THE CIVIL WARS OF BANTAM: OR, AN Impartial Relation OF ALL THE BATTLES, SIEGES, and other Remarkable TRANSACTIONS, REVOLUTIONS and ACCIDENTS that happened in the late Civil Wars BETWEEN THAT KING AND HIS  SON, COMMONLY CALLED BY THEM, The Young King, GIVING A Particular Account of the Circumstances and Manner of the Siege and taking of the City of Bantam, and the English Factory there, by the Young King, with the Help and Assistance of the Dutch; In several Letters from a Gentleman Residing for the East-India-Company at Bantam, to a Merchant in London.  
LONDON, Printed by H. C. for Tho. Malthus at the Sign of the Sun in the Poultry, MDCLXXXIII.   

THE CIVIL WARS OF BANTAM: OR, An Impartial Relation of all the Battles, Sieges, and other Remarkable Transactions, Resolutions and Accidents which happened in the late Wars between the KING and His  SON, Commonly Called by them, The YOUNG KING.  
SIR,  
THE Sudden and Unexpected Breach which hath happened here, between the King of Bantam and His Eldest Son; together with the considerable Damage which the English Merchants have sustained thereby, in the Loss of their Factory, and a good part of their Trade, hath been Matter of much Wonder and Amazement to us here; and (I suppose) no less, but rather much more to you in England: which doth (I imagine) render you desirous to learn the Occasion and Manner of it; which I herewith send you, hoping it will give you full Satisfaction; for although to be present at, and be a Sufferer in the Extremities of War, and the Common Calamities which always attend the Besieging and Storming of Cities, yet the hearing thereof at a distance, or the reading the written Relations of it, usually afford abundance of Pleasure and Delight especially when there is any thing extraordinary in the Occasion, or in the Manner of Prosecuting and Managing the War: somewhat of both which you will find in the following Relation.  

Bantam, March 16. 1681/ 2  
THE 11th. Instant, this Ship was in readiness To Sail, but was retarded by the King of Bantam's Letter to His Majesty of England, it not being ready till the 13 th'. when at Midnight he sent it on Board. The next Morning, by Break of Day, the Dutch with Sloops and small Boats attempted to Land their Men at the River's Mouth (which is about a Musket-Shot distant from our Factory) so that we could not send off our Dispatch.  
They lay there all that day, and the Javas Army close by them, who had positive Orders from the King of Bantam, not to begin first.  
The Dutch durst not venture farther, seeing a great Number of Men ready to oppose them, with far greater Courage than they (or indeed we ourselves) did expect; towards Break of Day yesterday, the Water flowing, and their Vessels off the Ground, they all repaired thereto, and stood a little distance from the River's Mouth; when about Nine of the Clock in the Morning, they began the War with their great Guns from their great Ships and Hulks that were moored with their Broadsides to the Shoar, for the said purpose; and continued Firing as fast as ever they could till after Sunset:  
The Javas manfully kept the Shoar the whole day without much loss of Men, and fired several great Guns from the Walls, some of which did execution on their Ships; and the Dutch this Morning have drawn all their small Vessels from the Shoar, We are in hopes all their future Attempts will be in vain; the Javas manifesting a resolute Intention of defying them, rather than come under their Yoke, and are not a little animated with Courage, to see the Dutch retreat.  
Our Factory standing in harms way, we received great Shot in abundance; my own, and several others Chambers, each receiving one: But God be thanked, not a Soul in them hurt: We believe the Dutch sent many of them, knowing our Nation to have supplied this King with most of his Ammunition, and to animate to our power the Javas against them: whereby we may partly guests the Kindness they will show us if they come on Shoar. Their Fleet remains still in Harbour, and whether they will attempt further, none knows; we are bound to see the Event; and I hope, happen the worst, we shall save our Lives. Sir, I thought it expedient to give you this Account, though the Bearer can satisfy you more largely; yet for what passed on Shoar, he has it himself by hear-say.  
Yours, S. G.   

Batavia, September 17. 1682. Honoured Sir,  
I wrote you two Letters by the Scipio African; and in that of the later Date, advised more particularly the Condition we were then in; which I shall not repeat, but continue the Doleful Subject to the present time.  
The Dutch the Morning before her Departure, being opposed Landing, rested quiet in their Ships till the 28th of March; when, before Day, with a fresh Supply of Forces, they Landed half a Mile distant from our Factory, soon Routed all the Javas, and received a welcome Admission into the Fort of the Young King (than drove to so great a straight by the Siege of his Father's Army, that he could not have held out many days longer, and that with the loss of not above forty or fifty Men) they immediately hoist their Standard, and what remained undestroyed by the Old King's Forces, they that day mostly burnt, and Marched in Triumph through every part of the Town: We kept our Factory Gates shut, and were by them unmolested; as likewise the French, Danes and Chinese: But the same Evening, about Five of the Clock, after we had solaced ourselves with hopes of Security, a Report was spread abroad that the Young King designed to cut us all off that very Night, being incensed at the conceived Assistance of Men and Ammunition afforded his Father by us during his being besieged; and thereupon, most of the Chinese, who had for the security of their estates, brought great part thereof into our Factory, like so many Bees flocked about us, to take the same out.  
It was Night, and we had only on small Ships Boat on shore, so we were necessitated to stand the event; and sent her to give notice thereof to our Ships, with Orders to lose their Sails, get their Anchors apeak, and be gone, and if we were assaulted, to give Tidings what became of us; not a man of us departing the Shoar that belonged to the Factory; then we put ourselves in a posture of defence, hoping, without the Assistance of the Dutch, to make our part good against all the People the Young King had; dividing ourselves into two Watches, my Lot being in the first.  
After Midnight, I went to Rest with somewhat better Hopes than those that had the first Sleep; as conceiving, if they had any real Design upon us, we should have heard of it before that time.  
Repose made the remaining hours short; and the first Salute to my waking eyes, was the Gladsome Day; when by a Sign (as appointed) with our Flag, the Ships Boats came on shore; and soon after the Dutch Chief from the Fort, with a File of Soldiers, and several Carpenters came to their Factory, into the Yard whereof we had two Galleries and several Windows, acquainting us in the most imperious manner he could express himself, That it was the King's Order to cut down the one, and stop up the other; which if we did not immediately do, his People should: An Action of nothing but Insultation and Spite, designed to increase our Fears and Amazement; their Factory being at that time uninhabited, and indeed almost ruined; yet we were forced to comply: The said Chief having lived many years in Bantam, and been our intimate Companion, induced us to believe his Morosity might be the effect of his Superiors Orders, and that from him we might possibly understand the Reality of the reported Massacre the night before, and whether still designed; therefore was myself sent down to him, who told me it was really intended, and a going to have been put in execution by the young King, but by their Major he was hindered, and dissuaded therefrom; which, though we believe a Truth, yet next to the Divine Mercy, we can impute it only to the (by them feared) ill Consequences, who by reason of the small number of the King's People, could not have acquitted themselves of being accessary thereto, if not by their Assistance, at least by their Permission, inasmuch as it was they that incensed him against us, by their aggravating all our Actions what possibly they could to our Disadvantage.  
Upon this we resolved, and accordingly went to the King, to congratulate his safe Delivery out of his late Troubles, that if he had any thing to say to us, we might clear ourselves: Before whom, when come, we found no such angry Aspect upon his brow, as by what was reported to us, we had reason to expect; he reproached us with our assisting his Father, contrary to our Engagement of standing Neuter; and what most aggravated, was, that three of our Company came the day before the Landing of the Dutch, to the Camp, close under his Wall, to instruct his Father's Soldiers how to plant their Great Guns against him; I was my  one in person, with Mr. George Chowne, then of Council, and Mr. Rich. Burnby, formerly Chief of Siam, who went, (as we acquainted him) only out of curiosity to see the place, upon an Invitation of the Captain that lay there; and as a proof of our Innocency and unthought of giving occasion of Displeasure or Distrust of his Majesty, we came within Call of his Soldiers on the Wall, without any other defence, save our confidence that we not meddling or making on either side, they would not hurt us (but it shall be a warning to me for ever exposing myself to so great a danger upon any such like Considerations so long as I live) and that what Supplies we otherwise afforded his Father, we were necessitated to, as being wholly under his Power, and himself then enclosed in his Fort, and unable to protect us. He interpreted all as excuses, acquainting us that tho' it was in his power to cut us off, yet out of that respect he had to our King and Company, would desist therefrom; a Lesson learned him by the Dutch. Being dismissed, we were the 31st constantly affrighted with his Men in Arms, coming to our Factory, under the conduct of one or other of his three great Ministers of State he had left him, or a Dutch Renegado, by him highly advanced, whom we knew not how to trust, neither durst deny Admittance; when in the evening, the Chief of the said Ministers, he that has been above two years underhand with the Dutch, contriving to bring the Design about of getting Bantam, came to us with a Paper written in the Mallay Language, said to be sent us from the King; being an Order to us, with all possible speed to get our Goods aboard our Ships, and departed his Country; he pressing us to the most speedy compliance possible therewith, as we stood in awe of the King's Displeasure.  
We were since informed that there was a great Dispute between the King and the Dutch Major, before he could be brought to Order us out of his Country, well considering how great a Support to, and Inrichment of his Kingdom our Trade had been: But being wholly under the Dutch Power, he was forced to comply, and we to his Commands; and so purposed with all possible speed to get off our Goods, and departed for Batavia.  
But our Ships being most of them nigh full, we were necessitated to request a Ship of near five hundred Tuns, of the Dutch Major, to export them; so the next Morning we wrote a Letter to him, which we sent by four of the Companies Servants, to deliver; who coming to the Fort, the Captain of the Guard told them he was asleep: Whereupon they left it with him, and returned home.  
But whilst we were expecting of an Answer, the same evening comes to us the abovesaid Minister and Votary to the Dutch, with the said Letter unopened, seating himself at the upper end of our Table, and filling our Great Hall with his followers, calling for Mr. Barwell, and some others of the Council, who coming before him, he takes forth the Letter, and tells us with Rage, the King had sent him to know the meaning of that Papers being found on the Ground under the Fort-Walls, aggravating it as a Cause of the highest Suspicion, now in time of War; and when we had told him what it was, and laboured to make him sensible that it was our Europe Custom to signify our Minds in Writing, and that our Meaning therein was most innocent, he replied, he admired how we durst presume to write to the Major without first acquainting the King; and all this with so much Passion and Fury, that nothing could look more like a Prologue to a Massacre; till at length he mildly advised us the next morning to go and ask the King's Pardon.  
Many other Circumstances of Amazement in this Business did pass, too tedious to represent: But by what we have said, you may imagine the baseness of the Dutch, who were the whole Contrivers and Authors of this Business, as did plainly appear by that Letter being delivered into their hands, and the King's not mentioning one word to us about it, the next Morning, notwithstanding we never offered to ask him Pardon.  
But this is but little to their succeeding Treatments, as you will see by what follows: That day we had sent off two of our Ships Boats full of Broad-cloath, which without the River's Mouth were followed by a Dutch Pinnace, ordering, them back again, or else they would fire at them.  
Their Return surprised us; but not knowing but its being late at night, might be the occasion, we sent them again the next morning, when they were again stopped by the Dutch Soldier's quartering a little below our Factory, who told us they had Orders to suffer no loaden Boat of ours to go out of the River: we complained to the Major, who told us it was the King's Order; who, alas poor man! had so Vn-kinged himself, that he could Command no further than stood with the Pleasure of the Dutch; but many hours did not pass before we understood the depth of the Design, by one Jacob de Roy, a Lieutenant in the Dutch Army, who had been with the King all the time of his being besieged in the Fort, coming some few Months before, under pretence of being a Baker to Bantam, who brought us a Charge of about ten thousand Rials 8/8 for Jewels and Plate of his in the Dutch Factory, which at the time of the Old King's entering the Town, he said we had plundered and taken into ours, which till we satisfied, none of our Goods should be permitted to go on board, where by the way, you may observe, first, their design so far to amaze and affright us, that we might upon any Terms be willing to leave the shore; and then having so prepared us, to enrich themselves with the Companies and our Estate. Indeed this Business at that time startled us, and made us very thoughtful concerning them, much fearing some ill Designs upon us, we laboured by Presents to the King's Ministers, to learn the depth of the Design, and divert it; but in conclusion found them too much the Dutch Votaries, to be our Friends: insomuch that we were wholly to seek what to do: Whilst to perplex us yet further, comes a Message to us, that the King was jealous of our assisting his Father's Boats with Powder from our Ship in the Road, therefore desired us to deliver up all on Board them, which, when we departed, should be faithfully restored.  
We replied, That when we delivered our Powder, we delivered our Ships, they being without it wholly defenceless, therefore would upon no Terms do it, but would ourselves go speak with the King, which accordingly we did; when coming into his presence were prevented saying any thing to him, he immediately sending for a Letter wrote in Portugueze and directed to the English as from one of the Old King's Sons, which he ordered to be read to us; the Contents were, That we the French the Danes, and the Portugueze, should at a certain time be in readiness for their Assistance, but where or how, we knew not; which he aggravated highly against us, not permitting to speak in our defence, or to say any thing concerning the stoppage of our Goods, or our Powder being demanded out of our Ships, and bid us be gone; from whom being departed, we went to the Dutch Major, making known our Grievance to him, who smiling, told us, All was by Order of the King, though done by their Soldiers, and seemed ignorant of the Letter, though nothing more probable than that it was of their own framing; and promised in general Terms to assist us to his power: so took our leaves, and being returned to our Factory, we heard the Portugueze Ship was seized on by the Dutch and Javas together, with an Account of the said Letter, and that the French had taken out of her of theirs 4 Chests of Money, haing put the same on board of her for security in the time of the Siege: And that the aforesaid Jacob de Roy with some other Soldiers of the Dutch and Kings, went to the Honourable Companies Ship the Tywan Frigate, acquainting the Commander they had Orders to search for Powder; who telling them they had none, neither could permit thereof without Orders from us ashore: They were about to enter the Ship, he immediately gave the word for his Men to stand to their Arms, whereupon they desisted, gave him good words, and desired that only Jacob de Roy and one Java Man, might be permitted to look between Decks for satisfaction of the King, which being granted they departed. This News I say, with our Treatment with the King and Major, seemed almost to confirm to us some evil Designs, if not upon our Lives, at least upon the Companies and our Estates. But it being no time to sit still, we concluded immediately to dispatch away the Formosa Frigate (a small Ship of the Companies) to Batavia, to make our Complaints to the General and Council there, but chief to secure the Honourable Companies Treasure, which was the thing they seemed to gape at, Myself and Mr. George Chowne were sent upon her, and indeed it was our desires to go, having had notice that the King had been solicited by the Dutch Renegado (a Villain fitted for the worst of Actions) to come to our Factory and kill us in particular, upon account of our being seen in his Enemy's Camp at the time of his being besieged; to which although he declined condiscending, who knew what the importunity of such a Villain in time might amount to. We departed the Shore in a small Boat, about half an hour before Sun set, with Order for all the Companies Treasure on board the Companies other Ships, to be put on board her in the dark, and with the smallest noise possible to weigh Anchor, lest we should have been discovered by the Dutch Ships. There accompanied us the Agents Lady, Mr. Thomas James late Chief of Tonkeene, Mr. Rich. Burnby, and Mr. Samuel Griffith, who being out of the Company's Service, had kept themselves aboard Ship for their security, which made our passage seem shorter, being of itself a little long, even four days, before we arrived at Batavia, where Mr. George Chowne the same day we arrived died: I went to the General, and was appointed the next day to be heard; when being admitted before him and all the Lords sitting in Council, I made a Relation of our Treatments at Bantam, requesting a Ship of about 500 Tons Burden, for the Exportation of our Goods, and their Orders to their people there, to permit them to be brought off; with their permission to hire an house in Batavia, and land our Goods, to Export them as we had occasion, Custom free; to all which we received then little reply, being deferred for Answer till next day, when another of the Honourable Companies Ships, to wit, the Return, arrived with Mr. Edward Barwell, to whose turn by lot it came to come away (so willing were all the Gentlemen left there of Council to come away, that they could not other ways agree who should) the Dutch at Bantam not having any of our Goods at his departure to be brought off. And their proceed being such, under Colour of the King's Orders, as forced our people to take care to secure what Estate the Company had already off the Shore, he and I again waited on the General, who told us, That we might hire an House where we pleased, that he would order a Ship or two, if occasion was, by the first opportunity; as likewise, that our Goods should be all safely brought away, and for what we had further requested, would after they had debated it, give Answer: But before his Order reached Bantam, the Dutch there seeing two of our Ships gone away in the Night time, and imagining in them to be the chiefest Treasure, permitted them to load the other small one and Sloop there remaining, putting the King upon hastening our people away, with all speed imaginable, seizing all the Provisions in the Factory, that they were forced to live the day before they left the Shore upon the Charity of the Chiness. And on the 12th of April arrived here the Tywan Frigate, with all our People from Bantam, except one Factor, who as if by mistake stayed behind to have an Eye to their Actions. At their departure they sealed up all the Companies Warehouses, leaving a Register of their Effects and Factory (being as near as we could guests about the value of 22000 Royals of Eight) with one of the Dutch Commissioners to be delivered, the Major being here arrived, the General desired us, to send back in their Ships three or four Factors to take care of the Shipping of our Goods, which was done accordingly, but in so confused a manner, as what the Dutch pleased to restore us, we can only call ours: So ended the Honourable Companies ancient Factory of Bantam, where the English have been settled, and have had a constant Trade about this 70 years. I cannot say they departed thence like Hannibal out of afric, accusing both Gods and Men, with imprecations on themselves for any omissions of their own; but truly did severely repine at the King's ingratitude to (as I may call us) the Nurses and Fathers of his Country, the English being by his Father and all the Inhabitants generally so acknowledged; and not undeservedly, having by their Trade enriched it, and brought it to what it was. And so great was our rage against the Dutch, as had our power been consonant to our will, I am confident should have treated them much worse than the Javas. Since our departure, they have had some Skirmishes with the Old King's people; with the loss thereby and Sickness (as is reported) 7 or 800 White Men, as yet have not been able to proceed further than the Fort and Town of Bantam. But their Ships being now arrived from Europe with a supply of near 1000 fresh Soldiers, 'tis reported they design speedily to March for Tertiassa the Residence of the Old King, about 20 Miles distant from Bantam: What their success will be time will show. By Sea the Old King's Forces has done them several Damages, taken 16 or 17 Sloops and small Vessels, and 'tis said burnt a Ship of near 800 Tons; so that they are forced to send Convoys with their Fleet of small Vessels to and from the Coast of Java. But leaving them to their Hostility against each other, I shall proceed to a short Relation of our Treatment since our Arrival here, where as I said we had liberty to hire an House. But as to Matters of Trade were deferred Answer, and that for nigh four Months, the General telling us every time we came into his presence we should have Answer sometimes to morrow, sometimes in few days; and this they did to perplex and intrigue our Affairs, having, Ships arrived from Europe, designed for the Northward, that required a speedy dispatch, and till received an Answer, were not permitted to bring any Goods on shore, neither suffered they any of their people to go on board us: so that we were forced to put Goods from one Ship to the other, in order to dispatching them, with so much trouble as can scarce be imagined, and at last (Eymay being lost) sent two for Canton, one for Tywan, one for Tonkeene, and the Oacklander making a 9 months' passage, with the loss of all her Men but 7, was thereby disabled from proceeding to Canton, and forced with most black. Sailors to go for Surrat in Company with the Return: At last comes an Answer to our several Letters and Requests, that in this long Attendance we had presented to the General and Council. The Contents are too tedious to recite, but concluding with an Order to us, our Residence here not consisting with their Interest, with all possible speed to withdraw our Ships and all our people to some of our own settled Factories, as Siam, Surrat, Persia, the Coast of Cormandell, Bangall, or where we thought best, and the Season of the year would best permit, except all parts belonging to the King of Bantam, who they said had for a reciprocal kindness, by Contract made over all his Terretories to them; styling the Old King his Father a Rebel against him: by which means there was no place left for us in these parts, where we could attend the Arrival of our Europe or Northward Ships, till the Company were made sensible of the loss of Bantam, and had taken some Order about their Affairs in these parts. This was a pretty unexpected Story indeed, which made us laugh, but on the wrong side of our Mouths, as the Saying is. The Companies Affairs and our own too highly requiring our longer stay here, we were forced to give Answer to their Letter more modestly than we should otherwise have done; representing the unspeakable damage will occur to our Master's Affairs, by their forcing us off; humbly Requesting permission to abide here till they were acquainted in what condition their Trade in these parts was, and had taken some Order thereabout; to which as yet we have received no Answer, and have hopes they will not urge our departure. If they do, we must do as well as we can, we are bound to see it, and to sit down and repine at our Infelicities, will not help us. But the Season is now so far spent, that if so, England of necessity must be our next Port, unless we can find some place in the Straight of Sundry to shelter ourselves. In the mean time we sit idle, and unable to turn a Penny; the time of our abode here, is so much time wholly lost: For my particular, could my Affairs have permitted, I should have returned to you by this Ship; but having the Books of the Charge I had in Bantam to make up, and my Stock all abroad, that it cannot be in readiness till the latter Ship, which may departed about January next; when if I can be permitted, I design home. The last thing I have to advise you, is the loss of the Johanna, bound for Bangall, who run ashore in the Night upon a Ridge of Rocks, between the Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Agullis, where in 12 hours' time she broke in two pieces; 'twas about two Miles distant from the shore, where all the Men but seven arrived, some in Boats, some on Rafts, some on the Rack of the Ship, but were 21 days travelling before they arrived where the Dutch Inhabited; they all came from Batavia in Dutch Ships, and the Captain and some others take their passage home in this Ship. The Company lost 72000 l. Sterling Treasure, beside other Merchandise.  
I fear you will think me somewhat tedious in relating these sad and tragical Stories, but I was willing to give you a full Relation of all Occurrences. I could wish the Subject had been more pleasant, and less tragical; but we must submit to the Divine Will.  
Yours E. G.   
FINIS.   

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