Note 32 — Bijlagen

“This Andrea Dittis is now chosen capten and cheefe comander of all the Chinas in Japon, both at Nangasaque, Firando and else wheare” (Diary of Richard Cocks, II, bl. 309, 10th of Marche 1619 [20]).

“The Chinese pirates who resorted to the island [Formosa] as a safe retreat, were as a rule divided into bands, and, according to the scanty historical material which we have at hand, established a rough form of government over their settlements. So admirable was the organization that the different bands lived together without discord and chose their leaders by vote, while a supreme chief was appointed to look after the interests of the combined bands whenever anything arose of common concern. The strongest of them was a powerful band under the leadership of one Gan Shi-sai. Their exploits brought large returns, and by combining legitimate trade with piratical raids they eventually attained a position so formidable that smaller bands combined with them for their own protection, and thus nearly the whole of the China and Formosa trade was brought under their control. In 1621 Gan Shi-sai died, and was succeeded by Ching Chi-lung, a famous character, and the father of Koxinga.” (J. W. Davidson, The Island of Formosa (1903) bl. 8).