Travels in India (Tavernier) 152: CHAPTER XXIII · The Author goes to see the King of Bantam and describes several adventures in connection therewith
Travels in India (Ball) 152
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CHAPTER XXIII · The Author goes to see the King of Bantam and describes several adventures in connection therewith
152.1.1
Having freed myself of an affair which had been raised so inconveniently for me, I forthwith formed a resolution to visit the King of Bantam, having often heard that he was very fond of men of our nation; this it is easy for me to acknowledge on account of the good treatment which I received from him. As soon as one passes beyond the Kingdoms which yield obedience to the Great Mogul, the language which is called Malay is, among Orientals, what the Latin language is in Europe. On the voyage which I made to India in the year 1638 I took with me one of my brothers who was my junior, and who had a special talent for foreign languages. He required but five or six months in order to learn one, and he spoke eight of them perfectly well. Moreover he was well made in person and was considered brave, of which he gave many proofs. Having one day fought a duel at Batavia with an infantry captain, over whom he obtained considerable advantage, General Vandime, who liked men of spirit, and the principals of the council, who had much esteem for him, permitted the matter to pass in silence, and as a mark of the affection with which they regarded him they gave him permission to equip a vessel on his own private account and to trade in such goods as he pleased, with the exception of spices. Accordingly my brother bought a vessel of fourteen guns, with which he made many voyages.
152.1.2
The first was to Siam, where he made a sufficiently large profit, but he lost 5000 or 6000 écus of it to the King, who invited him to gamble with him and five of the principal nobles of his court, being much pleased at meeting a European who spoke the Malay language so well. It cannot be doubted that the profits are great in this kind of trade, since those who advance the money to traders, on loan, obtain for it cent per cent. But it is also true that they risk much, because if the vessel is lost the money is lost to them also, and this is called “the great speculation.” He also made some voyages to the King of Macassar, but they did not yield so much profit as those to the Kingdoms of Siam, Tonquin, and Cochinchina.
152.1.3
Having, then, resolved to go to Bantam, and not knowing the Malayan language, I took with me my brother, who was then at Batavia. It was necessary for me to have the permission of the General, according to custom, and he refused because he was not on good terms with the King of Bantam. But two hours afterwards M. Caron, who was at that time Director-General, sent to me to say that I might leave on my voyage for Bantam in all safety, as soon as I wished. Accordingly I set out with my brother in a small barque which we hired to carry us to Bantam, where, on arrival, our first visit was to the English President, who gave us a grand reception, and desired that we should not take other quarters but stay with him. He had still about fifty pots of Mantua wine with which he desired to regale us. This wine is not exported in glass bottles, in which it goes bad, but in earthen pots, in which it always keeps good. On the following morning my brother went to the King’s palace, where he was well known and welcome, in order to ascertain when his majesty would be able to receive us. But as soon as the King knew that he was there, he would not allow him to return to fetch me, but ordered a messenger to be sent to seek me, and tell me that if I had any rare jewels I should please him by bringing them.
152.1.4
When the King’s people came to conduct me to the palace, not seeing my brother with them, I was on the point of refusing to follow them, and I recalled before my eyes the manner in which the King of Achin had treated M. Renaud, who had left Nantes with his brother on the vessels which M. de Montmorency sent to India. I shall record the history of it in a few words, and this short digression will possibly not be displeasing to the reader. A French Company of Commerce was established for India, whither it sent four vessels, three large and one small one of eight guns, upon which among others the two brothers Renaud, who entered the service of the Company, embarked. Their journey was the shortest and the most fortunate of any ever heard of, as they arrived before Bantam in less than four months. The King received them with great joy, and in eight or ten days’ time he gave them as much pepper as they asked for, and at a very fair price, they having received it at more than 20 per cent cheaper than the Dutch do.
152.1.5
But as our Frenchmen had not come for pepper only, but wished also to obtain information as to the trade in cloves, nutmegs, and mace, they sent the smaller vessel with the greater part of their money to Macassar, where the King’s stores are generally full, as I have elsewhere said, the Dutch, with all their skill, not being able to prevent the people of this island trading with the other islands where the spices grow, this annoys them much, since they desire to compel [the trade of] all other nations to pass through their hands. Our Frenchmen having obtained their cargo of pepper so quickly at Bantam, had not patience to await the return of the small vessel which they had sent to Macassar, and, in order to amuse themselves, decided to go to Batavia, that town not being more than 14 leagues distant from Bantam. When the wind is favourable one can go there in a single tide, and they reached the roads at 8 o’clock in the morning. As soon as they had cast anchor the General of the French fleet sent to pay his compliments to the General of Batavia, who did not fail to reply to this civility by asking the General to come on shore that he might entertain him. He sent at the same time to those who remained in the vessel a quantity of refreshments, and especially Spanish and Rhine wine, with instructions to those who carried it to make them drink well in order to intoxicate them.
152.1.6
This order was so well followed that it was easy for the Dutch afterwards to set fire to the vessels according to the orders which they had received, and as, from the saloon of the fort where the General of Batavia receives strangers, all the roads are visible, one of the Indian Councillors who was at the table, seeing the flame, cried out saying that he believed the French vessels were on fire. The General of Batavia appeared to be much astonished, and the French General, who rightly concluded how it had come about, looking unmoved at the company : “ But that,” said he, “ need not prevent us from continuing to drink — those who have lighted the fire shall pay for it.” But he did not remember then that time was worth money, and the Dutch did not pay for a quarter of the damage. The French vessels were all burnt and the crews were saved on the frigates which were despatched for them in haste. The General of Batavia made the men liberal offers, which they refused, and they returned to Bantam to await their small vessel. When it arrived they could find no better plan than to sell their goods and the vessel itself to the English, and the money was divided among all according to the rank of each. The English offered them a passage to Europe, but the General and some of the principal officers alone accepted it. The greater part of the French remained in India and took service with the Portuguese, with whom there was some advantage to be gained at that time.
152.1.7
The Dutch did not ill-treat the French, alone, after this fashion, as they did a still more serious injury to the English. The English were the first to realise that the voyage to Japan from Surat, Masulipatam, and other places, was too dangerous to attempt in one stretch, without having some place in which to rest when the winds were contrary. They found it desirable to build a fort in the island of Formosa; and this has spared the loss of many vessels, in addition to the great profit which it brought them. The Dutch being jealous that the English should have seized so good a position as that, being the sole place in all the island where vessels could lie in safety, and as they were unable to take it by force, decided on treachery to accomplish their design. They sent two of their vessels, upon which they put their best soldiers, who feigned to have been very badly injured by a storm, making their vessels appear dismasted and broken in many directions, and all the soldiers pretending sickness. The English, touched by this misery, which was only a sham, invited the chief officers to come on shore in order to refresh themselves; this invitation they immediately accepted, ordering as many of their people as possible to leave the vessel, under pretext that they were ill, and could be treated better on shore than on board.
152.1.8
While the principal officers were at table with the English, who had civilly invited them to dinner, and where, to accomplish their object, they took with them more persons than politeness permitted, and, in order to make more come on shore they ordered them to bring from the vessels, from time to time, many kinds of wine, and those who brought them had the word to remain there, of which the English, who were not on their defence, took no notice. The Dutch, seeing that they had drunk well, and that it was time to execute their design, started a quarrel with the English chief; and drawing their arms which they had concealed, threw themselves upon the English garrison, whom they murdered without meeting with much resistance. It was thus they made themselves masters of the fort, which they possessed till they were driven from it by the Chinese. I could tell of many other treacheries by the Dutch, but it is time to return to that which followed the burning of the French vessels in the Batavia roads.
152.2.1
The two brothers Renaud, of whom I have above spoken, having received at Bantam a small amount of money from the distribution which was made of the proceeds of the sale of the small vessel, and the goods which it had brought from Macassar, found means to go to Goa, and knew so well how to gain the good opinion of the Portuguese, that they were permitted to trade in all places where the Portuguese were in authority. In five or six years they had each earned to the value of 10,000 écus. The elder one dealt in cottons and other coarse goods, and the younger in precious stones. The Portuguese had been accustomed to send three or four vessels to Achin every year to obtain pepper, elephants, and gold, and they took there all kinds of white and coloured calicoes, especially blue and black. They also sent jewels to the King, because he loved and highly valued them. The two brothers Renaud decided to go there, each for his own particular trade, the elder one carrying cottons, and the younger jewels, amongst which he had four rings of the value of about 18,000 écus. Having arrived at Achin, they went with the other Portuguese to the King’s palace, which is at 2 leagues from the sea, and each of them showed the King and the nobles who were with him whatever he had brought. As for the jewels, as soon as the King had cast his eyes on the four rings he desired to have them, but refused to pay more than 15,000 écus for them, but the younger Renaud asked 18,000 écus.
152.2.2
Not having been able to agree, he took them away, which much displeased the King, who sent for him on the following day. Renaud, who had returned to the vessel, was a long time in doubt whether he should go to the King again or not; but the officers of the vessel advising him to go, he at length resolved to do so, and the King took the four rings for the 18,000 which he paid him forthwith. But after Renaud left the presence of the King no one ever knew what became of him; apparently he was secretly murdered in the palace.
152.2.3
This adventure came to my memory when I saw that the King of Bantam sent to ask for me, and that my brother was not with those who came to summon me. Nevertheless, I resolved to go, and took with me 12,000 or 13,000 rupees worth of jewels, the largest part consisting of rings with diamonds arranged in roses, some of seven stones, others of nine, and others of eleven, with some bracelets of diamonds and rubies. I found the King with three of his captains and my brother seated in the Oriental fashion, and they had before them five large plates of rice of different colours. For their drink they had Spanish wine and brandy, with many kinds of sherbets. After I had saluted the King, and had presented him with a diamond ring, and another of blue sapphires, and a small bracelet of diamonds, rubies, and blue sapphires, he invited me to be seated, and told the attendants to give me a cup of brandy to excite my appetite. This cup held about half a septier of Paris, but I refused the officer who presented it to me; this astonished the King. My brother then asked him to excuse me, saying that I never drank brandy; but that as for Spanish wine I could drink a little of it, upon which the King ordered me to be given some.
152.2.4
Whether because the repast had already lasted a long time, or that the King was impatient to see what I had brought, he did not delay about finishing, and seated himself in a kind of armchair, the woodwork of which was gilt with gold and moulded like the frames of our pictures. His feet and legs were uncovered, and underneath him there was a small Persian carpet of gold and silk. His garment was a piece of calico, a part of which covered the body from the waist to the knees, the remainder being on his back and about his neck like a scarf. He wore as a head-band a kind of handkerchief, having three ends; and his hair, which was very long, was twisted and bound together on the top of his head. In place of slippers he had placed by the side of his chair sandles with leather straps to go over the feet, like those attached to a spur, which were embroidered with gold and small pearls. Two of his officers stood behind him with large fans, the handles of which were 5 or 6 feet long, and at the ends there were bundles of peacocks’ plumes, which equalled in size the bottom of one of our barrels. On his right side there was an old black woman, who held in her hands a small mortar and a pestle of gold, in which she crushed the betel leaves, with which she mixed areca nuts and dissolved seed pearls.
152.2.5
When she saw that the whole was well pounded she placed her hand on the King’s back, who at once opened his mouth, and she put the betel in with her fingers as women do who give pap to their infants, because the King had no teeth; for he had eaten so much of these betel leaves, and smoked so much tobacco, that his teeth had fallen out. The palace of the King of Bantam has not had need of a very skilful architect. It is a square building surrounded by small lacquered pillars of different colours, 2 feet in height, against which one leans when seated. There are at the four corners four large pillars planted in the earth at 40 feet distance from each other, and the floor is covered by a mat woven of the bark of a kind of tree, as if it were a piece of cloth, and neither fleas nor bugs will approach it. The roof is of cocoanut fronds. Close by under another roof, sustained also by four large pillars, there were sixteen elephants, the most courageous of those which the King keeps (for he has a large number of them), which are destined for war and do not fear fireworks. For his guard he has about 2000 men, who were seated in squads under the shade of some trees. They are good soldiers both on sea and land, strict Muhammadans who do not fear death. His harem, where his women dwell, must be a small affair, for when he had seen what I had brought he summoned two old black women, to whom he gave some of the jewels in order that they should go to show them.
152.2.6
These two old women entered by a miserable door, and it had for enclosure only a kind of palisade, with earth mixed with cow dung between the posts. I observed that nothing was brought back of what he sent by these women, this made me conclude that I should stick to the price. Thus I sold him profitably what he took from me, and I was paid at once. After having drunk a cup of sherbet (while my brother drank spirits with the King) we took leave of him, and he made us promise that, on the following day towards evening, we should return to see him, because he wished to show me a dagger which he was having made after the Turkish fashion, but he had not got sufficient diamonds to cover the handle, and he desired that I should procure enough to finish it. We withdrew then with our money to the dwelling of the English, who were much astonished that the King had disbursed 20,000 rupees, saying that they believed it was the greatest part of his treasure. On the following day my brother and I went to see the King again at the hour which he had fixed for us, and we found him seated in the same place where he had been on the preceding day. A Mulla read and interpreted to him something from the Koran, which was in Arabic. The reading being finished, the King and the Mulla rose to pray, which having been concluded, the King sent for the dagger, the handle and sheath of which were of gold.
152.2.7
The upper part of the handle was already covered with diamonds, and in plaque which was at the end there was a large one cut into facettes, which, as far as I could judge, was worth at the least 15,000 or 16,000 écus. The King told me that he had received it as a present from the Queen of Borneo, and that he had sent it to be cut at Goa, but he valued it much higher than what I considered it to be worth. All the handle and likewise all the sheath were covered with bezels applied without order, this proved to me that he did not understand design. The King had no other stones, neither diamonds nor rubies, nor anything to place in these bezels, and he wished to induce me to obtain for him some that would fit. I made him understand that that would be impossible, and that he ought not to limit himself to these bezels. That when he had acquired the quantity of stones which were required to cover the dagger, other bezels of the shapes of the stones should be made, and that in Europe when we begin a work of this kind we first arrange all the available stones on wax; this I exemplified to him at the same time, but that was beyond his understanding, and he told me that he did not care to destroy a design which he had himself taken the trouble to arrange, and to have made for his own use. In spite of any reasons which I could give for the purpose of escaping from a commission which I was not able to execute, the King wished positively that I should take the dagger with me to Batavia.
152.2.8
I represented to him then that as I was a stranger he risked much, and that I might go off with the dagger without again returning, but he said to me smiling that he feared nothing on that account, and that he well knew that Frenchmen were incapable of so disgraceful an action. At length, being unable to excuse myself further, I took charge of the dagger, and having taken leave of the King, my brother and I went to bid farewell to the English President, and to thank him for the civilities which we had received from him.