Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/477

 OF THE ARCHIPELAGO. 433 down to the latest days of Dutch rule, the country and its inhabitants continued in the same rude and uncultivated state in which they were found. Under the destructive influence of commercial restraint, the town of Malacca itself, from its happy situa- tion a rich emporium, even under the rude legisla- tion of the natives themselves, dwindled into insig- nificance, and the monopoly of the Dutch appears to have proved more prejudicial to it than the ty- ranny of the Portuguese, and the invasions of its territory by foreign enemies, to which their lawless ambition gave rise. The struggles maintained by the Dutch in Java and the Moluccas prevented them, for a longtime, from turning their arms to Sumatra, less inviting by its fertility, and the value of its productions, and more difficult to subdue. The most power- ful, civilized, and commercial state of that island was Achin, and here the Dutch made repeated ef- forts to insinuate themselves, and establish their com- mercial system. The prince of Achin, who, from the extent of his intercourse with the foreign na- tions of Asia, had a thorough knowledge of the be- nefits of commerce, alone, of all the potentates of the Archipelago, resisted the insidious attempts of the Dutch, and other European nations. In the year 1664, the Dutch had leisure to extend their ambitious views to Sumatra ; and, in that year, they rendered themselves masters of the whole VOL. II. E e