leading part in the trade of the Eastern islands. From this time forward the history of the English factories in the Archipelago is one long series of disappointments. Driven from one spot after another by their remorseless rivals, the English sunk lower and lower in the scale of influence until they were ousted entirely from the region. There was a flicker of hope for them in 1658 when, under the Treaty of Westminster, Poolo Roon, the island which Courthope had defended so gallantly, was retroceded, but at the end of 1665 the Dutch re-occupied the position and gave the final blow to English claims in that quarter. At last in 1667 the sole remaining English factory in Bantam was closed by Dutch action, and with this culminating blow ended a phase of the East India Company's activities from which so much was once expected.
