Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 2).djvu/181



Thus, in a few years after the conclusion of a treaty which professed so much and performed so little for the benefit of either party, the Dutch had gained so complete an ascendency over the English traders, that, notwithstanding their valuable acquisition of the island of Ormuz in the Persian Gulf, and the prospect of still being able to conduct a lucrative trade with the East, the Directors seriously meditated relinquishing all they had gained, and liquidating the affairs of the Company. They had already abandoned their scheme of the Greenland fishery, which had been incongruously intermingled with their East Indian adventures, and had withdrawn from Japan, notwithstanding the great encouragement they had received for the prosecution of its valuable trade. With an increased capital of more than one million and a half, their stock had decreased one half in value, and so powerful had the Dutch now become, that the Company for the time seems to have lost all hope of being able to compete against them and the Portuguese, who still maintained an important position in India. This great rivalry for maritime supremacy, which commenced during the reign of Elizabeth, formed one of the most important subjects for discussion during the whole lifetime of her successor. *