The History of Java, v. 1-2Raffles, Thomas Stamford, Sir
History
The History of Java, v. 1-2
Raffles, Thomas Stamford, Sir
Java (Indonesia) -- History
"In the mountainous interior live a numerous class of chiefs, called
Gunos: they are a savage race, and eat human flesh. The first
inhabitants were Siamese, who about the year 800 of the Christian era,
on their passage from Siam to Macassar were driven by a great storm
on the island of _Báli_. Their junk being wrecked they escaped in
their boat, and arrived at Java, until that period undiscovered; but
which, on account of its size and fertility was immediately peopled by
_Passara_, son of the king of Siam: and the city of _Passaraan_, called
after his own name, was founded at a very good seaport, and this was
the first settlement on the island.
"The Javans are proud, brave, and treacherous, and so vindictive, that
for any slight offence (and they consider as the most unpardonable the
touching their forehead with your hand) they declare _amok_ to revenge
it. They navigate much to every part of the Eastern Archipelago, and
say that formerly they used to navigate the ocean as far as the island
of Madagascar (St. Laurence).
"The city of _Bintam_, or _Banta_, which is in the middle of the
opening of the straits of Sunda, stands in the centre of a large
bay, which from point to point may be about three leagues wide, the
bottom good, and the depth of water from two to six fathoms. A river
of sufficient depth for junks and galleys, falls into this bay, and
divides the town into two parts. On one side of the town there is a
fort, built of sun-dried bricks: the walls are about seven palms thick,
the bulwarks of wood, well furnished with artillery.
"The island of Sunda is more mountainous than Java. It has six good
sea-ports: _Chiamo_, at the extremity of the island; _Chacatara_, or
_Caravam_; _Tangaram_, _Cheginde_, _Pandang_, and _Bintam_, which have
a great traffic, on account of the trade carried on, not only with
Java, but with Malacca and Sumatra.
"The principal city of this kingdom is called _Daro_, situated a little
towards the interior, and we are assured that when Henriquez Lerne
first visited it, this town had upwards of fifty thousand inhabitants,
and that the kingdom had upwards of one hundred thousand fighting men.
"The soil is very rich. An inferior gold, of six carats, is found.
There is abundance of butcher's meat, game and provisions, and
tamarinds which serve the natives for vinegar. The inhabitants are
not very warlike, much addicted to their idolatries, and hate the
Mahomedans, and particularly since they were conquered by the _Sangue
Páti Dama_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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