ehan conquered the western kingdom of Sunda in 1524,
Arab merchants had spread the principles of Islamism among the Javanese.
It was just at the time of the establishment of the Mohammedan power
that the first Europeans made their way to the island. Portuguese
writers say that their people, after the conquest of Malacca in 1511,
entered into relations with the inhabitants of Bantam, through Samian, a
prince of Sunda, who had formerly lived at Malacca. Leme, a Portuguese
sent by Albuquerque, Captain of Malacca, made a treaty with this Samian,
and obtained permission to build a fortress at Bantam on condition that
the prince and his subjects were protected from the Moors. In the
realization of this object, an expedition was sent by the Portuguese
king under command of Francesco de Sa; but before it reached the prince
Bantam had been taken by treason, and the Mohammedan power established
under Fatelehan. Henceforward the native rulers were Mohammedans, and
the list of these sovereigns given by Raffles extends from A.D. 1477 to
A.D. 1815.

[Footnote 2: "Boro-Boedoer Temples," by Dr. C. Leemans, a Leide
1874.]

[Illustration: A PORTUGUESE HOUSE, BATAVIA. _Page_ 6.]

The Portuguese were followed by the Dutch and English after some
considerable interval. The first Dutch fleet, under the command of
Admiral Houtman, sailed for Bantam in the year 1595. The prince, who was
then at war with the Portuguese, allowed them to establish a factory
there, and thus the first Dutch settlement in the East Indies was
formed. Not long after, the English East India Company (immediately
after their incorporation by Queen Elizabeth in 1601) despatched a force
under Captain Lancaster. He succeeded in establishing friendly relations
with the prince, who sent a letter to the English queen, which is still
extant among the state records. This is noticeable as being the first
settlement of the East India Company; and as showing that Hindustan,
which now means India for most people, was not the original "India" of
the company. In the subsequent quarrels between the natives and the
Dutch, the English assisted the former so successfully that at one time
the Dutch had to enter into a convention with the native chiefs and the
English commander, by which they agreed to surrender their fort at
Jakatra and evacuate the island. On the conclusion of peace, however,
between the Dutch and English in Europe, and on the arrival of
reinforcements under Jan