 The treatment of the slaves was severe—the native Bandanese population dropped to one hundred by 1681, and 200 slaves were imported annually to keep the slave population steady at 4,000..

Volcanic eruptions of Gunung Api were sometimes explosive; several lava flows reached the coast.Between 1586 and 1988 the volcano erupted over twenty times.For example, there was a sudden and violent eruption in June 1820, as a result of which the islanders fled to Banda Neira.