mself and
his nobles, or to those who have special leave for this purpose from the
king, who expects to know what voyages are made from Malacca eastwards.
The royal voyages from Malacca eastwards are as follow. Every year two
galleons belonging to the king depart from Malacca, one of which is
bound for the Moluccas to lade cloves, and the other goes to Banda for
nutmegs and mace. These two are entirely laden on the kings account, and
do not take any goods belonging to individuals, saving only the
privilege of the mariners and soldiers. Hence these voyages are not
frequented by merchants, who would have no means of transporting their
return goods, and besides the captains of these ships are not permitted
to carry any merchants thither. There go however to these places some
small ships belonging to the Moors from the coast of Java, who exchange
or barter their commodities in the kingdom of Acheen. These are mace,
cloves, and nutmegs, which are sent from Acheen to the Red Sea. The
voyages which the king of Portugal grants to his nobles, are those from
China to Japan and back to China, from China to India, and those of
Bengal, the Moluccas, and Sunda, with fine cloth and all kinds of cotton
goods.

Sunda is an island of the Moors near the coast of Java, whence pepper is
curried to China. The ship which goes yearly from India to China is
called the _drug ship_, because she carries various drugs of Cambaia,
but her principal lading consists of silver. From Malacca to China the
distance is 1800 miles; and from China there goes every year a large
ship to Japan laden with silk, in return for which she brings back bars
of silver which are bartered in China for goods. The distance between
Japan and China is 2400 miles, in which sea there are several islands of
no great size, in which the friars of St Paul, by the blessing of God,
have made many Christians _like themselves_: But from these islands the
seas have not been fully explored and discovered, on account of the
great numbers of shoals and sand banks [157].

[Footnote 157: The text in this place it erroneous or obscure. The
indicated distance between China and Japan is enormously exaggerated,
and probably ought to have been stated as between Malacca and Japan. The
undiscovered islands and shoals seem to refer to the various islands
between Java and Japan, to the east and north.--E.]

The Portuguese have a small city named Macao on an island near the
coast of China, in whic