he gave himself up to the most licentious acts of piracy, and the most shameful dissoluteness. His soldiers and sailors followed his example with avidity; and the Chinese, enraged at such outrages, fell upon them, drove them from the coast, and for a long time refused all overtures of trade from them.
In Japan, they were for a time more fortunate. They exported, in exchange for European goods or commodities, from India, gold, silver, and copper to the value of about 634,000l. annually. They married the richest heiresses, and allied themselves to the most powerful families.
"With such advantages," says the Abbé Raynal, "the avarice as well as the ambition of the Portuguese might have been satisfied. They were masters of the coast of Guinea, Arabia, Persia, and the two peninsulas of India. They were possessed of the Moluccas, Ceylon, and the isles of Sunda, while their settlement at Macao insured to them the commerce of China and Japan. Throughout these immense regions, the will of the Portuguese was the supreme law. Earth and sea acknowledged their sovereignty. Their authority was so absolute, that things and persons were dependent upon them, and moved entirely by their directions. No native, nor private person dared to make voyages, or carry on trade, without obtaining their permission and passport. Those who had this liberty granted them, were prohibited trading in cinnamon, ginger, pepper, timber, and many other articles, of which the conquerors reserved to themselves the exclusive benefit.
"In the midst of so much glory, wealth, and conquest, the Portuguese had not neglected that part of
