History of the Philippine Islands

Excerpt: ...and the fleet anchored at Bantam in Java on the twenty-ninth. Thence part of the fleet sailed for China. The fleet captured near Macao a Portuguese vessel richly laden. They also fought with a Siamese vessel, mistaking it for an enemy. Leaving Bantam finally on their homeward trip, on January 27, 1604, they reached Holland the thirtieth of August. The expedition under Wybrandt van Waarwyk marked a new progression in Dutch trading in Eastern seas. His expedition established Bantam in Java more fully as the chief Dutch trading-post and base of supplies. The number of vessels at his command (fifteen) enabled him to despatch them in different directions to pursue their trade. The hostility to, and competition with, the Portuguese became more marked, and the entrance into India (through Ceylon), Siam, and China, more pronounced. This expedition left Holland July 17, 1602, being joined on the nineteenth by other vessels. Near the Cape of Good Hope three vessels separated with orders to proceed directly to Achem in Sumatra. At that place they met three vessels, which had left Holland May 30, 1602, and whose commander Sebald de Weert received commission from Waarwyk as vice-admiral of the six vessels. After negotiations at Achem, the six vessels established relations and promised assistance against the Portuguese, in Ceylon, but they almost ended by the massacre of the vice-admiral and a number of his men. Engagements with the Portuguese through these seas, and more or less successful attempts at trading and establishing themselves marked the progress of these vessels, until the return of three of them to Holland in the latter part of 1604. The main body of the fleet had experiences about similar to the above vessels, singly and in company, cruising through the East Indian seas, trading for pepper, cinnamon, silks, and other products. The Moluccas and the Philippines were generally given a wide berth, the Dutch seeking to establish themselves fully on...