That fleet arrived there after a quiet voyage, and I shall have news of it this coming September.
In Borney I obtained precise information concerning the entire archipelago and the mainland, as I found there people from China, Cauchi,[1] Camboja, Sian, Patane, Pahan, Jabas, Samatra, Achen, Manancabo, Batachina, Maluco, Vindanao, Limboton, and other islands thereabout. Concerning these I inform you only that as far as Sian there dwell Moros; and thence toward the north are idolaters. Moreover, they are within your Majesty's demarcation and are not included in the compact [of Zaragoza]; and by employing the proper methods they can be brought to the service of God and of your Majesty, without violating the laws of God or nature, or the instructions which your Majesty has most inviolably charged upon me.
With the artillery which I have taken and still hold, and the galleys as well, the propagation of the faith and of your Majesty's service can be carried forward. I take part in these expeditions necessarily, because of the communications which it is necessary to make, and to secure the observance of instructions
- ↑ Cauchi is a phonetic form of Kuchi, the Malay appellation of the region known in recent years as Cochin-China, now a part of French Indo-China. Camboja is a better form of the name usually written Cambodia, also a part of French Indo-China; Sian is but a variant of Siam. Patani and Pahang are Malayan states on the eastern side of the Malay Peninsula. Jabas is a corruption of Jawa (now commonly written Java), the name of the principal nation inhabiting the island—the most civilized and moral of the Malayan peoples. Samatra is only a variant of Sumatra—the largest island, next to Borneo, of the Malayan archipelago. Achin (or Achen) and Mânangkabo (Manancabo) are states in the island of Sumatra; and Batachina evidently means "land of the Bataks," a tribe of cannibals dwelling near Achin. See Crawfurd's Dictionary for valuable information regarding all these regions.
