Story about Silebar and Bengkulu and the activities of the English there, 28 January 1696

Report about Silebar and Benkulu [Bencoolen] and the Activities of the English There, 28 January 1696.

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Report made by the minister (mantri) of the Sultan of Bantam (Banten) by the name of Siliely Godong and Harkis Baly, formerly interpreter for the English at Bencoolen and still resident there, about the nature of Silebar etc., the former having returned from there on the 17 January in the year 1696 after carrying out the orders of his master Pangeran Kesatrian (Cassatrian) and the latter come here on his own business. Each questioned individually, producing the following narrative.

Silebar and Bengkulu are situated in the same way as are Banten and Pontang, except that there are no islands off the bay of Silebar, whereas there are two [49] off Bengkulu, closely resmbling the two pulau madis off Pontang. However, [the waters around them] are extremely treacherous because of the reefs which lie close to and around the small islands. They are the reason that no ship can venture into that area with confidence, but must anchor in the Silebar roads. This they can do for only four months if they want to be assured of a safe anchorage, because the hard winds. They must load their cargo of pepper within this time and set sail.

The annual quantity of these peppercorns there is estimated to be about two average  ship’s cargoes, although every year two to three, even four vessels, both large and small, put in there and leave again with pepper. For each bahar (c. 500 Amsterdam pounds), they pay the native population 12 Spanish reals, nevertheless the latter can still make a profit either by inflating the weight or by levying a toll of 1 real on every bahar. The ruling Pangeran also receives 1 real as his share, so that those who bring the pepper profit no more than 10 reals on each bahar. Over and above the tolls in which the Pangeran has an equal share, the English levy tolls on all incoming and outgoing goods, and the ruler of the place is excluded from any share. This injustice has disgruntled the Pangeran, however partly [by exercising] the authority they have acquired and partly on account of an annual gift of 400 reals, the English have appeased him somewhat . The condition is that neither the Pangeran nor any Silebarese trader export even a single peppercorn to any nation whatsoever but to them alone. For this reason, the natives, both of both low and high estate, not least because the English behave as sovereign ruler over the people [50] under other circumstances as well, and arrogate [authority], mutter complaints and the majority hope that the English yoke will be lifted from their necks by the Sultan of Banten, as they are not in a position to do this themselves.

On a low rise, the English at Bengkulu have built a small fort, whose inner courtyard is almost half as the size as that of Speelwijk. It is armed with thirty iron cannon, and manned by around forty English, including a commander, other officers, two Dutch deserters from Padang, and six or eight young English lads who have been sent there to accustom themselves to the climate of Silebar, plus forty Buginese, and a hundred or so men each Malabarese and Kaffers. Moreover, there is one Dutchman called Willem who sailed thither on a sloop. He makes his living there as an interpreter. At the moment, the small fort has only two brick walls, those on the eastern and western sides, the south and the north sides being [constructed] of fitted planks. Nevertheless, they are now also working on facing these with bricks. The wall is the thickness of two bricks, and around 10  feet high. The cannon emplacements are on firm ground and there are embrasures for the cannon, both in the curtain wall and in the small bastions. They are building a tall warehouse on which cannon will also be placed. They have a well inside with sweet water but they do not use it. The small fortress lies within a cannon shot of the sea. However, if the Sultan of Banten wanted to come to its aid, they would have an adequate chance of expelling the English from it . They declare that they have made their reports with absolute truth.