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A Dutch account of the Pepper Coast in the Seventeenth Century: Chevalier des Marchais |
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After the wars of Louis XIV were over, France and Holland somewhat drew together
in their common policy; so much so, that in the middle of the eighteenth century
the informal alliance between them at the Cape of Good Hope became a danger to
the British East India Company, and led to abortive attempts on the part of the
British to seize the Cape of Good Hope. Under the Orleans Regency, advantage was
taken of this friendlier feeling with the Dutch to call at the Dutch settlement
on the Gold Coast, and the French began to think of creating depôts for trade in
slaves and even for colonisation far to the east of their establishments in
Senegambia1. In tropical South America, as well as in Africa, the Dutch and the
French were in friendly relations, and in 1725 and subsequent years the
Chevalier des Marchais was sent by the French Government to visit the West Coast
of Africa and the South American settlement of Cayenne (Guiana), and report on
the trading prospects of both regions. The following is an abridgment of
Chevalier des Marchais’ description of his visit to Cape Mesurado (the modern
Monrovia).
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| © fpm van der kraaij |
