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sent eight vessels under the command of Perez de Andrade. These, on anchoring at Shang-chuan (Saint John's Island), became an object of some suspicion to the local authorities, as was not unnatural, for in addition to the reputation already attaching to the Portuguese themselves, it must be remembered that during nearly two centuries prior to this time, nearly the whole of the littoral population of China had been constantly subjected to violence by Japanese pirates. Some historians allege that the Government of Japan assisted these raiders ; that, in short, they represented a national effort. Such an idea is erroneous. The Japanese Government was not in a position to undertake any oversea enterprise during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It had not competence even to maintain order within its own borders. The pirates were not officially restrained at first. But neither were they officially encouraged. Purely private adventurers, they nevertheless created such a reign of terror that the Chinese, who had now lost the spirit of foreign enterprise which they displayed in the opening years of the Ming dynasty, regarded every squadron of foreign vessels with apprehension. Andrade, however, behaved so circumspectly that suspicion was disarmed, and two of his vessels being allowed to proceed to Canton, he achieved the commercial purpose of his mission. A part of the squadron returned to Malacca, and the rest, accompanied by some