Favour, that their Reſident may every Year appear at Court in order to pay their Reſpect to the Emperor. This is the only Opportunity at preſent, an European can have of going thither, and viewing the Majeſty of that Court and Empire. Our Ship was bound firſt to Siam, there to diſpoſe of Part of her Cargo, and to take in Goods of that Country, whereby I had an Opportunity of ſeeing alſo this famous Kingdom and its magnificent Court.
I went on Board on Sunday the Seventh of May 1690 early in the Morning. We weigh’d Anchor the ſame Day and ſet Sail with a ſmall, but favourable Breeze. About Noon we made the ſmall Iſland Eidam, lying a few Leagues off Batavia, along which we coaſted till late at Night, when we loſt ſight of it.
On Monday the Eighth we loſt Sight of the high Land of Java, but not of the neighbouring Iſlands. We were becalm’d in the Afternoon and advancing but ſlowly, caſt Anchor in Twenty nine Fathoms, leſt the Currents, which run here very ſtrongly, ſhould carry us too much out of our Courſe. About half a League off us we ſaw a ſmall Portugueſe Veſſel at Anchor, with Chineſe Sailors on board, which ſet Sail from Batavia two days before. She was call’d the St. Paul, and had the Image of this Apoſtle painted upon her Stern. She had been in Japan about five Years ago, notwithſtanding that by order of the Japaneſe Emperor all Portugueſe whatever are forbid entring his Dominions under Pain of Death and Forfeiture of their Ships and Goods. I flatter myſelf the Reader will not be diſpleas’d to be inform’d of the Occaſion and Event of this Voyage, which I particularly enquir’d into at Batavia, the rather ſince it bears a near relation to the main Subjet of this Hiſtory.
About ſix Years ago, a Japaneſe Veſſel was forc’d away, in a violent Storm, from the Coaſts of Japan towards China, and having ſuffer’d many Incommodities, was at laſt wreck’d near Macao, a famous trading Town in China, belonging to the Portugueſe. The Portugueſe Government at Macao thought this an excellent Opportunity, to recommend themſelves to the Japaneſe Emperor, and perhaps, which they had more at heart, to recover their former advantageous Trade. For this reaſon it was reſolv’d to relieve the twelve Japaneſe, whoſe Lives had been ſav’d, to treat them with kindneſs and civility, and generouſly to ſend them back to Japan on board one of their own Ships. But the Event fell far ſhort from anſwering their Expectation; for when they got into the Harbour of Nangaſaki, all the Japaneſe without exception were committed to Priſon, and the Portugueſe Veſſel ſtrictly guarded, without permitting any Body to ſet foot on ſhore, till the Governors of Nangaſaki could give an Account of this nice Affair to the Imperial Court at Jedo, and Orders ſent from thence as to their further Conduct. The Portugueſe were like to be put to Death and to have their Ship burnt, purſuant to the ſtanding
