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Updated: June 1, 2025
Further light will be thrown upon this subject and the progress of the cultivation by the following extract of a letter to me from Mr. Campbell, dated in November 1803: Early in the year 1798 Mr. Jones, commercial resident at Amboina, five or six hundred nutmeg plants, with about fifty cloves; but these latter were not in a vigorous state.
All or most of these islands would produce cloves, but they will not suffer them, having enough at Amboina alone to supply all Europe.
For the enterprise, which began as a trading concern, speedily developed into the creation of an empire overseas, and this meant an immense expenditure. The Malay Archipelago was the chief scene of early activity, and more especially the Moluccas. Treaties were made with the native chiefs; and factories defended by forts were established at Tidor, Ternate, Amboina, Banda and other places.
The chief place for nutmegs is the island of Banda, which also belongs to the Dutch, being in lat. 4° 20' S. 28 leagues S.S.E. from Amboina. This island is said to have the form of a man's leg and foot, and is well fortified.
The fame of this creature having reached Europe, the British Minister in Holland wrote to Valentyn on the 28th December 1716, whilst the Emperor, Peter the Great of Russia, was his guest at Amsterdam; to communicate the desire of the Czar, that the mermaid should be brought home from Amboina for his Imperial inspection.
On all of these islands the Dutch keep a few soldiers, three, six, nine, or twelve, according to their size, whose only business is to see the trees cut down, or at least to take care that they do not increase; as they are very jealous lest the English or French should serve them as they did the English at Amboina.
During this annual expedition, the governor levies tribute from all the petty kings and chiefs of these islands, and commonly returns to Amboina at the end of six weeks. The island of Amboina produces beavers, hogs, and deer, besides other animals. Among its birds are crocadores, cassawaries, birds of paradise, and others.
In pepper, which is loaded at Bantam, Jahor, Patane, Queda, and Achin; 2. in cloves, which are loaded at Amboina and the Moluccas; 3. in nutmeg and mace, or the rind of the nutmeg, which are loaded at Banda; 4. in the commerce of Cambaie; 5. in the commerce of the Coromandel coast; 6. in the commerce of both the Chinese and Japanese coasts.
Sailing past Jortan, they saw a large Portuguese ship of 600 tons, sticking fast among the shoals. She was bound for Amboina, on purpose to have engrossed all the trade of that place; at least such was the report of the Portuguese; but Van Noort strongly suspected she had been sent out to cruize for the purpose of intercepting him.
We remained at Amboina from the 31st of May to the 14th of September, 1705, when three of their sloops were ready to sail with cloves to Batavia, in which twenty-five of our men were sent away to Batavia, ten of us being left behind, who they said were to be sent in another vessel, almost ready to sail.
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