Notes on the translation of Bort’s report on Malacca in Journal M.B.R.A.S. 1927
M. Macdonald’s 1934 note provides corrections and supplementary observations on the 1927 JMBRAS translation of Bort’s report on Malacca, drawing on two Batavia archive copies and a Hague copy to resolve textual uncertainties.
Summary
The note addresses specific pages of the 1927 translation, offering emendations to Dutch readings (e.g., sedem bellium, gawardes, paloijsns), correcting numerical errors (364.6, 50000), and identifying proper names (Basley, de Vogel, Codaen). Macdonald also notes that the Batavia copies preserve the same error (327 for 372) as the India Office copy, implying the Hague copy derives from a separate source.
The most substantive passage (p. 130) argues that Bort’s reference to Borneo trade via Pahang reflects a regular Bugis coastal trade that used Pahang as its turning point, likely replacing Patani due to nautical or Siamese political factors, given the suspension of the Dutch settlement at Banjermasin (1669–1726) and the brief English presence at Succadana (c. 1630–1699).