with
his conquered prisoners: the king of Candia, which is a part of that Iland,
and is so called by the name of Candia, which had a reasonable power, and
was a great friend to the Portugals, which sayd that hee liued secretly a
Christian; the third was the king of Gianifampatan. In thirteene yeeres
that this Ragine gouerned this Iland, he became a great tyrant.
In this Iland there groweth fine Sinamom, great store of Pepper, great
store of Nuttes and Arochoe: there they make great store of Cairo
[Footnote: Cairo is a stuffe that they make rope with, the which is the
barke of a tree.] to make Cordage: it bringeth foorth great store of
Christall Cats eyes, or Ochi de Gati, and they say that they finde there
some Rubies, but I haue sold Rubies well there that I brought with me from
Pegu. I was desirous to see how they gather the Sinamom, or take it from
the tree that it groweth on, and so much the rather, because the time that
I was there, was the season which they gather it in, which was in the
moneth of Aprill, at which time the Portugals were in armes, and in the
field, with the king of the countrey; yet I to satisfie my desire, although
in great danger, tooke a guide with mee and went into a wood three miles
from the Citie, in which wood was great store of Sinamome trees growing
together among other wilde trees; and this Sinamome tree is a small tree,
and not very high, and hath leaues like to our Baie tree. In the moneth of
March or Aprill, when the sappe goeth vp to the toppe of the tree, then
they take the Sinamom from that tree in this wise. [Sidenote: The cutting
and gathering of Sinamom.] They cut the barke of the tree round about in
length from knot to knot, or from ioint to ioint, aboue and belowe, and
then easilie with their handes they take it away, laying it in the Sunne to
drie, and in this wise it is gathered, and yet for all this the tree dieth
not, [Sidenote: A rare thing.] but agaynst the next yeere it will haue a
new barke, and that which is gathered euery yeere is the best Sinamome: for
that which groweth two or three yeares is great, and not so good as the
other is; and in these woods groweth much Pepper.
Negapatan.
From the Iland of Zeilan men vse to goe with small shippes to Negapatan,
within the firme land, and seuentie two miles off is a very great Citie,
and very populous of Portugals and Christians of the countrey, and part
Gentiles: it is a countrey of small trade, neither haue they any trade
there, saue a good quantitie of Rice, and cloth of Bumbast which they carie
into diuers partes: it was a very plentifull countrey of victuals but now
it hath a great deale lesse; and that abundance of victuals caused many
Portugales to goe thither and build houses, and dwell there with small
charge.
This Citie belongeth to a nobleman of the kingdome of Bezeneger being a
Gentile, neuerthelesse the Portugales and other Christians are well
intreated there, and haue their Churches there with a monasterie of Saint
Francis order, with great deuotion and very well accommodated, with houses
round about: yet for all this, they are amongst tyrants, which alwayes at
their pleasure may doe them some harme, as it happened in the yeere of our
Lord God one thousand fiue hundred, sixtie and fiue: [Sidenote: A foolish
feare of Portugals.] for I remember very well, how that the Nayer, that is
to say, the lord of the citie, sent to the citizens to demaund of them
certaine Arabian horses, and they hauing denied them vnto him, and
gainesayd his demaund, it came to passe that this lord had a desire to see
the Sea, which when the poore citizens vnderstood, they doubted some euill,
to heare a thing which was not woont to bee, they thought that this man
would come to sacke the Citie, and presently they embarked themselues the
best they could with their mooueables, marchandize, iewels, money, and all
that they had, and caused the shippes to put from the shore. When this was
done, as their euill chance would haue it, the next night following, there
came such a great storme that it put all the shippes on land perforce, and
brake them to pieces, and all the goods that came on land and were saued,
were taken from them by the souldiours and armie of this lord which came
downe with him to see the Sea, and were attendant at the Sea side, not
thinking that any such thing would haue happened.
Saint Thomas or San Tome.
[Sidenote: St. Thomas his sepulchre.] From Negapatan following my voyage
towards the East an hundred and fiftie miles, I found the house of blessed
Saint Thomas, which is a Church of great deuotion, and greatly regarded of
the Gentiles for the great miracles they haue heard to haue bene done by
that blessed Apostle: neere vnto this Church the Portugals haue builded
them a Citie in the countrey subiect to the king of Bezeneger, which Citie
although it bee not very great, yet in my iudgement, it is the fairest in
all that part of the Indies: and it hath very faire houses and faire
gardens in vacant places very well accommodated: it hath streetes large and
streight, with many Churches of great deuotion, their houses be set close
one vnto another, with little doores, euery house hath his defence, so that
by that meanes it is of force sufficient to defend the Portugals against
the people of that countrey. The Portugals there haue no other possession
but their gardens and houses that are within the citie: the customes belong
to the king of Bezeneger, which are very small and easie, for that it is a
countrey of great riches and great trade: there come euery yeere two or
three great ships very rich, besides many other small ships: one of the two
great ships goeth for Pegu, and the other for Malacca, laden with fine
Bumbast [Marginal Note: A painted kind of cloth and died of diuers colours
which those people delight much in, and esteeme them of great price.] cloth
of euery sort, painted, which is a rare thing, because those kinde of
clothes shew as they were gilded, with diuers colours, and the more they be
washed, the liuelier the colours will shew. Also there is other cloth of
Bumbast which is wouen with diuers colours, and is of great value: also
they make in Sant Tome great store of red Yarne, which they die with a
roote called Saia, and this colour will neuer waste, but the more it is
washed, the more redder it will shew: they lade this yarne the greatest
part of it for Pegu, because that there they worke and weaue it to make
cloth according to their owne fashion, and with lesser charges. It is a
maruelous thing to them which haue not seene the lading and vnlading of men
and marchandize in S. Tome as they do: it is a place so dangerous, that a
man cannot bee serued with small barkes, neither can they doe their
businesse with the boates of the shippes, because they would be beaten in a
thousand pieces, but they make certaine barkes (of purpose) high, which
they call Masadie, they be made of litle boards; one board being sowed to
another with small cordes, and in this order are they made. And when they
are thus made, and the owners will embarke any thing in them, either men or
goods, they lade them on land, and when they are laden, the Barke-men
thrust the boate with her lading into the streame, and with great speed
they make haste all that they are able to rowe out against the huge waues
of the sea that are on that shore, vntill that they carie them to the
ships: and in like maner they lade these Masadies at the shippes with
merchandise and men. When they come neere the shore, the Barke-men leap out
of the Barke into the Sea to keepe the Barke right that she cast not
athwart the shore, and being kept right, the Suffe of the Sea setteth her
lading dry on land without any hurt or danger, and sometimes there are some
of them that are ouerthrowen, but there can be no great losse, because they
lade but a litle at a time. All the marchandize they lade outwards, they
emball it well with Oxe hides, so that if it take wet, it can haue no great
harme.
[Sidenote: In the Iland of Banda they lade Nutmegs for there they grow.] In
my voyage, returning in the yeere of our Lord God one thousand, fiue
hundred, sixtie and sixe, I went from Goa vnto Malacca, in a shippe or
Gallion of the king of Portugal, which went vnto Banda for to lade Nutmegs
and Maces: from Goa to Malacca are one thousand eight hundred miles, we
passed without the Iland Zeilan, and went through the chanell of Nicubar,
or els through the chanell of Sombero, which is by the middle of the Iland
of Sumatra, called in olde time Taprobana: [Sidenote: In the Ilands of
Andemaon, they eate one another.] and from Necubar to Pegu is as it were a
rowe or chaine of an infinite number of Ilands, of which many are inhabited
with wilde people, and they call those Ilands the Ilands of Andemaon, and
they call their people sauage or wilde, because they eate one another: also
these Ilands haue warre one with another, for they haue small Barkes, and
with them they take one another, and so eate one another: and if by euil
chance any ship be lost on those Ilands, as many haue bene, there is not
one man of those ships lost there that escapeth vneaten or vnslaine. These
people haue not any acquaintance with any other people, neither haue they
trade with any, but liue onely of such fruites as those Ilands yeeld: and
if any ship come neere vnto that place or coast as they passe that way, as
in my voyage it happened as I came from Malacca through the chanell of
Sombrero, there came two of their Barkes neere vnto our ship laden with
fruite, as with Mouces which wee call Adam apples, with fresh Nuts, and
with a fruite called Inani, which fruite is like to our Turneps, but is
very sweete and good to eate: they would not come into the shippe for any
thing that wee could doe: neither would they take any money for their
fruite, but they would trucke for olde shirtes or pieces of olde linnen
breeches, these ragges they let downe with a rope into their Barke vnto
them, and looke what they thought those things to bee woorth, so much
fruite they would make fast to the rope and let vs hale it in: and it was
told me that at sometimes a man shall haue for an old shirt a good piece of
Amber.
Sumatra.
This Iland of Sumatra is a great Iland and deuided and gouerned by many
kings, and deuided into many chanels, where through there is passage: upon
the headland towardes the West is the kingdom of Assi gouerned by a Moore
king: this king is of great force and strength, as he that beside his great
kingdom, hath many Foists and Gallies. In his kingdom groweth great store
of Pepper, Ginger, Beniamin: he is an vtter enemy to the Portugals, and
hath diuers times bene at Malacca to fight against it, and hath done great
harme to the boroughes thereof, but the citie alway withstood him
valiantly, and with their ordinance did great spoile to his campe. At
length I came to the citie of Malacca.