This island was settled by the Portugueze almost as soon as they first found their way into this part of the ocean; but they were in a short time supplanted by the Dutch.  The Dutch however did not take possession of it, but only sent sloops to trade with the natives, probably for provisions to support the inhabitants of their spice islands, who, applying themselves wholly to the cultivation of that important article of trade, and laying out all their ground in plantations, can breed few animals:  Possibly their supplies by this occasional traffic were precarious; possibly they were jealous of being supplanted in their turn; but however that be, their East India Company, about ten years before, entered into a treaty with the rajas, by which the Company stipulated to furnish each of them with a certain quantity of silk, fine linen, cutlery ware, arrack, and other articles, every year; and the rajas engaged that neither they nor their subjects should trade with any person except the Company, without having first obtained their consent, and that they would admit a resident on behalf of the Company, to reside upon the island, and see that their part of the treaty was fulfilled:  They also engaged to supply annually a certain quantity of rice, maize, and calevances.  The maize and calevances are sent to Timor in sloops, which are kept there for that purpose, each of which is navigated by ten Indians; and the rice is fetched away annually by a ship which brings the Company’s returns, and anchors alternately in each of the three bays.  These returns are delivered to the rajas in the form of a present, and the cask of arrack they and their principal people never cease to drink, as long as a drop of it remains.  In consequence of this treaty, the Dutch placed three persons upon the island:  Mr Lange, his colleague, the native of Timor, the son of an Indian woman by a Portuguese, and one Frederick Craig, the son of an Indian woman by a Dutchman.  Lange visited each of the rajas once in two months, when he made the tour of the island, attended by fifty slaves on horseback.  He exhorted these chiefs to plant, if it appeared that they had been remiss, and observed where the crops were got in, that he might order sloops to fetch it; so that it passed immediately from the ground to the Dutch store-houses at Timor.  In these excursions he always carried with him some bottles of arrack, which he found of great use in opening the hearts of the rajas, with whom he had to deal.

During the ten years that he had resided upon this island he had never seen a European besides ourselves, except at the arrival of the Dutch ship, which had sailed about two months before we arrived; and he was to be distinguished from the natives only by his colour and his dress, for he sate upon the ground, chewed his betel, and in every respect adopted their character and manners:  He had married an Indian woman of the island of Timor, who kept his house after the fashion of her country; and he gave that as a reason for not inviting us to visit him, saying, that he could entertain us in no other manner than the Indians had done, and he spoke no language readily but that of the country.