Malacca

“ The cocoanut woods of Ceylon and her equatorial vegetation lead fancy further afield, for the glassy straits of Malacca beckon the wanderer down their watery highways to mysterious Java, where vast forests of waving palms, blue chains of volcanic mountains, and mighty ruins of a vanished civilisation, loom before the imagination and invest the tropical paradise with ideal attractions. ”

“ The sixth government is Malacca, which city is the capital of a small kingdom of the same name, inhabited by Malayans or Malays. The governor here is a merchant, and is assisted by a council like all the others. This kingdom of Malacca is the south part of the peninsula of India beyond the Ganges, being divided from the island of Sumatra by a strait, named the strait of Malacca. This city is of considerable size, and carries on an extensive commerce, for which it is admirably situated, and is the storehouse or emporium of all that part of India. ”

“ I have very little time for writing here, and even that is abridged by the night mosquitoes, which muster their forces for a desperate attack as soon as I retire to the Stadthaus for two hours of quiet before dinner, so I must give the features of Malacca mainly in outline. Having written this sentence, I am compelled to say that the feature of Malacca is that it is featureless! It is a land where it is "always afternoon"—hot, still, dreamy. Existence stagnates. Trade pursues its operations invisibly. Commerce hovers far off on the shallow sea. ”

“ I am greatly interested with the first view of Malacca, one of the oldest European towns in the East, originally Portuguese, then Dutch, and now, though under English rule, mainly Chinese. There is a long bay with dense forests of cocoa-palms, backed by forests of I know not what, then rolling hills, and to the right beyond these a mountain known as Mount Ophir, rich in gold. ”

“ The country round Malacca is mountainous, and covered with large timber. In its neighbourhood are several tin-mines, which yield a metal some twenty per cent. inferior to that of Banca. This tin finds its way, like every thing else in the Archipelago, to Singapore, where it has of late fetched only thirteen dollars and a half per pecul.
There is a race of men at Malacca, who appear to be the descendants of some natives of Malabar who settled there a century ago, and Malay women; a bad breed certainly, and the men I speak of seem to possess all the devilry of both races. ”

“ The East India Company had decided to abandon Malacca, and orders had been issued to dismantle it. Raffles perfected his study of Malay during his stay at this place, and learning from the Malays, with whom he mixed freely, that the abandonment of so important a position would be a grave fault, he drew up a report explaining the great importance of Malacca, and urging in the strongest manner its retention. This report was sent by the Penang authorities not only to London, but to the governor-general, the earl of Minto. ”

“ On Mount Ophir heavy cloud-masses lie always motionless. The still, heavy, fragrant nights pass with no other sounds than the aggressive hum of mosquitoes and the challenge of the sentries. But through the stormy days and the heavy nights Nature is always busy in producing a rapidity and profusion of growth which would turn Malacca into a jungle were it not for axe and billhook, but her work does not jar upon the general silence. ”

“ Heavy pieces of ordnance, which were made in the Malabar country, and were formed by means of iron bars joined together with hoops. They were very long, and extremely unwieldy.
Malacca. A British settlement situated on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, about 100 miles northwest from the settlement of Singapore. This district was annexed to the Portuguese dominions about 1511, taken by the Dutch in 1640, and given by the Dutch to the English in 1825.
Malacca. The capital of the above country, is situated on the coast, upon the strait which bears its name. ”

“ The old and picturesque town of Malacca is crowded along the banks of the small river, and consists of narrow streets of shops and dwelling houses, occupied by the descendants of the Portuguese, and by Chinamen. In the suburbs are the houses of the English officials and of a few Portuguese merchants, embedded in groves of palms and fruit-trees, whose varied and beautiful foliage furnishes a pleasing relief to the eye, as well as most grateful shade. ”

“ The men of Malacca are courageous, and the women very wanton. At this time the city of Malacca was rich and populous, being the centre of trade between the eastern and western parts of India, Mahomet was then king of Malacca, against whom the king of Siam had sent an army of 40,000 men, most of whom perished by sundry misfortunes, but chiefly through similar treacherous devices with those which had been put in practice against Sequeira. But now Albuquerque approached to revenge them all. ”

“ The name of Malacca was given to this town, which, by the convenience of its situation, in a short time grew to such wealth, that it does not yield to the most powerful towns and regions around about. The natives, both men and women, are very courteous and are reckoned the most skillful in the world in compliments, and study much to compose and repeat verses and love-songs. ”

“ We started with an overcast and rainy sky, and by the next morning had reached Malacca, a small British settlement, essentially Malay, more a village than a town. It lies very low and close to the water's edge, the houses of the natives being all constructed on piles driven into the mud, and embowered in a dense framework of cocoa palms. In the distance rises the high cone-shaped peak of Ophir, now a lovely sight because of the misty covering which envelopes it to near its summit. Bananas are very plentiful; so, too, are monkeys and the canes so highly prized at home. ”

“ The natives of Malacca are of a very dark complexion, but brisk and active, and greatly addicted to thieving. Some are idolaters but they are mostly Mahometans.
When the Portuguese were masters of Malacca, they had no less than three churches and a chapel within the fortress, and one on the outside. That which is now used for worship [pg 153] by the Dutch stands conspicuously on the top of a hill, and may be seen for a great distance up or down the straits. It has a flag-staff on the top of its steeple, where a flag is always displayed on seeing a ship. The fort is large and strong. ”

“ The 10th of January, I went from Pegu to Malacca, passing many of the sea-ports of Pegu, as Martaban, the island of Tavi whence all India is supplied with tin, Tanaserim, the island of Junkselon, and many others. I came on the 8th of February to Malacca, where the Portuguese have a castle near the sea. The country without the town belongs to the Malays, who are a proud kind of people, going naked with a cloth about their waists, and a small roll of cloth round their heads. ”

“ This is an interesting fact, in its way, as it tends to prove that it is not only the unhappy Malay of Malacca who feels that he is born possessing some rights in the soil from which he springs, and on which he lives, moves, and has his being. ”

“ The Malacca Cane
No less distinct are the animistic ideas of the Malays relating to various species of the Malacca-cane plant. Mr. Wray of the Perak Museum writes as follows:—
“A Malacca-cane with a joint as long as the height of the owner will protect him from harm by snakes and animals, and will give him luck in all things. What is called a samambu bangku147 or baku, possesses [200] the power of killing any one even when the person is only slightly hurt by a blow dealt with it. These are canes that have died down and have begun to shoot again from near the root. ”

“ There were four of us in the second cabin; {128} we dined alone, and had a mulatto servant to attend upon us. Unfortunately, he was afflicted with elephantiasis, and his appearance did not at all tend to whet the edge of our appetites.
During the 7th and 8th of October, we held our course through the Strait of Malacca, which separates Sumatra from the peninsula, and during all this time we never lost sight of land. Malacca is, near the coast, merely hilly; but further in the interior the hills swell into a fine mountain range. ”

“ Of the population of the town the majority are said to be Chinese, and still their crowded junks are rolling down on the north-east monsoon. As I remarked before, the coasting trade of the Straits of Malacca is in their hands, and to such an extent have they absorbed the trade of this colony, that I am told there is not a resident British merchant in Malacca. ”

“ I have not gone beyond Malacca during my Indian peregrinations. Indeed the trade to the east of Malacca, particularly to China and Japan, is not free for all, being reserved by the king of Portugal to himself and his nobles, or to those who have special leave for this purpose from the king, who expects to know what voyages are made from Malacca eastwards. The royal voyages from Malacca eastwards are as follow. Every year two galleons belonging to the king depart from Malacca, one of which is bound for the Moluccas to lade cloves, and the other goes to Banda for nutmegs and mace. ”

“ To this place come many ships from China, the Moluccas, Banda, Timor, and many other islands of the Javas, bringing great store of spices, drugs, diamonds, and other precious stones. The voyages to many of these islands belong to the captain of Malacca, so that no one can go there without his licence, by which he draws large sums of money every year. The Portuguese at Malacca are often at war with the king of Acheen in the island of Sumatra; from whence comes great store of pepper and other spices yearly to Pegu, Mecca, and other places. ”

“ Many of the ancient people of Malacca attempted to get some of the leaves, and many lost their lives in the attempts because of their absurdity.
This story was first told by a Malay who accidentally reached the top of the mountain. One day while cutting wood with some of his companions be was accidentally separated from them and was left alone in the forests. ”

“ He loved to do good to all men, as he had opportunity. From Java, he went to Malacca, which place afterwards became his home, and the seat of the Anglo Chinese college, of which he was the first principal. From Malacca, he returned to China, conferred with Dr. Morrison about the mission, and then, with Mrs. Milne, returned to Malacca, which place was not only their home, but also their grave. ”

“ Majapahit, originally only one of several Javan kingdoms, rapidly acquired strength and subjugated her neighbours and the nearest portions of the islands around. Malacca, formed when the Malay colony of Singapore was overwhelmed by Javanese, became the great commercial depot of the Straits and the chief centre of Mohammedanism in the Archipelago. The two powers therefore stood for two faiths and two cultures: Majapahit for Brahminism and Hindu influence, Malacca for Islam and the more practical civilisation of Arabia. ”

“ We set sail from this port of Lisbon, six ships in company, for the purpose of making discoveries with regard to an island in the east called Malacca, which is reported very rich. It is, as it were, the warehouse of all the ships which come from the Sea of Ganges and the Indian Ocean, as Cadiz is the storehouse for all ships that pass from east to west, and from west to east, by way of Calcutta. This Malacca is farther east, and much farther south, than Calcutta, because we know that it is situated at the parallel of three degrees north latitude. ”

“ Malabar (2,653) , a district in the W. of Madras, sloping from the Ghâts down to the Indian Ocean, very rainy, covered with vast forests of teak; produces rice, coffee, and pepper.
Malacca is a name given to the whole Malay Peninsula, that remarkable tongue of land 44 to 210 m. wide, stretching 800 m. ”

“ In after times the Moors of Malacca [134] possessed themselves of the sea coast, obliging the natives to take shelter in the forests and mountains of the interior. At this period a Malay chief named Pate Unuz was lord of the city of Japara, who became afterwards king of Sunda. Indignant that the metropolis of the Malayan territories should he possessed by the enemies of the Mahometan faith, he had been seven years preparing a powerful armament of 90 sail to attempt the conquest of Malacca, during all which time he kept up a secret correspondence with the Javan Malays who inhabited that city. ”

“ He built bazaars and citadels along the coast from north to south, and then turned his eyes towards Malacca,—a magnificent country, ruled by a despot and inhabited by slaves. As we have said, its principal seaport was the central resort of the ships of China, Japan, Bengal, the Philippines and the Moluccas, Coromandel, Persia, Arabia, and Malabar. ”

“ The cloves of the Moluccas, the nutmegs and mace of Banda, the sandal-wood of Timor, the camphor of Borneo, the gold and silver of Luconia, with all the other and various rich commodities, spices, gums, perfumes, and curiosities of China, Japan, Siam, and other kingdoms of the continent and islands of India, were carried to the great mart of Malacca, a city in the peninsula of that name, which is supposed to have been the Aurea Chersonesus of the ancients. ”

“ Leaving Sumatra on the right hand, I came to Malacca, which is a city of wonderful trade in all kinds of merchandise from various parts, as all ships frequenting those seas whether large or small must stop at Malacca to pay customs, even though they do not load or unload any part of their cargoes at that place, just as all ships in Europe frequenting the Baltic must do at Elsineur. Should any pass under night without paying the dues at Malacca, they fall into great danger afterwards, if found any where in India without the seal of Malacca, having in that case to pay double duties. ”