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and of his double-dealing with Siqueira, and it is therefore well to note that the latter came to his kingdom, not merely in the guise of a peaceful trader, as others of many nationalities had come before him, but with the deliberate design of "conquering" the land. It was here that the white men differed so materially from the Arabs, the natives of India, and the Chinese, all of whom had during many centuries carried on an extensive commerce in Asia. With none of these people were exploration and conquest synonymous terms. The Hindus, at a very early period, had deeply impressed Java, Lâmbok and Bâli with their influence, and they have left an enduring mark upon the superstitious beliefs and upon the magic practices of the Malayans. None the less, there is no record of anything resembling a Hindu invasion of these islands. Similarly the Muhammadan traders settled in the Archipelago and in the Malay Peninsula had succeeded, by the beginning of the sixteenth century, in converting the bulk of the native populations to the faith of Islâm, but they had not profited by the moral and intellectual ascendency thus gained to wrest the reins of government from the rulers of the land. The Chinese, too, after the period of the great Tartar invasion and the innumerable expeditions of Kublai Kaan, had traded freely with Persia, with India and with Malaya without seeking to annex an inch of foreign territory. The Portuguese, on the other hand, and many of the white nations after them, trusted, not so much to peaceful commerce, but to lawless pillage for their speedy enrichment, and the annual fleets sent