Louis XIV and the King of Siam
A foothold in Siam offered new trading opportunities for France in the late 17th century, as well as a chance to spread the Catholic faith.
Peter Murrell
Sin and Sodomy in the Dutch East Indies
Joost Schouten was one of the ablest servants of the 17th-century Dutch East India Company, but he came a serious cropper when his fellow countrymen discovered his ‘crimes against nature’.