Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/317

 INTERCOLONIAL COMMERCE. 801 ed in exchangirig the woollens, wines, and cu- riosities of Europe, the cottons of Cororaandel, the spices and drugs of the Archipelago, with the raw and wrought silks and other commodities of China, for the gold and silver of Japan, its lacquered ware, and its other curious manufactures. Kempfer states, that their annual export in gold amounted, according to the Dutch mode of reckoning, to SUO tons, which would make the enormous sum of two millions and a half Sterling. In the year 16S6, after their religion was proscribed, they ex- ported, he tells us, in silver 2350 chests, amounting to'2,35O,00U tahils, which make L. 783,S3Si Ster- ling. In the follovving year they imported goods, and exported bullion to the value of ^,lV^,3d5 tahils, or L. 71 "^j 121 5 Sterling; and in the year 1638, the same in which the Christians were mas- sacred, and Christianity finally exterminated, their imports and exports still amounted to 1,259,023 tahils, or L. 419,674'. Caron makes the amount of the Portuguese trade, one year v/ith another, nine hundred thousand pounds Sterling, or a million and a half of ducats. The ungenerous conduct of the Dutch towards their rivals was signallypunished in the sequel. The sacrifice of their religion and honour to their ava- rice brought themselves and the whole European race into the utmost discredit with the Japanese, while it effected the utter ruin of their com-