The Armenians are civil and polite, and have a great deal of good sense and honesty: they apply themselves very much to trade, which they make their chief business… They are not only masters of whole trade of the Levant, but have also a great share in that of the most considerable towns in Europe; for it is very common to meet with some Armenians at Leghorn, at Venice, in England, and in Holland; whilst on the other side they travel into the dominions of the Grand Mogul, Siam, Java, the Philippine islands, and other all the east..
– Malachy Postlethwayt, The Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, London, 1751
Things have changed a bit. I have met many Armenians in many places, including staying in an Armenian hotel in Calcutta in 1980. But have never met any in “Siam, Java, the Philippine islands”. 🙂