Doc. 1600D The text of the Latin edition of van Noort's Voyage

IX. Description of the Ladrone Islands.

This island is small and low-lying, full of trees and many hills. The island got its name from the fact that its inhabitants are notorious thieves and so skilled that the Dutch were unable to prevent their depradations. They walk around naked; however, the women hang a leaf in front of their female part. Their bodies are tawny. The men shave their hair, whereas the women let it grow. Without any law, they live together like a flock and copulate. Consequently, many of them are horribly corrupted and obviously defaced by venereal diseases.

X. What happened to the Dutch at the island of the Ladrones.

At this island about 200 canoes surrounded the Dutch, two of which came alongside and proposed to open commercial trading operations, [but] of the most fraudulent kind. The operations were made as follows. From the Dutch ship, a container with some pieces of iron was conveyed to the canoes. Having taken the iron, the Indian would return a container full of rice. However, it only appeared to be full, when it was in fact half full. Indeed, the bags supposedly full of rice were full of leaves and other useless things at the bottom. That is what happened.

Some of them climbed aboard. There, one approached an unsuspecting Dutchman and grabbed a sword from his hands, and with it jumped over board and swam toward the island. As a result, the General was offended and wished to take revenge against those in the canoes, but, throwing their possessions into the water, they escaped by diving and pushing off their empty canoes... Their canoes are elongated, and narrow, and with them they sail with skill against the wind, with no need to change the sail as the prow becomes the poop...
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From Rodrigue Lévesque, History of Micronesia Vol. 3, pages 36-38. Reproduced with permission of Lévesque Publications, 189 Dufresne, Gatineau, Québec, Canada, J8R 3E1.

Copyright © 1993 by Rodrigue Lévesque

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