Chapter 3: The Spice Islands

Finally, ten months after sailing from Genoa, their lookout sighted the small island of Ambon, where the Portuguese had a small fort and a trading post. They were not at peace with some of the neighbouring islands and even with the ruler of the northern part of Ambon Island, but the settlers traded in nutmeg and other spices, for which demand and prices were high back home.

Two days after first sighting the southern part of Ambon, the trading ships cast anchor at the settlement of Ambon. Capitano Ricci sent word to the fort that protected the anchorage, stating his peaceful intentions and their desire to trade with the merchants of Ambon.

An answer came within two hours, welcoming the Genoese merchants and inviting them to come ashore. That was auspicious, and they collected samples of their trading goods and set out for the shore and the settlement. Joseph, by now fairly knowledgeable of the Portuguese language, went ashore with his apprentice only, and with several sacks of samples for the goods he had to sell, whilst his journeyman stayed aboard, tasked with readying their goods.

The merchants were received by their fellow traders, and quickly, they presented what they had to offer and inspected the spices and other wares for barter. Of course, no deals were concluded on this first day, but invitations and counter invitations were exchanged, and over the next week, a lively traffic of boats between shore and ships developed, as wares were inspected and prices or bartered goods were negotiated. After the first week in Ambon, Joseph had sold or bartered almost a third of his iron ingots, half his fuse-lock muskets, and a healthy part of the lace and other European finery. In return, he received over three tonnes of spices and even incense, which would sell to the churches and monasteries back at home. He and his journeyman took pains to store the precious spices high in the hold of the Dom Pedro, away from the bilge water, and packed in the strongly built crates and chests which had held the muskets and cutlery.

The other merchants also made good business, and after ten days at anchor, Ricci readied the ships to sail for the the island of Ternate, too. It had been governed de facto by the Portuguese as well, but the Mussulman Sultan Baabullah had conquered them and now ruled the island. Ternate produced clove and other spices, and, after a council with the traders, it was decided to try to trade there as well. In spite of the strong anti-Portuguese sentiment of the sultans of Ternate, Ricci hoped that Genoese ships might be allowed to buy and sell wares.

It took the Dom Pedro and her consorts five days to reach Ternate, skirting the sister island, Tidore, which was ruled by another local potentate. The ships anchored off the eastern coast of Ternate, where the sultans resided in the former Portuguese fort, at the foot of the huge volcano which crowned the island. Ricci had hired a young man from Ambon who spoke the local language but also some Portuguese, and that man was sent ashore to make contact. He was instructed to explain that the Genoese ships were there to trade and not to conquer or even settle on the island.

Their emissary did not return come the evening, and the captains readied their ships against a possible attack, but come the first sunlight, the boat returned, followed by a second boat that carried the vizier of the sultan. That man had some Portuguese, and he started the negotiations, asked what wares they had to sell and what wares they wanted to buy.

The vizier was very interested in European-made weapons, mainly flint-lock muskets, and the availability of such firearms on the ships helped enormously. Capitano Ricci weighed in on that, too, offering the three falcons recovered from the wreck of the Gaeta, and soon, the Genoese fleet was very welcome. Here, all negotiations were through the vizier, not with local merchants, but they could get over six tonnes of dried cloves for their guns, and Joseph traded part of his iron ingots for another three tonnes. This was an excellent business for them and after the conclusion of the negotiations and the exchange of the trading goods, the vizier related an invitation to attend a feast which the sultan would hold for his Genoese friends. The vizier was also kind enough to instruct them about the proper conduct before a Mussulman sultan, but he also allowed for the young priest to be included, provided he did not try to preach.