Before leaving, they stripped the fort of every remaining item, and demolished the palisade so that no other European power could seize it. Within three years of abandonment, the fort was an overgrown ruin, with only a few walls remaining standing. Revival of trade, 1730s–1770s The 1730s and 40s saw decreased commercial activities in and around Delagoa Bay. A Dutch ship, the Brack, which stopped in the bay in 1742 while on a voyage to Madagascar, reported that the area was mostly deserted, with a small number of natives (who were still able to communicate in Dutch). They also encountered a few remaining merchants, selling a small number of slaves, but no ivory. The revival of trade in Delagoa Bay came with expanding British trade with India. Since the abandonment of the Dutch fort, the Portuguese had intermittently maintained trading posts in the Espíritu Santo estuary within the bay. Initially, beads, arms, and arraco (a coconut product) were shipped from Madras to Mozambique Island, where Dutch merchant vessels would pick them up and bring them to Delagoa Bay. Still, trade grew slowly and remained risky, in part because of hostility of Portuguese officials towards British merchant ships. Despite the captain of Inhambane having urged the reestablishment of Portuguese authority in the bay since 1745, the Crown only did so in 1755 with sending the barque Francisco Xavier. The purpose, in addition to hopes of using the region to "provide slaves for Brazil", was to prevent any possible British attempts to colonize Delagoa Bay. In addition, as trade was just picking up, the Portuguese saw an opportunity to draw high prices for its Deccan cotton fabrics in exchange for ivory. Unexpectedly, a Bombay trading vessel, the British Salamander Bombketch, showed up as well, ruining Portugal's market opportunity. The Xavier, unable to sell its expensive textiles, left the bay, and ran aground on the way to Quelimane. During the 1750s and 60s, the British dominated trade in Delagoa Bay. Austrian colonization, 1770s Neither the British nor the Portuguese were willing to go forward with the risky venture of constructing a fort in Delagoa Bay. Nevertheless, the Portuguese sent a new ship to Delagoa in 1762. The goal was to establish a small trading post, and to either sign treaties with or purchase the surrounding land from the Kingdom of Tembi in order to keep the British out. The Portuguese constructed a mud