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Account of the Inhabitants of Batavia
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The Indians, who are mixed with the Dutch and Portuguese in the town of Batavia, and the country adjacent, are not, as might be supposed, Javanese, the original natives of the island, but natives of the various islands from which the Dutch import slaves, and are either such as have themselves been manumized, or the descendants of those who formerly received manumission; and they are all comprehended under the general name of Oranslam, or Isalam, signifying Believers of the true Faith. The natives of every country, however, in other respects keep themselves distinct from the rest, and are not less strongly marked than the slaves by the vices or virtues of their respective nations. Many of these employ themselves in the cultivation of gardens, and in selling fruit and flowers. The betel and areca, which are here called Siri and Pinang, and chewed by both sexes and every rank in amazing quantities, are all grown by these Indians: lime is also mixed with these roots here as it is in Savu, but it is less pernicious to, the teeth, because it is first flaked, and, besides the lime, a substance called gambir, which is brought from the continent of India; the better sort of women also add cardamum, and many other aromatics, to give the breath an agreeable smell. Some of the Indians, however, are employed in fishing, and as lightermen, to carry goods from place to place by water; and some are rich, and live with much of the splendour of their country, which chiefly consists in the number of their slaves.
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© Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, pages 751 - 752, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/751.html