The Citie Malacca.
MALACCA is a Citie of marvellous great trade of all kind
of marchandize, which come from divers partes, because
that all the shippes that saile in these seas, both great
and small, are bound to touch at Malacca to paie their
custome there, although they unlade nothing at all, as
we doe at
Elsinor: and if by night they escape away,
and pay not their custome, then they fall into a greater
danger after: for if they come into the Indies and have
not the seale of Malacca, they pay double custome. I
have not passed further then Malacca towards the East,
but that which I wil speake of here is by good information of them that have bene there. The sailing from
Malacca towards the East is not common for all men,
as to China
and Japan
, and so forwards to go who will,
but onely for the king of Portugall and his nobles, with
leave granted unto them of the king to make such voiages,
or to the jurisdiction of the captaine of Malacca, where
he expecteth to know what voiages they make from
Malacca thither, & these are the kings voiages, that
every yere there departeth from Malacca 2. gallions of
the kings, one of them goeth to ye Moluccos to lade
Cloves, and the other goeth to Banda to lade Nutmegs
and Maces. These two gallions are laden for the king,
neither doe they carie any particular mans goods, saving
the portage of the Mariners and souldiers, and for this
cause they are not voiages for marchants, because that
going thither, they shal not have where to lade their
goods of returne; and besides this, the captaine will not
cary any marchant for either of these two places. There
goe small shippes of the Moores thither, which come
from the coast of Java
, and change or guild their commodities in the kingdom of Assa
, and these be the Maces,
Cloves, and Nutmegs, which go for the streights of
Mecca
. The voiages that the king of Portugall granteth
to his nobles are these, of China
and Japan
, from China
to Japan
, and from Japan
to China
, and from China
to
the Indies, and the voyage of Bengala, Maluco, and
Sonda, with the lading of fine cloth, and every sort of
Bumbast cloth. Sonda is an
Iland of the Moores neere
to the coast of Java
, and there they lade Pepper for
China
. The ship that goeth every yeere from the Indies
to China
, is called the ship of Drugs, because she carieth
divers drugs of Cambaia, but the greatest part of her
lading is silver. From Malacca to China
is eighteene
hundred miles: and from China
to Japan
goeth every
yeere a shippe of great importance laden with Silke,
which for returne of their Silke bringeth barres of silver
which they trucke in China
. The distance betweene
China
and Japan
is foure and twentie hundred miles, and
in this way there are divers Ilands not very bigge, in
which the Friers of saint Paul, by the helpe of God, make
many Christians there like to themselves. From these
Ilands hitherwards the place is not yet discovered for the
great sholdnesse of Sandes that they find. The Portugals
have made a small citie neere unto the coast of China
called Macao
, whose church and houses are of wood, and
it hath a bishoprike, but the customs belong to the king
of China
, and they goe and pay the same at a citie called
Canton, which is a citie of great importance and very
beautifull two dayes journey and a halfe from Macao
.
The people of China
are Gentiles, and are so jealous and
fearefull, that they would not have a stranger to put his
foote within their land: so that when the Portugals go
thither to pay their custome, and to buy their marchandize, they will not consent that they shall lie or lodge
within the citie, but send them foorth into the suburbes.
The
countrey of China is neere the kingdom of great
Tartaria, and is a very great countrey of the Gentiles and
of great importance, which may be judged by the rich
and precious marchandize that come from thence, then
which I beleeve there are not better nor in greater
quantitie in the whole world besides.
First, great store of golde, which they carie to the
Indies, made in plates like to little shippes, and in value
three and twentie caracts a peece, very great aboundance
of fine silke, cloth of damaske and taffata, great quantitie
of muske, great quantitie of Occam in barres, great
quantitie of quicksilver and of Cinaper, great store of
Camfora, an infinite quantitie of
Porcellane, made in
vessels of diverse sortes, great quantitie of painted cloth
and squares, infinite store of the rootes of China
: and
every yeere there commeth from China
to the Indies, two
or three great shippes, laden with most rich and precious
marchandise. The Rubarbe commeth from thence over
lande, by the way of Persia, because that every yeere
there goeth a great Carovan from Persia to China
, which
is in going thither sixe moneths. The Carovan arriveth
at a Citie called Lanchin, the place where the king is
resident with his Court. I spake with a Persian that was
three yeeres in that citie of Lanchin, and he tolde me that
it was a great Citie and of great importance. The
voiages of Malacca which are in the jurisdiction of the
Captaine of the castle, are these: Every yeere he sendeth
a small shippe to Timor
to lade white Sandols, for all
the best commeth from this Iland: there commeth some
also from Solor
, but that is not so good: also he sendeth
another small ship every yere to Cauchin China, to lade
there wood of Aloes, for that all the wood of Aloes
commeth from this place, which is in the firme land neere
unto China
, and in that kingdome I could not knowe how
that wood groweth by any meanes. For that the people
of the countrey will not suffer the Portugales to come
within the land, but onely for wood and water, and as
for all other things that they wanted, as victuals or
marchandise, the people bring that a boord the ship in
small barkes, so that every day there is a mart kept in the
ship, untill such time as she be laden: also there goeth
another ship for the said Captaine of Malacca to Sion
,
to lade Verzino
: all these voiages are for the Captaine of
the castle of Malacca, and when he is not disposed to
make these voiages, he selleth them to another.
