that all criminals are executed on board ship, under the flag of the
company.

The directory of Coromandel is the first of the four, and has all the
forts and factories belonging to the Dutch on that coast under
his jurisdiction. Besides Negapatnam, on the southernmost point of
Coromandel, and the fort of _Gueldria_, in which the director resides,
they have factories at Guenepatnam, Sadraspatnam, Masulipatnam,
Pelicol, Datskorom, Benlispatnam, Nagernauty, and Golconda. The Dutch
director is a principal merchant, and if he discharges his office with
reputation, he is commonly in a few years promoted to be one of
the counsellors of the Indies. It is not uncommon for a governor
or director in the Indies, in the space of a few years, to amass a
fortune equal to the original capital of the company, or six millions
and a half of guilders, or nearly L600,000 sterling.

Formerly, the country of Coromandel was divided into a great number of
principalities, and the little princes and chiefs imposed such heavy
duties, and gave such interruptions to trade in other respects, as
rendered the company very uneasy. But after the war of Golconda, which
cost the company a great deal of money, yet ended to their advantage,
these princes grow more tractable. At present, the kings of Bisnagar
and Hassinga,[1] who are the most powerful in Coromandel, live in
tolerably good terms with the Dutch and other European nations; the
English and Danes having also a share in Coromandel, with several good
fortresses for the protection of their trade.

[Footnote 1: This seems to be a misprint for Narsinga, otherwise the
Carnatic.--E.]

The great trade carried on here is in cotton goods, as muslins,
chintzes, and the like; in exchange for which the Dutch bring them
spices, Japan copper, steel, gold-dust, sandal and _siampan_ woods.
In this country, the inhabitants are some Pagans, some Mahomedans, and
not a few Christians. The country is very fertile in rice, fruits,
and herbs, and in every thing necessary to the support of man; but
the weather is exceedingly hot during the eastern monsoon. All the
manufactures of this country, purchased by the Dutch, are transported
first to Batavia, whence they are sent home to Holland, and are thence
distributed through all Germany and the north of Europe.

The second and third directories are established at Hoogly on the
Ganges, and at Surat on the western coast of India, both in the
territories of the Great Mog