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 214 HLSTOIiV OF IS III A.

[Book I.

A.D. 108:;. " 13. Item, wee will that you deale altogether in thi.s voyage like good and lioucHt nier-

chants, trafHckiiig and exchanging ware for ware, with all courtewie, to the nationw you Hhall Instructions '^^'*'^^ with,a3 well Ethuiks aa others; and for that cause you shall instruct all those that shall continued ^^^ ^'^'' i'^^h that whensoever you, or any of you, shall happen to come in any place to cou- fei-ence with the people of those parts, that in all your doings and theirs, you and they so behave yourselves towards the sayd people as may rather procure their friendhhij; and good liking toward you by courtesie than to turne them to offence or misliking; and especially you shall have great care of the performance of your word and promise to them.

" 14. Item, wee will, that by the advise of your a.ssistants, in places where you and they shall thinke most fit, you settl, if you can, a beginning of a further trade to be had hereafter: and from such places doe bring over with you some fewe men and women if you may; and do also leave some one or two, or more, as to you and your assistants shall seem convenient, of our nation with them for pledges, and to learn the tongue and secrets of the countreys, ha ng diligent care, that, in delivering and taking of hostages, you deliver not personages of more value then you i-eceive, but rather deliver meane persons under colour of men of value, as the infidels do for the most part use. Provided that you stay not longer to make continuance of further trade, then shall be expedient for good exchange of the wares presently carried with you.

" 15. Item, you shall have care, and give generall warning, that no person, of M'hat calling soever hee be, shall take up or keepe to himself or his private use, any stone, pearle, golde, silver, or other matter of commoditie to be had or found in places where you shall come ; but he, the said person, so seased of such stone, pearle, golde, silver, or other matter of commoditie, shall with all speede, or so soone as he can, detect the same, and make deliverie thereof to your selfe, or your vice-admirall, or lieutenant, and the factor appointed for this voyage, upon paine of forfeiture of all the recompense he is to have for his service in this voyage by share or otherwise ; and further, to receive such punishment as to you and your assistants, or the more part of them, shall seeme good, and otherwise to be j^unished here at his returne, if according to the qualitie of his offence it shall be thought needful.

" 16. Item, if the captaines, merchants, or any other, shall have any apparell, jewels, chaines, armour, or any other thing whatsoever, which may be desired in countreys where they shall traffique, that it shall not be lawful for them, or any of them, to trafRque or sell any thing thereof for their private accompt ; but the same shall be prized by the most part of those that shall be in commission in the places where the same may be so required, rated at such value as it may bee reasonably worth in England ; and then solde to the profite of the whole voyage, and to goe as in adventure for those to whom it doeth appertaine." Interest This vovasre, as the first in which a direct attempt was made by any Euro-

attaoMngto '' °. .

the voyage, pean powcr to break up the Portuguese monopoly of naagation by the Cape of Good Hope, natiu'ally excites a deep interest ; and hence even the instructions to its commander, from the insight they give into the motives with which the voyage was undertaken, deserve all the space which has above been allotted to them. The voyage itself ought, of com'se, to have been still more interesting ; but unfortunately the account of it written by Luke Ward, the vice-admiral, is meaofre in the extreme, and does Little more than establish the fact that it proved a complete failure. The good sense apparent in drawing up the instruc- tions does not appear to have been employed in making the appointments ; and the expedition had not proceeded far on its way when Fenton, who com- manded it, appears to have betrayed, if not incompetency, at least indecision.

The four vessels, consisting of the Beare, which changed its name to the Leices- ter, the Edward Bonaventure, the Francis, and the Elizabeth, sailed on the 1st of May, but spent a whole month before they finally quitted the English coast, and


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 Chap. IX.] FENTON'S VOYAGE TO THE EAST. 215

launched out to .sea. In the beginning of August, they reached the coast of ad. i582.

Guinea ; and then the commander, instead of deciding on his own responsibility

as to the propriety of taking in water, deemed it necessary to summon a formal c'ouree of

. . /» 1 proceedings.

meeting of his a.ssistant.s, or councd, and submit two pomts for decision — first, whether they ouglit to water at all ; and, secondly, assuming this was resolved upon, at what place? These points, it seems, occasioned long debates; and while all unanimously approved of watering, only a majority agreed in thinking that it ought to be at Sierra Leone. They accordingly proceeded for this locality, but had gone so far out of their reckoning that they were several days in finding it ; and the council was again summoned to decide, after long debate, in what direction they ought to steer.

After leaving Sierra Leone, they appear to have acted as if they had thrown Faiiura their instructions overboard ; for they are afterwards found far south, on the expedition coast of Brazil, not considering, in terms of their instructions, how they might best double the Cape of Good Hope, but debating on the expediency or inexpe- diency of passing the Straits of Magalhaens, though this was the direction which they had been expressly forbidden to take. It seems, however, that they would have taken it, had they not feared an encounter with the Spaniards. On this ground alone they abandoned the idea of prosecuting their voyage, and had determined to retrace their steps, when the vessels were obliged to part com- pany. The Bonaventure was the only one which reached England; and this it did by sailing northwards to St. Vincent, and then across the Atlantic. The blundering manner in which the expedition had been conducted, may perhaps explain the silence which has been kept respecting it; and yet it undoubtedly entitles England to claim the high honour of having been the fii*st European state which entered into competition with the Portuguese on their peculiar line of traffic, and sent a regular expedition for the purpose of trading with the E<ist by the way of the Cape of Good Hope. The failm-e of the expedition was not owing to its projectors; and, however much it is to be lamented, cannot derogate from their merit in having both devised the expedition, and liberally furnished it with everything deemed necessary to insure its success.

Nine years passed away before any expedition intended to reach the East by Preparations

., . for another

the Cape quitted the shores of England. This apparent supineness, however, must voyage. })e imputed, not to indiff*erence to the object or despair of being able to accom- pUsh it, but to political causes. Philip II. of Spain was engaged in fitting out his boasted Armada, and Queen Elizabeth, in her heroic efforts to defeat him, could not spare a single seaman ; but no sooner Wcis the battle of national independence fought and won, than the determination to establish a trade in the East was resumed. Accordingly, in October, 1 589, the verj^ year after the invincible Armada was discomfited, a body of English merchants presented a memorial to the lords in council, in which, after a rapid survey of the Portuguese settlements in the East, for the purpose of showing that, in the countries bordering on the Indian


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 2l(.i

IILSTOIIY OF INDIA.

[B«;OK I.

A.D. 1589.

Petition to the queen.

and Ciiina .sea.s, tliere were many ports in which a trade in English rnanufactnre.s and Eastern produce rni<^iit be advantageously established, tiiey prayed for permission to fit out three ships and three pinnaces to be employed in this trade, with tlie queen's liceiLse and protection, and subject to no other c^jndition than the payment of the usual customs on their return.

Before presenting this petition, the memorialists had felt .so confident of success that they had actually obtained, or at least bargained for, pos.sessioii of the vessels which they meant to employ: these are hence mentioned in the memorial by their names as the Royal Merchant, the Susan, and the EdvMrd Bonaventuve. These names are of some consequence, as, in the absence of any direct information as to the answer given to the memorial V.)y the lords of council, we are enabled to infer that it was favourable from the fact that, in April, 1591, less than eighteen months from the date of the application, three ships, of which two were the same as those named, sailed on this wery voyage. Sailing of ^g in the former case the accounts are very imperfect, and do little more

a new

expedition, than prove that a second failm-e, though not so complete as before, ^vas experi- enced. The leading ship, the Penelope, was commanded by George Bajinond, the Royal Merchant by Abraham Kendal, and the Edward Bonaventure by James Lancaster. They sailed from Plymouth on the 1 0th of April, reached the Canaries by the 25th, were off Cape Blanco on the 2d of May, passed the tropic of Cancer on the 5th, and continued with a fair wind at north-east till the 13th, when they were within 8° of the equator. Here they encountered a gale which obliged them to lie oli" and on in the sea till the 6th of June, when they passed the hne. They had previously captured a Portuguese caravel, bound from Lisbon to Brazil, and loaded chiefly with wine, oil, olives, and divers necessaries. These last are said to have proved better to them than gold, as many of the crew had previously fallen sick.

An E S.E. wind prevailing, carried them far west till within 100 leagues of the coast of Brazil. They had reached 26° south latitude, when the wind, veering i-ound to the north, enabled them to steer for the Cape of Good Hope, which the}- saw for the first time on the 28th of July. Being prevented by contrary* winds from douliling it, they cast anchor on the 1st of August in Saldanha Bay. Here, as the number of hands had been reduced by death, and many, from having been attacked with scurvy, had become inefficient, it was deemed expedient to send liack the Royal Merchant with the sick, and continue the voyage only "wdth the Penelope and the Edivard. On reaching Cape Corrientes, on the east coast of Africa, near the tropic of Capricorn, a hiu'ricane arose, during which the vessels parted company. The Penelojoe was never afterwards heard of; but Lancaster, who continues the account, persevered in the voyage. After coasting northward, and losing a large part of his crew by an attack of the Mooi"s, who came sud- denly upon them while procuring water, they sailed directly for Cape Comorin,

Its pro- ceedings.


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 CnAP. IX.

EXPEDITION UNDER RAYMOND.

217

'*?€.*■--

Cape Comorin, from near Calcad — Fnun Daiiieil's Views in India.

where the}^ meant to cruise with a view to intercept and capture the richly a n. 1592. laden vessels from the Indian peninsula, Ceylon, Malacca, the Moluccas, and Japan. The south-west mon.soon having set in, they foimd great diffi- culty in doubling the Cape, but at length suc- ceeded in May, 1692. Six days after, they ar- rived at the Nicobar Islands; and then, after plying off and on the coast of Sumatra, pro- ceeded to the coast of Malacca, where they de- termined to pass what Lanciister calls the winter, meaning thereby the rain}' season. They were now reduced to thirty-three persons in all ; but, towards the end of August, having espied three vessels, each of about seventy tons, they Pre.iatorj' were bold enough to attack and capture the whole of them. Two of them they released because they were the property of merchants in Pegu ; but the third, which they understood to belong "to certain Portuguese Jesuits, and a biscuit- l)aker of the same nation," was considered lawful prize. Its cargo of pepper was transferred to the Edward.

They next sailed for the Straits of Malacca, still bent on privateering, and made two important captures, the one a Portuguese ship of 250 tons, laden with rice from Negapatam to Malacca, and the other a Malacca ship of 700 tons, that came from Goa. The latter carried fifteen brass Ciinnon, and had on board 300 men, women, and children, but made scarcely any defence against Lancas- ter's mere handful. She was laden chiefly with wine and European goods, but had no treasure ; and thus proving not so rich a prize as was anticipated, was sent adrift after the choicest goods had been taken out. The alarm of their presence being now spread, they deemed it dangerous to remain longer in this locality, and returned to the Nicobar Islands.

On the 21st of November they departed for the island of Ceylon, and, voyage anchoring at the Point de Galle, waited in the hope of intercepting the Portu- guese fleets from Bengal, Pegu, and Temisserim. Owing, doubtless, to the iiregular and predatory life which the crew had for some time been leading, a mutinous spirit began to appear ; and advantage was taken of Lancaster's sick- ness to announce their determination that they would stay no longer, but take their direct com'se for England. Tiiere was no means of i)reventing them from doing as they pleased ; and the vessel having weighed anchor, set sail home- wards, returning as it had come by the Cape of Good Hope Here the weather Vol. 1. 28


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 Chap. IX. ]

EXPEDITION UNDER HOUTMANN.

219

11th of August, but were again obliged, by the ravages of scurvy, to seek ad. 159a. refreshments on the coast of Madagascar. They had some difficulty in obtain- ing them ; and, in the meantime, were so reduced by sickness, that they could Houtmann

reaches

scarcely muster twenty men fit for service, while they had actually lost seventy. Madagascar. Having somewhat recovered by means of the fruit and fresh provisions which they obtained ashore, they again set sail on the 14th of December; and, after various adventm*es not possessed of much interest, directed their course towards the southern islands of the Maldive group. They were thus canied be- yond the Indian peninsula, and first saw land on the 1st of June, 1596. They were off the coast of Sumatra. Continuing southwards, they arrived, on the 11th, at the entrance of the Straits of Sunda, and proceeding through them, much impeded by con- trary winds and cmi'ents, aiTived at Bantam, on the north-west extremity of Java.

On their arrival they were visited by six Portuguese, with their slaves, who assumed the character of depu- ties, sent by the governor and people of Bantam to ascertain the object of their Arrival at visit. The previous navigators from England, particularly Cavendish and Lancaster, had spread great alarm ; but the Dutch endeavoured to dissipate all fear, by declaring that commerce was their only object. Under this impression a friendly intercom'se commenced, aixl a full cargo of pepper, at a very

moderate rate, miglit easily have been obtained; but Houtmann, determined to do everything at the cheap- est, wsis induced to wait for the new crop, which was represented to him as so very abundant, that it would be obtained at almost nominal prices. This injudicious delay gave the Portuguese time to prepare a series of intrigues, by means of which the good understanding with the natives was on the point of being broken up.

'ITrom Uistoirc de la Xarigation aiu Iiulcs One7ifales par hs Hollandais, par G. in A. W. L., Amst. 1C09.

PORTUQUESB RKSIDENT3 AT B.4NTAM.'

Bantam.

Bird'8-eve View of Bantam ■


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 220

IIISTOKY OF INDIA.

[Book I.

Houtiniinii's injudicious conduct.

A.D. 1590. Ultimately, however, a treaty, offensive and defensive, was formed with the natives, though sufficient evidence was given, that whatever friendship tlie Portuguese might j)retend, nothing but enmity in every form, secret or open, was to be expected from them. The immediate corisequence of the treaty was the establishment of a Dutch factory at Bantam.

Houtmann, still continuing to wait for the anticipated reduction in the price of pepper, began to di.spose of his merchandise, to be paid for in pepper, at the price which it should bear when the new crop should be delivered. On these terms he found ready purchasers in the governor and .several of the other officials of the town. Meanwhile, the Portuguese continued their intrigues, and very plausibly maintained, that the irrational course which Houtmann was pursuing^ could only be accounted for by assuming that commerce was only a pretext, and that his real object was to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the loca- lity, with the view of afterwards returning and taking forcible posse.ssion of it. The effect of these insinuations soon became apparent. A pilot, who had all along manifested great friendship for the Dutch, was barbarously assassinated, and the pepper due on the purchases which had been made was not delivered. The Dutch, after uttering vain complaints, had recourse to menaces. Tliese were not lost upon the inhabitants, who immediately took all possible precau- tions. All the Java vessels in the harbour cut their cables, and ran ashore. At the same time, the Dutch were startled by the alarming intelligence that a large fleet, destined to act against them, was being prepared in a neiglibour- ing harbour.

Houtmann, though thus put upon his guard, had the rashness to go ashore with only seven attendants, and pay a visit to the governor. The result which might have been foreseen immediately followed ; and the whole party, as soon as they entered the palace, were arrested. The Dutch immediately attempted reprisals, by seizing the governor's interpreter and a number of his slaves. Houtmann's position was now precarious in the extreme; and he only saved himself from the death with which he was threatened, by sending a letter to the fleet, ordering the interpreter to be delivered up. Five of his companions were accordingly released, and an appearance of trade was resumed, though he himself still remained in captivity.

It was impossible that matters could long remain in this position; and it was therefore formally resolved, at a council held on board the Maurice, to intimate to the governor, that if the captain, Houtmann, and all his people, with everything belonging to them, were not delivered on the following day, the utmost force which they possessed v/ould forthwith be employed to obtain redress. No answer having been returned by mid-day, the four ves.sels drew near the town, and anchored in three fathoms. On the first news of this proceeding, the governor, in a rage, ordered the arrest of every Dutchman in the factory. They were all carried off, Houtmann along with tliem, to the place

Houtnianii made j)ri- iier.

Threatened retaliation.


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 Chap. IX.]

EXPEDITION UNDER HOUTMANN.

221

A.D. 1597.

of public execution; and nothing but excruciating deaths were looked for, when the governor, who had begun to calculate the consequences, recoiled from them, and proposed negotiation. It was so spun out that the Dutch once more lost patience and commenced hostilities, in which their superiority soon became so apparent, that the governor saw the necessity of yield- ing. Many delays were still interposed, but idtimately an arrangement was come

Governor of Banta.m and AiTENDASrs.— iiistoire de la Navigation, ic.

to. by which the Dutch

agreed to pay a considerable sum of money for the damage they had caused,

and Houtmann and liis companions regained then* freedom.

Friendship seemed about to be re-established, when a .Portuguese deputy ""J^'^JI"^"''!" arrived from Malacca with a large present to the governor, and the promise i.roceedii.i;8 of one still more valuable, provided he would shut the port against all commerce with the Dutch. The bribe was too tempting to be resisted ; and an order was issued by the governor which left no doubt as to his hostile intentions. Hout- mann, convinced that negotiation was now useless, hastened to remove with all his people and their effects. Immediately after, it was decided by a council held on board the Maurice, to give full scope to their resentment and take a signal revenge. Second thoughts proved better, and reflecting that nothing could be gained, and much might be lost by the indiscriminate carnage which they had contemplated, they weighed anchor, and proceeded eastward along the cojust of Java. After a fearful encounter with the natives, in which many lives were lost on both sides, and all hopes of establishing a friendly intercour.^^e were destroyed, the vessels quitted the north-west coast, and sailed north to the isle of Lubok, which they reached on the 9th of December. They now c-hanged their course to west, but, on the 2.5th, after they had beaten about, obstructed by contrary Avinds and currents, they were astonished to find them- selves still within sight of the island. Here, as they had only ninety-four men remaining, many of them imfit for service, it was resolved to abandon the Amstenkim, which had become so leaky that she could with difficulty be kept afloat.

On the 1 2th of Januarv, 1 597, anchor was again weisched, and the vessels Return of

° ° tlie Dutch

proceeded tor the eastern extremity of Java. On the 1 Sth they came in sight expedition of an active volcano, and, a few days after, entered the strait which separates Java from Bali. After some friendly intercom^e with the inhabitants of the latter island, they tiu-ned their face homewards on the 26th of February, and


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 222 HISTORY OF INDIA. [Book I.

A u. 1598. began to steer for the Cape of Good Hope. Their veaseLs, a.s alrea*ly mentioned, had been reduced to tliree ; and of the 249 men who ha<l quitted Holland, only eiglity-nine now survived. Besides these, however, they had with them two negi-oes taken up on the coast of Madagascar, a Chinese, two Malabars, a native of Java, and a pilot, wlio was said to be originally from Gujerat, and luid volunteered to make the voyage to Europe. Sailing by the south of Java, the coast of Natal was reached on the 24!th of Apiil, St. Helena on the 25tli of May, the island of Ascension on the 2d of June, the Azores on tlie 12th of July, the English Channel on the 5th, and the port of Amsterdam on the 14th of August. Results of Though the results of Houtmann's voyage were by no means brilliant, his

voyage. arrival was hailed with loud acclamations. He had successfully performed a voyage in which the English had twice failed, and made it plain that, with due circumspection, a direct and lucrative trade with the East, by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, might easily be established. The Portuguese would doubtless throw every possible obstacle in the way; but their power of mis- chief was greatly abridged by the loss of their independence, and more was to be hoped from the victories which might be gained over them, than feared from the injm'ies which they might be able to inflict. The native powers, too, had evidently no love for the Portuguese, of whose tyranny and bigotry they had too good reason to complain, and were disposed to form friendly connections with any foreigners by whom the Portuguese supremacy might be undermined or finally overthrown. Even the returns by Houtmann's voyage, though ob- tained under the most unfavourable circumstances, nearly covered the expense ; and there was therefore every reason to hope, that in proportion as the na^■i- gation and the nature of the trade came to be better understood, great profits would be regularly realized. Newexpe Influenced by these and similar considerations, Houtmann's return was no

ditiODS. "^

sooner announced than aU the principal ports of Holland were eager to share in the new Indian traffic; and various companies, having that object in dew, were formed. As before, the Company for Distant Countries, which had sent out Houtmann, took the lead, and made all haste to fit out four ships. Other four were fitted out by a rival company. The leading merchants in both, afi-aid of the injury which they might inflict on each other, by appearing in the Indian market as competitors, proposed and eflfected an amalgamation. The eight vessels thus fitted out at the expense of private individuals, but provided with cannon by the government, sailed in 1598. Four of them made a voyage remarkable for its rapidity at that early period, and in the course of fifteen months returned from Bantam with a valuable cargo of pepper ; the other fom- occupied more time, but appear to have turned it to good account ; and after visiting Amboyna, Banda, and Ternate, came home laden with rich spices, which yielded an immense profit. During another voyage, fitted out by Middel-


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 Ch-AP. IX.] THE DUTCH EAST INDIA TRADE. 223

burg merchants, also in 1 598, Houtmann, who had been intrusted with the com- ad. 1602. in and, was again unfortunate, and lost his life by an act of gross treachery on the part of the King of Acheen, in the island of Sumatra.

The Dutch East India trade miidit now be considered as fairly established. rr.«icw ot

° . "^, the DuKh

It had originated in private enterprise, and had the times been peaceful, might KastinUia liave been successfully carried on by the same means ; but the Spaniards and Por- tuguese having left no doubt of their determination to cling to their monopoly at all hazards, it became necessary for the Dutch to provide themselves with the means of repelling force by force. At first the States-general contented themselves with granting the necessary authority for this purpose ; but it soon appeared that separate companies, pursuing different, and it might be also adverse interests, could not well co-operate in repelling a common foe. In these circumstances, two coiu^es lay open to the government. It might adhere to the system generally followed in Europe, and, while permitting individuals or jissociations full freeilom of trade in every region of the East, provide for their protection against foreign enemies by stationing ships of war in every quarter wiiere danger was apprehended ; or it might, by uniting all private associations into one great and exclusive company, enable it to acquire sufficient strength not only to maintain its ground against all who might assail it, but even to become in its turn the aggressor and make new conquests. The latter was the plan adopted; and on the 20th of March, 1602, a general charter was granted, liret charter

oftheUiitih

incorporating the chfferent companies into one gi'eat association, and conferring p:a8t India upon it the exclusive privilege of trade to the East. The plan, whatever be its merits or demerits, was not original, for the model had been furnished fifteen months before in a charter granted with a similar object by the crown of Eng- land. To this charter, and the preparatory measvu-es taken to procure it, we must now turn.

If those who took the lead in the expeditions of Fenton and Lanca.ster had been deteired by their ftiilure from persevering in the attempt to estaljlish a direct trade with India, they must have been ashamed of their ])usillanimity when they became accpiainted with the success of the Dutch ; and at all events nuist have felt the necessity of immediately bestirring themselves if they were not prepared to allow a rival nation to forestall them in what was then imiver- sally, though not very accurately, regarded as the most lucrative market in the world. The proceedings thus originated must be reserved for the next chapter


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 224

HlhiTOlJV OF 1M)IA.

[booK I.

CHAPTER X.

Association of merchant adventurers for a voyage to the East— Their proceedings— Their memorial -

The first English East India charter.

A D. 1599.

As.iDciatioii of merchant adventurers

Petition to the queen.

Voyage to the East approved

^^^;jN September, 1599, doubtless after many j^relirninaiy conferences, an ^^ ^;| association of merchant adventurers was formed in London for the purpose of prosecuting a voyage to the East Indies. At first, tliougli a permanent company was evidently contemplated, only a single voyage was proposed. Accordingly, their contract simply pur[)orts to be " The names of suche persons as have written with there owne handes, to venter in the pretended voiage to the Easte Indias (the whiche it male please the Lorde to prosper) and the somes that they will adventure, the xxij Sep- tember, 1599." The aggregate sum amounted to £30,133, 6-s. 8d., and repre- sented 101 adventures or shares, varying in amount from £100 to £3000.

At the first general meeting, held two days after the date of the contract, it was resolved to petition the queen for her royal as.sent to a project "intended for the honour of their native country and the advancement of trade and mer- chandize within the realm of England ; and to set forth a voyage to the East Indies and other islands and countries thereabouts." On the following day, when the fifteen committee men, or directors, to whom the management had been intrusted, held their first meeting, the petition was read and approved. After stating that "divers merchants, induced by the successe of the viage performed by the Duche nacion, and being informed that the Dutchemen prepare for a new viage, and to that ende have bought divers ships here, in Englande, were stirred with noe lesse afieccion to advaunce the trade of their native countrie, than the Duche merchaimts were to benefite theii'e common- wealthe, and upon that afieccion have resolved to make a viage to the Ea-st Indias," they pray to be incorporated into a company, 'for that the trade of the Indies being so remote could not be traded on but on a jointe and united stocke." They also prayed to be permitted to export foreign coin, or, in the event of a deficiency, to have bullion coined for them at the queen's mint ; and, lastly, to be exempted for several years, as the Dutch merchants were, from payment of export or import duties

On the 16th of October, the queen having signified her approbation of the voyage, the committee were exerting themselves to obtain permission for the vessels to proceed on their voyage vithout further delay, when an insurmount- able obstacle arose from an unexpected (quarter Spain had suffered so much during her late wars that she began to feel the necessity of peace. Philip II.,


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too, whose bigotry and ambition were the great obstacles to it, had been called to his account; and negotiations were commenced under circumstances which promised a favourable result. Were anything wanting to prove that England was sincere in the matter, it might be found in the retrograde step which government took in regard to the projected voyage to India. Its approbation had been formally declared; and yet, under the impression that the voyage might give umbrage to Spain, that approbation was expressly withdrawn. The committee of adventurers, fearing such a result, presented a long and elaborate memorial, in which they endeavoured to show, by a careful statement of all the localities in which the Spaniards could, with any show of reason, claim an exclusive right of trade, that the projected voyage would be so conducted as not to interfere in the least with the progress of the pending negotiations; but the lords of council answered that "it was more beneficiall for the generall state of merchandize to entertain a peace, then that the same should be hindred by the standing with the Spanische commissioners, for the mayntayning of this trade, to foregoe the oportunety of the concluding of the peace." To this answer no effectual reply could be made; and the adventurers, "fearing lest, after they were drawen into a charg, they shuld be required to desist their viage, did proceede noe further in the matter for this ye re, but did enter into the preparacion of a viage the next yere followinge."

The memorial above referred to, furnishing an excellent summarry of the grounds on which the adventurers claimed and ultimately obtained permission merchants to establish an East Indian trade, possesses, independent of its interest as an historical document, intrinsic merits which justify a very liberal quotation. It is entitled, "Certayne Reasons why the English Merchants may trade into the East Indies, especially to such rich kingdoms and dominions as are not subjecte to the King of Spayne and Portugal; together with the true limits of the Portugals conquest and jurisdiction in those Oriental parts;" and proceeds as follows: —

"Whereas, right honorable, upon a treatie of peace betweene the crownes of England and Spayne like to ensue, that is not to be doubted, but that greate exception will bee taken agaynst the intended voyage of her majestie's subjects into the East Indies, by the Cape of Buena Sperança ; therefore the adventurers in the sayd intended voyage most humbly crave, at your honors' hands,to take perfecte knowledge of these fewe considerations underwritten.

"First, they desire that it wold please your honors to urge the commissioners of the Spanishe peace to put downe under their hands, the names of all such islands, cities, townes. places, castels, and fortresses, as they are actually, at this present, possessed of, from the sayd Cape of Buena Sperança, along the cost of Africa, on the cost of Arabia, in the East Indies, the Malucos, and other Oriential parts of the world: which, if they may bee drawne truly and faythfully to put downe, so that wee cannot be able, manifestly, to prove the contrarie, then wil wee be content, in noe sort, to disturbe nor molest them, wheresoever they are alreadie commanders and in actual authoritie.

"Secondly, if they wil not, by any meanes, bee drawne to this themselves, then wee, for your lordshippes' perfect instruction in this behalfe, wil take the paynes to doe it for them. That may please your honors, therefore, to understand, that these bee al the islands, cities,


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 22f> HISTORY OF INDIA. [Book I.

A.D. 1599. townes, places, castlfs and fortresses, whereof they be, at this present, actual commauixlerH, beyond the Cape of ijueiia Sjjeranfa, eastward."

After a list of Spanish and Portuguese pos.sessions, arranged according to their positions "On the Coste of Africa," "In the Mouth of the Persian Golfe," and "From the Persian Golfe along the Coste of India, .southward," the memorial proceeds: — Memorial— « Thirdly, All the places which are under their govemement and commaund being thus tion third, exactly and truely put downe, and wee being able to avouch it to be so, by many evident and invinci1)le proof es, and some eye-witne.sses, if need recjuire : that there remayueth that all the rest rich kingdoms and islands of the East, which are in number very many, are out of their power and jurisdiction, and free for any other princes or people of the world to repayre unto, whome the soveraigne lords and governors of those territories wil bee willing to adniitte into their dominions : — a chiefe parte whereof are the.se here eusuinge." Here follows a catalogue under the title of "The names of the chiefe knowne islands and kingdoms beyond the Cape of Buena Speranca, wholy out of the dominion of the Portugalls and Spaniards, in the east, south-east, and north-east parts of the world."

Catalogue of As this Catalogue furnishes, in the very terms employed, a vivid idea of the

chief lino wn

islands in brilliant results anticipated from the establishment of an East India trade, it

the East. ., i • • i i i •

IS here subjomed verbatim : —

" The Isle of Madagascar, or San Lorenso, upon the backeside of Africa — The kingdoms of Orixa, Bengala, and Aracan, on the Gulfe of Bengala — The rich and might ie kingdome of Pegu — The kingdome of Jun9alaon — The kingdome of Siam — The kingdome of Camboia — The kingdome of Canchinchina — The most mighty and welthy empire of China — The rich and gouldeu island of Sumatra — The whole islands of Java Major, Java Minor, and Baly — The large and rich islands of Borneo, Celebes, Gilolo, and Os Papuas — The long tracte of Nova Guinea and the Isles of Solomon — The rich and innumerable islands of Malucos and the Spicerie, except the two small isles of Tidore and Amboyno, where the Portugals have only two smal forts — The large islands of Mindinas and Calamines — The gouldeu islands of the greate and smal Lequeos — The manifold and populos sylver islands of the Japones — The counti-y of Coray newly discovered to the north-east."

Immediately after this catalogue, the memorial reiterates the statement that " in all these, and infinite places more, abounding with gi'eate welthe and riches, the Portugales and Spaniards have not any castle, forte, blockehouse, or commaunderaent," and appeals in proof of it to numerous authorities, con- sisting of " Portugalle authors printed and written," "Spani.sh authors printed in Spayne, ' "Italiens," "Englishmen," and "Hollanders." The last two, which alone now pos.sess much interest, include under the former head — "Su* Francis Authoritie.s Drak's men yet living, and his own writing printed," "Mr. Thomas Candishes Companye, yet living, and his writings printed," "Mr. Ralph Fitche's Travayles through most of the Portugal Indies, in print," and "Mr. James Lancaster's and his Companye's voyage as farre as Malacca, printed;' and under the latter head — "John Huygen de Linschoten's worke, which lived above seven yeres in India," "The first voyage of the Hollanders to Java and Balj^, in printe, ' "The second voyage to Java, in Dutch and English," "The testimonie of William Pers, Englishman, with them in the sayd voj^age," and "The third returne of the Hollanders from the East Indies this 3^ere." After this anay


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 Chap. X.] REPORT BV FFLKE GREVILLE. 227

of authorities, the memorialists, confident that they had triumphantly estaLlislied ad. i509.

their case, continue thus: —

" Fourtlily, let these shewe any juste and laweful reasons, voyd of afteetion and partialitie, why they should barre her niajestie, and al other Christian princes and states, of the use of the vaste, wyde, and infinitely open ocean sea, and of acces.s to the territories and dominions of so many free ])rinces, kings, and jjotentates in the East, in whose dominions they have noe more soveraign commaund or authoritie, then wee, or any Christians whosoever."

The point thus argued could not be rationally contested, and yet it was Extravagai.t (juite clear tluit the Spaniards woitld not consent to yield it. They claimed in of the virtue of a Papal grant, which had arrogantly bestowed upon them exclusive ' ^^^" riofht to all new lands which mijjht be discovered either in the East or West ; and hence, until this claim was set aside, or voluntarily relinquished, the memorialists, in so far as the question lay between them and such claimants, were doing little better than beating the air when they argued that every locality not actually occupied by the Spaniards and Poi-tuguese was open to all the world. To every such argument of the memorialists, their opponents were always ready to answer, " We claim not merely what we occupy, but the whole tliat we have discovered, or may yet be discovered in those regions." A claim so extravagant could not be acquiesced in by any Protestant government ; but Queen Elizabetli, though she had doubtless determined that the maritime enter- prise of her subjects should have full scope in the East, dealt with the memorial n the cautious spirit in which she usually acted, and before deciding, caused a rej)ort to be made upon it by the celebrated Fidke Greville, afterwards Lord Brooke. In this report, which was made to Sir Francis Walsingham, who had refpiested " the names of such kings as are absolute in the East, and either have vvarr or traffique with the Kinge of Sj^aine," Greville entei-s very fully into Report by detail, commencing rather superfluously on the coast of Barbary, and proceeding crevuie. fii-st south to the Cape of Good Hope, and then north to the mouth of the Red Sea. It is here only that his report begins to bear properly upon our subject. Though he acknowledges it to be merely a compilation from two or three authors, "having neither meanes nor t3-me to seak other helpes," it is well entitled, notwithstanding several geographical blunders, to more than a passing notice. After tiacing the east African coast as far as the Cape of Gardafuy, he thus proceeds: —

" At the said cape the Portugalls yeerly lye in wayte for the Turki.sh shippes, which adventure to traffique without their licence, houldinge themselves the only comraaunders of these seas. From the cape to the mouth of the Red Sea are also many small dominions of white Mahometans, rich in gould, sylver, ivory, and all kynd of victuuUs : and behind thes cuntries, in the mayue, lyeth the great empire of Prester John, to whom the Portugalls (as some write) doe yeerly send eight shippes, laden with all kynde of merchandi.se, and also furnish themselves with many .'?ayllei-s out of his coa.st townes in the Red Sea. In the bottom of this sea, at a place ealletl Sues, the Turekes build gallies which scoure all that coast, as far Jis Melinde, and everie yeere annoy the Portugalls exceedinge much. Beyond the Red Sea. Arabia Fa'lix is governed by manie sidtans of greate and absolute jwwer, both by sea and land ; iippon the pointe thereof standeth the riohe and stronge cittie Aden, wher both In-


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 228

lllSTOKY OF INDIA.

I Book i.

Report by FiUke Greville.

A.D. 1590. thans, Persians, Ethiopians, Turkes, and Portugals, have exceadinge greate traffique. Beyond the Gulf of Persia that kinge possesseth all the coast, and lialh great traffique with the Portugals, with pearles, carpetta, and other rich commodities. The lie of Orinus lyeth in the mouth of this golf, and is subject to the Persians, but so that the Portugals liath a forte in it, and ther is the staj)le of ai India, Arabia, Persia, and Turkic, whither Christian merchants do also resort, from Alepjjo and Tripolis, twyse in the year."

Continuing eastward he arrives at India, of which he says: — "Beyond the Persian lieth the kingdome of Cambaia, which is the fruitfullest of all India, and hath exceedinge greate trafficque : the Portugals possesse ther the towne of Dieu, scituatv in an iland in the mouth of the Indus, wher he hath great trade with the Cambaians, and all other nations in these jiartes. Next is the cuntrie of the Malabars, who are the Vjesi souldiers of India, and greatest enemies of the Portugals : it was once an entyer empier, now divided into many kingdoms ; part is subject to the Queen of Baticola, who selleth great store of pepper to the Portugals, at a towne called Onor, which they hould in her state : the rest of Malabar is divided into fyve kingdoms. Cochin, Chananor, Choule, Coulon,and Calechut; the last was the greatest, but, by the assistance of the Portugals, Cochin hath now prevailed above him. Beyond the Malabars is the kingdome of Narsinga, wher the Portugals also traffique : then the kingdom of Orixen and Bengalen by the ryver Granges, as also of Aracan, Pegu, Tanassaria and Queda."

The latter part of the report is less carefully drawn up, and commits the egregious blunder of confounding Taprobana, or Ceylon, with Sumatra. It continues thus: —

"The iland of Sumatra or Taprobuna is possessed by many kinges, enemies to the Por- tugals ; the cheif is the King of Dachem, who besieged them in Malacca, and with his gallies stopped the passage of victuails and traffique from China, Japan, and Molucco, till, by a mayne ileete, the coast was cleared. The Kinge of Spaigne, in regai'de of the importance of this passage, hath often resolved to conquer Sumatra, but nothinge is done. The Kinges of Acheyn and Tor are, in lyke sorte, enemies to the Portugals. The Philippinas belonged to the crowne of China, but, abandoned by him, were possessed by the Spaniards, who have trafficque ther with the merchants of China, which yeerly bring to them above twenty shippes, laden with all manner of wares, which they carry into New Spaine and Mexico. They trafficque also with the Chinois at Mackau, and Japan. And, lasthe, at Goa, there is great resort of all nations, from Arabia, Armenia, Persia, Cambaia, Bengala, Pegu, Siam, Malacca, Java, Molucca, and China, and the Portugals suffer them all to lyve ther, after their owne manners and relligions ; only for matter of justice they are ruled by the Portugal! law. In the yeere 1584, many ambassadors came to Goa from Persia, Cambaia, and the Malabars, and concluded peace with the Portugals ; 1586, the Arabians slew above 800 Portugals." English pre- This report is dated the 10th of March, in the year 1599, according to the for an east- old, but 1 600 accorduig to the present mode of reckoning, and must have had a em voyage. f.^^Q^^j.g^|j|g effect, as the queen's approbation of the projected voyage was shortly after signified ; and a general meeting of the adventurers was held at Founders' Hall, on the 2od of September, when it was resolved " that they would goe forwards with the voiage." The management was intrusted to seventeen direc- tors, or, as they were then called, committees, who met for the first time on the very same day, and two days after made a purchase of the ship Susan for the sum of £1600. The economical spirit in which the pm-chase was made appears in a stipulation by which the sellers agreed to take her back at half-price on her return. The next day (26th) the purchase of two other ships, the Hector a,ud Ascension, was agreed to; and a call was made upon the subscribers for

I


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 name throughout this country, the LinnœusLinnæus [sic] of Japan, and he has justly done so, because Ranzan’s work has sided von Siebold and his coadjutors largely in composing their Flora and Fauna Japonica.

3.—Ko-do-shu-roku or Manual for the Metallurgy of Copper, a small work with illustrations.

We intend to describe the different metals in the following order:

There are numerous iron-ores to be found in Japan. Those which are used; smelting iron ore: 1°. , the chief ore of Japanese iron-industry. There are two varieties, one with an iron grey colour and more compact constitution and one with black colour and of more sandy character. The Loadstone, another

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 Chap. X.J ARRANGEMENTS FOR FIRST VOYAGE. 229

payment of a third of the whole stock on or before the 30th. On this day a. d leoo. draft of the patent of privileges, or charter, to be submitted to the crown, was read and approved. It had been prepared by a Mr. Altham, who received a fee of £4.

In the com'se of these preparations, the directors were somewhat startled by spirited cou

' ' _ •' duct of the

an application from the Lord-treasm-er Burleigh, recommending the employment directors, of Sir Edward Michelbome in the voyage. The ground of the application is not stated, but various circumstances lead to the conclusion that the possession of court favour was Sir Edward's highest qualification. The directors were only petitioning for their charter, and must have been perfectly aware of the risk they ran in refusing to comply with the wishes of such a statesman as Lord Burleigh. It says much both for their firmness and their prudence, that they managed to place their objection to his lordship's nominee not on personal but on public grounds, declaring their resolution " not to employ any gentleman in any place of chai-ge,"' and requesting " that they might be allowed to sort theire business with men of their own qualitye, lest the suspiccion of the employment of gentlemen being taken hold upon by the generalitie, do dryve a great number of the adventurers to withdraw their contributions. '

Were the words gentleman and gentlemen here employed in the sense Quaiifica- which is now usually attached to them, the answer would not only afford what ,,ioyniei.t Mr. Mill thinks he finds in it, "a curious specimen of the mode of thinking of the times," but indicate a narrowness and illiberality of mind sufficient to prove that the directors were unworthy of the honoiu^able office with which they iiad been intrusted. It is impossible to believe, that in laying the foimdations of a company in which one of the leading objects contemplated was, to use their own expression, " the honor of theii' native countrie," they intended to lay it down ixs, a general and inflexible rule, that a man, however well qualified he might be in other respects — liowever skilful as a seaman — however expert as an accountant — however slu-ewd and experienced as a merchant — was to be deemed unfit for employment " in any place of charge," if he happened to have been l>i>rn of a good family, and to possess the manners and accomplishments which entitled him to move in the first circles of society. However strange the language may sound, its meaning evidently went no further than this, that ill making their appointments the directors would be guided s(»lely by profes- sional ability, and were determined to have nothing to do with those who, pluming themselves on being gentlemen and nothing more, would only draw the profit, without performing the duties of any office to which they might be appointed.

Though tiie charter was not yet granted, the directors, having now no doubt Arrange of obtaining it, proceeded with their arrangements. The purchase of three firetvoylge. vessels luus already been mentioned On the 5th of October, a fourth, called the Malice Scourge, and double the size of any of the othei-s. was purchased fi-om


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 2;j

HISTORY OF INDIA.

[BfKJK I.

General meeting of adven- turers.

A.D. 1000. the Eai'l of Cumberlanfl, after some liiggling, for £3700. 'Jo these purchasfjs that of a pinnace was added; and the whole exjjedition, as then projected, Ht<jod thas: — The Malice Scourge, whose name was subsequently changed to that of the lied Dragon, 200 men, 600 tons; the Hector, 100 men, 300 tons; the Ascen- sion, 80 men, 260 tons; the Susan, 80 men, 24-0 tons; and a pinnace, 40 men, 100 tons — in all, 500 men and 1500 tons. Tiie investment, consisting of iron (wrought and unwrought), tin, lead, 80 pieces of Vjroadcloths of all colours, 60 pieces of Devonshire kerseys, and 100 pieces of Noi'wich stuffs, with smaller articles chiefly for presents, was computed at £4545 ; and the provisions for a twenty months' voyage at £6600, 4s. lOcZ. The remainder of the original sub- scription of £30,133, 6s. 8cZ., under deduction of the pui'chase and equijtment of the vessels and other payments, was to be taken out in bullion. The.se calculations could only be considered conjectiural, and afterwards, as will be seen, underwent considerable modifications.

On the 30th of October, the same day on which the charter was sent to the attoniey-general for his opinion, a general meeting of the adventurers was held, and the important resolution was adopted of increasing the number of directors from fifteen to twenty-four. That number was accordingly elected, and their names, along with that of Alderman Thomas Smith, who had the honour of being the first governor appointed, were ordered to be inserted in the anticipated charter. Another resolution was that each adventurer should pay up his subscription. On this subject Bruce, whose Annals of the East India Company furnish the only printed information, makes statements which are very obscure, and apparently iiTeconcilable. In one passage (vol. i. p. 130; he says, " It is remarkable that these pajTnents were made by the whole of the adventurers, with the exception of four only, who withdrew their subscrip- tions." Immediately after he speaks of " the funds of the society being thus pro- vided for;" and yet he afterwards quotes from the minutes of another meeting of the adventurers, "summoned on the 8th of December, to make up the fund with which the voyage was to be fitted out," and at which "it was agreed that the whole of the sum subscribed by the adventm-ers should be paid in by the 1 3th of that month ; and declared, as the ships were now ready to proceed to sea, that such of the subscribers as should not, at the preceding date, have paid in their proportions, should be held to he liable for any losses that might happen in consequence of the stipulated subscription not having been made good by them." These statements cannot easily be reconciled. If all the original subscriptions, with the exception of four only, were paid up, how could it be necessary to hold out a general menace threatening all defaultei^s with actions of damages? The most probable explanation is, that after the original list of 101 subscriptions was completed, other parties had been tempted, by the near prospect of obtaining a charter on advantageous terms, to come forward and put down their names. It is almost certain that something of this

Subscrip- tions paid up.


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 Chap. X.] CHARTER GRANTED. 231

kind must have been done, since the number of persons actually incorporated ad. leoo. by the charter is not confined to those of the original list, but amounts in all to 218.

Among other arrangements made previoas to the date of the charter, may Appoint- be mentioned the appomtments of Captam James Lancaster to the Red officers to Dragon, with the title of general or admiral of the fleet, and of Captain John ti^J^^ Davis to the second command, with the title of pilot-major. Both of these officers had previously made the voyage: the one under Captain Raymond, in the unfortunate expedition which has already been described ; and the other in 1 598, as a pilot, in the employment of the Dutch. The terms of agreement with the former are not mentioned; but those with the latter deserve notice, in furnishing a good idea of the spirit in which the voyage was undertaken, and of the hopes entertained as to its success. The terms were £100 wages, £200 on credit as an adventure, and a commission on the profit, rated alternatively at £500, £1000, £1500, or £2000, according as the clear retm-ns on the capital should yield two for one, three for one, four for one, or five for one. The lead- ing object in this arrangement was to give Captain Davis a personal interest in the success of the voyage. The same object was kept steadily in view in arranging with all other parties. Thus the factors or supercargoes, thirty-six in number, were arranged in four different classes: of which the first received £100 wages, and £200 advanced as an adventure; the second £50 wages, and £100 adventure; the third £30 wages, and £50 adventure; and the foui-th £20 wages, and £-lr0 adventure. Even the common seamen were treated on the same principle, and received four months' pay, of which the half only was paid {IS wages, while the other half was advanced as an adventure.

The charter was gi'anted on the last day of the sixteenth century, 31st ^''•'^'"ter

, _ grauted.

December, 1 600. Like all deeds of the same kind, it is spun out to such a length by verbiage and vain tautology, as to occupy twenty-six pages of a printed quarto volume. It is, of course, impossible to give it at length. For- tunately it is also unnecessary, as everything of importance in it may be C(mipressed within comparatively narrow limits.

Proceeding in the queen's name in the form of letters- patent, addressed "to '*^ *'o™

/v. . ., . , and object.

all our officers, mmisters, and subjects, and to all other people, as well within this our realm of England as elsewhere," it begins with stating that " Our most dear and loving cousin, George, Earl of Cumberland, and our well-beloved sub- jects, Sir John Hart, of London, knight. Sir John Spencer, of London, knight, Sir Edward Michelborne, knight, William Cavendish, esquire. ' nine aldermen of London, and other individuals specially named, amounting in all to 218, have "been petitioners unto us for our royal assent and licence, " that they, "at their own adventiu-es, costs, and charges, as well as for the honour of our realm of El) gland, as for the increase of our navigation, and advancement of trade of merchandize, within our sjiid realm, and the dominions of the same, mi^ht adven-


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 Chap. X.J CONDITIONS OF THE CHARTEK. 2^3

and thereafter, " every year on the first day of July, or at any time within six a.d. leoo. days after that day, to assemble and meet together in some convenient place," and, while so assembled, to elect a governor and twenty-four connriittees for the ensuing year. In the event of the death or deprivation by misconduct of any of the persons thus elected, the company, again met in court, are authorized to supply the vacancies thus occurring, but ordy for the time of office which remained unexpiretl. Not only the officials thus elected were to swear " well and truly" to execute the offices committed to them, but "as well every one above named to be of the said company or fellowship, as all others to be here- after admitted, or free of the said company, to take a corporal oatli before the governor of the said company, or his deputy for the time being, to such effect, MS by the said governor and company, or the more part of them, in any public court to be held for the said company, shall be in reasonable manner set down and devised, before they shall be allowed or admitted to trade or traffick as a freeman of the sjiid company."'

In this last quotation the important point of membership is incidentally Quaiifica- alluded to. A more explicit statement occurs in a subsequent clause, in which member- " all that are or shall be of the said company," and all their sons, " at their " '^*' several ages of one and twenty years or upwards," and all their " apprentices, factors, or servants," " which shall hereafter be employed by the said governor and company, in the trade of merchandize of or to the East Indies," are em- powered freely to traffic during the period and within the limits assigned to tiie company. The period is restricted to " fifteen years," ^vith the promise of an extension to other fifteen, if asked by the company and approved by the crown, but the charter might be recalled at any time after a notice of two years.

The space over which the company might trade is of enormous extent ; and, ceographi- though spoken of under the general name of the East Indies, is more jjarticu- larly described as including " the countries and parts of Asia and Africa," and "all the islands, ports, havens, cities, creeks, towns, and places of Asia, Africa, and America, or any of them beyond the Cape of Bona Esperanza to the Streights of Magellan, where any trade or traffick of merchandize may be used or had." Within these limits the company are empowered to traffic freely " by seas, in and by such ways and passages already found out and discovered, or which shall hereafter be found out and discovered, as they shall esteem and take to be fittest;" the only restriction being, that "the same trade be not under- taken nor addre.ssed to any country, island, port, haven, city, creek, town, or place, already in the lawful and actual possession of any such Christian prince or state, as at this present is or shall hereafter be in league or amity" with the British crown, and " who doth not or will not accept of such trade, but doth overtly declare and publish the same, to be utterly against his or their good- will and liking."

Vol. I. 30


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The more effectually to carry on this trade, the company are authorized to meet from time to time, and make "such and so many reasonable laws, constitutions, orders, and ordinances," as may seem as may seem "necessary and convenient" for the good government of the company, and of all their factors, masters, mariners, and other officers; and for the better advancement and continuance of the trade; and not only to make such laws, but to enforce the observance of them by inflicting upon offenders "pains, punishments, and penalties, by imprisonment of body, or by fines and amercements, or by all or any of them," it being. however, always understood that "the said laws, orders, constitutions, orders and ordinances be reasonable, and not contrary or repugnant to the laws, statutes, or customs" of the realm.

The privilege of trade within the limits above described is declared to belong exclusively to the company; and all subjects of the English crown, "of what degree or quality soever they be," are strictly forbidden, "by virtue of our prerogative royal, which we will not in that behalf have argued or brought in question," to "visit, haunt, frequent or trade, traffick or adventure, by way of merchandise, into or from any of the said East Indies, or into or from any the islands, ports, havens, cities, towns, or places aforesaid,"-every person or persons presuming to traffic in defiance of this prohibition "shall incur our indignation, and the forfeiture and loss of the goods, merchandizes, and other things whatsoever, which so shall be brought into this realm of England, or any of the dominions of the same, contrary to our said prohibition, or the purport or true meaning of these presents, as also of the ship and ships with the furniture thereof." One-half of the forfeitures thus incurred is reserved to the crown; the other half is granted to the company. The offenders are, moreover, "for their said contempt, to suffer imprisonment during our pleasure, and such other punishment as to us, our heirs or successors, for so high a contempt, shall seem meet and convenient, and not to be in any wise delivered until they and every of them shall become bound to pay unto the said governor for the time being the sum of £1000 at the least" not to repeat the offence. These severe enactments against interlopers strikingly contrast with the large discretion given to the company, who, in addition to an exclusive right of traffic carefully guarded against encroachment, are empowered, "for the better encouragement of merchants, strangers, or others, to bring in commodities to our realm," and "for any consideration or benefit to be taken to their own use," to "give license to any person or persons to sail, trade, or traffick into or from the said East Indies." To enhance the value of this large discretionary power, the queen gratuitously binds herself, her heirs and successors, not to grant license of trading within the limits of the charter to any person whatever "without the consent" of the company.

On the ground that the company "have not yet experienced of the kinds of commodities and merchandizes which are or will be vendible" in the East


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 Chap. X.] PRIVILEGES CONFERRED. 235

Indies, "and therefore shall be driven to carry to those parts, in their voyages ad. leoo.

outward, divei's and sundiy commodities which are likely to be returned again" into the realm, the exports of then* four first voyages are declared "free of custom, subsidy, or pomidage, or any other duties or payments." On imports, during the whole period of the charter, credit of six months on the one half, and of twelve months on the other half, of the duties exigible, is to be allowed after sufficient security for ultimate pa}Tnent has been given ; and bfecause the company "are like to bring to this our realm a much greater quantity of foreign commodities" than can be required for home consumption, the duties which might have been exigible on the export of such commodities as are afterwards reshipped for transport to other countries are to be remitted, provided the reshipment take place in English bottoms, and not later tiian thirteen months from the date of import. The only other privilege necessary to be mentioned is the permission annually to export the sum of £30,000 in bullion or coin, of which at least £6000 should previoasly be coined at the royal mint. Tliis permission — which, owing to the crude idea« then generally entertained on the subject of the cm-rency, was probably regarded at the time fis the least defensible of all — was granted only on the express proviso, that after the first voyage a sum at least equal to that exported should previously have been imported.

Though the original adventurers contemplated trading on a joint-stock, and svibscription several parts of the charter seem framed on the understanding that this mentof original intention was to be carried out, the subject remains involved in the gi-eatest obscmnty. The words joint dock do not once occur in tl»e charter; and there is nothing in any part of it to indicate that the 218 individuals to whom the charter was granted possessed any higher (qualification than that of liaving signed the petition on which it proceeded. It is known that 101 individuals or firms became bound by their subscriptions to adventiu*e on an experimental voyage, sums which, in the great majority of cases, amounted to £200 each, and fonned an aggregate of £30,133, 6.s'. 8d; but whether these were the only sums subscribed at the date of the charter, or whether all the new parties who con- curred in petitioning the crovn had previoasly qujilified themselves for member- ship by subscribing, are points which it is impossible to decide with any degree of certainty. The only clause in the charter which bears on these points is one wiiich makes it optional for the company to disfranchise those members who slu)uld fail against a certain day to pay up their subscriptions. The clause is as follows : —

" Proviiled always that if any of the persons before named and appointed by these presents, to be free of the said Companif of Merchant of Lomhm, trading into the Etvut Itulics, shall not before the going forth of the fleet appointed for this first voyage, from the poi-t of London, bring in and deliver to the treasurer or treasurers appointed, or which, within the space of twenty days from the date hereof, shall be appointed by the said governor and company, or the more part of them, to receive the contributions and adventures, set down

stock.


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 2:}G

IirSTOIlV OF INDIA.

[Book I,

Letter of

Queen

Elizabeth

A.D. 1600. by Iho several ailveiiturers in this lu.sl and pro-scnt voyage, now in liand to be Bet fortli, such sums of money, as liave been, by any of the said peraon.^ by these presents nominated to be of the said company, expressed, set down, and written in a l>ook for that purpose, and left in the hands of the said Thomas Smith, governor of the said company, or of the said Paul Banning, alderman of London, and subscribed with the names of the same adventurers, under their hands, and agreed upon to be adventured in the said first voyage, that then, it shall be lawful for the said governor and company, or the more part of them, whereof the said governor or his deputy to be one, at any their general court, or general assembly, to remove, disfranchise, and displace him or them, at their wills and pleasures."

In order to facilitate communication and friendly intercourse with the coun- tries which might be visited during the first voyage under the charter, the commander was fiu-nished with duplicate letters, in which the queen addressed their supposed sovereigns in the following tenns : —

"Elizabethe, by the grace of God, Queene of England, Fraunce, and Ireland, Defenrler

of the Faithe, &c., — To the greate and mightie King of, our lovinge Brother,

gi'eetinge :

" Whereas Almightie God, in his infinite wisdome and providence, haith so disposed of his blessings, and of all the good things of this world, which are created and ordeined for the use of man, that howesoever they be brought forthe, and do either originallie gi'owe, and are gathered, or otherwise composed and made, some in one countrie, and some in another, yet they are, by the Industrie of man, directed by the hand of God, dispersed and sent out into all the partes of the world, that thereby his wonderfull bountie in his creatures may appeare unto all nacions, his Divine Majestic havinge so ordeyned, that no one place should enjoy (as the native commodities thereof) all things apperteyninge to man's use, but that one countrie should have uede of another, and out of the aboundance of the fruits which some region enjoyeth, that the necessities or wants of another should be supplied, l)y which meanes, men of severall and farr remote countries have commerce and traffique, one with another, and by their euterchange of commodities are linked togeather in amytie and friendshipp :

"This consideration, most noble king, togeather with the honorable report of your majestic, for the well enterteyuinge of strangers which visitt your countrie in love and peace (with lawful traflfique of merchaundizinge) have moved us to geave licence to divere of our subjects, who have bene stirred upp with a desire (by a long and daungerous navigacion) to finde out and visitt jonr tei-ritories and dominions, beinge famous in theise partes of the world, and to offer you commerce and traffique, in buyiuge and euterchauuginge of commodities with our people, accordinge to the course of merchaunts ; of which commerce and interchang- ing, yf your majestic shall accept, and shall receive and entertayne our merchaunts with favour, accordinge to that hope which hath encouraged them to attempt so long and daun- gerous a voiadge, you shall finde them a people, in their dealinge and conversacion, of that justice and civilitie, that you shall not mislike of their repaire to your dominions, and uppou further conference and inquisicion had with them, both of theire kindes of merchaundize brouo-hte in their shippes, and of other necessarie commodities which our domminions may afforthe, it may appeare to your majestic that, by their meanes, you may be furnished, in their next retourne into your portes, in better sort then you have bene heretofore supplied, ether by the Spauyard or Portugale, who, of all other nacions in these partes of Europe, have onlie hetherto frequented your countries with trade of merchaundize, and have bene the onlie impediments, both to our subjects, and diverse other merchaunts in the partes of Europe, that they have not hitherto visited your countrie with trade, whilest the said Portugales pre- tended themselves to be the soveraigne lordes and princes of all your territories, and gave it oiTt that they held your nacion and j^eople as subjects to them, and, in their stiles and titles, do write themselves Kinges of the East Indies:

"And yf your majestic shall, in your princelie favour, accept, with good likinge. this

Queen's

letter.


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 BOOK H.

FROM THE DATE OF THE FIRST CHARTER TO THE AMALGAMATION OF THE LONDON AND ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANIES,

UNDEB THE NAME OF THE

UNITED COMPANY OF MERCHANTS OF ENGLAND, TRADING TO THE EAST INDIES,

CHAPTER L

The first voyages of the Company — Localities selected — Opposition from the Dutch and tie f^J Portuguese — First English factory on the continent of India — Sir Thomas Roe's embassy to the court of the Great Mogul — State of that court — Estabhshment of a trade with Persia.

fyxv-rc--i^o-i^-rs>TN 1-s. »-,vrv-x^

HE interest which naturally attaches to the first voyage under an East India charter, -will justify a larger detail than would be due to the incidents themselves, which are ^ comparatively uninteresting. The Red Dragon, Hector. Ascension, and Susan, already mentioned, together with

^'^S^^^^^^^p the Guest, of 130 tons, added as a victualler, left Woolwich

the 1 3th of February, 1601, but were so long de- tained by contrary winds and the completion of arrangements at Dartmouth, that they were not able to quit the English coast till

the 2 2d of April, when they sailed for the Canaries. While off the coast of Guinea they fell in with a Portuguese ship, outward bound, and took and plundered her. Having afterwards unloaded the Guest of the victuals A.D. 1601. which they had been unable to take on board when they sailed from England, they dismantled her, broke down her upper works for firewood, and left her a floating hulk. During their long delay in the English Channel, they had lost the opportunity of making a quick voj'^age; and began to suffer from scurvy, which prevailed to such an extent, that some of the vessels had not hands enough to manage them, and the merchants on board were obliged to act as common seamen. On the 9th of September they reached Saldanlia Bay, where the sick rapidly recovered : the previous mortality, however, had been so great, that the number of deaths amounted to 105, or more than a fiftli of the whole crews. On Sunday, the 1st of November, the Cape was doubled ; and they proceeded northwards along the east coast of Madagascar, where a new attack of scm-vy again proved very fatal, and oljliged them to spend some

Details of the Com- pany's first voyage.


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 Chap. I] EXPEDITION UNDER LANCASTER. 239

time on shore in the Bay of Antongil. On continuing their voyage across the ad. 1602. Indian Ocean, they arrived, on the 9th of May, 1602, at the Nicobar Islands, without having seen any part of the continent of India. After a short stay they set sail for the island of Sumatra; and, on the 6'th of June, cast anchor in the road of Acheen, on the north-west extremity of that island. Here they fund about eighteen vessels from Bengal, Mahibai", Gujerat, and other quar- ters, and were visited by two Dutch merchants, who had been left to learn the language and mannei's of the country. Everything gave indication of a ho.spitable reception; and a deputation was immediately sent ashore, to an- nounce that the commander of the fleet was bearer of a letter from the most famous Queen of England to the most worthy King of Acheen and Sumatra. The day after his arrival, Lancaster himself went ashore, and, having been conducted with great ceremony to the king's presence, delivered his letter, and along with it a present of considerable value.

The interview was of the most amicable nature ; and ultimately a treaty Friendly re-

.1 * ception at

was formed, in which the leading privileges obtanied by the English were, Acheen. perfect freedom of trade, protection to life and property, the power of admin- istering justice among their own countrymen according to English law, and full liberty of conscience. But while the natives displayed this friendly spirit, all the proceedings of the English were w<itched with the utmost jealousy by a third party. The Portuguese had an ambassador at Acheen, and it soon

Woolwich, in. lurv of Gr.ivcaoud.

J., I ;■ 11

•wr y"* '

became apparent that he was deterinineil to leave no means imtried to pre- vent the establishment of a trade, which he naturally regarded as an unjusti- fi:i1)le invasion of the Portuguese monopoly. Attempts to prejudice the king hiiving failed, he determined on open hostility, and with that view despatched messengers to Malacca, to inform the authorities in the Portuguese settlement there of the arrival of the English ships, and urge the necessity of immediately sending a sufficient force to capture them. Fortunately his plans were dis- covered; and his messengei's having been apprehended, the Portuguese in Mjilacca were not even made aware that the Euirlish had amved.

Lancaster determined to turn this ignorance to good account ; and, leaving Predatory the Susan, which had been sent round to Priaman, on the south coast of the island, to take in a cargo of pepper, set out with his other tlu^ee vessels, and a


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 240

ni.STOIlY OF INDIA.

(Book II.

A.D. 1003. Dutcli Hilip of about 200 tons, which had obtained permission to join him, on a privateering cruise to the Straits of Malacca. Such an expedition was certainly little in accordance with the purely mercantile spirit in which the voyage had been professedly undertaken, and goes far to justify the account given by Sii- William Monson, who says, in his Naval Tracts,^ that Lancaster's "employ- ment was as well to take by violence as to trade by sufferance ; " and adds that this was "unworthy the name of an honest design, for the hands of merchants should not be stained or polluted with theft, for in such case all people would have liberty to do the like upon them." The English commander Portuguese ^as uot restrained by any scruples of this natiu-e, and, when a large Portugues(i

taken. ship made her appearance, somewxiat grotesquely expressed his thankfulness to Providence for having thus fiu-nished him with the means of lading his ships, and supplying all his other wants. Though the ship was of 900 tons burden, and had above 600 persons on board, the capture was easily effected It proved a carraek, bound for Malacca, from St. Thom^, a Portuguese factory on th'^ Coromandel coast, and so fully freighted that Lancaster, after occupying all the vacant room in his own vessels with caUcoes, pintados, and other merchan- dise, was puzzled how to dispose of the residue, which would have sufficed to lade as many more ships if he had had them. Ultimately he resolved to retur.! to Aclieen, where he ingratiated himself still farther with the king by hberal presents of the prize goods, and deposited what he could not take with him, to await the arrival of a new fleet from England

On leaving Acheen on the 9th of November, the Ascension, in which all the pepper, cinnamon, and cloves which had previously been purchased, were loaded, was despatched for England. The Dragon and Hector continued their course in an opposite direction along the south coast of Sumatra to Priaman, where the Susan was found taking in her cargo. Leaving her with orders to sail homewards as soon as it was completed, Lancaster proceeded with the other two vessels through the Straits of Sunda, and, on the 1 6th of December, arrived in the road of Bantam, on the north-west extremity of the island of Java. Here, after the dehvery of the queen's letter and a handsome present, his reception was as favourable as it had been at Acheen ; and he found no diffi- culty in disposing of his prize goods to such advantage, that he had soon sold more than would pay for the lading of both the ships. By the 1 0th of Feb- ruary fidl cargoes of pepper were taken in ; and on the 20th, after a regular factory had been established at Bantam, and a pinnace despatched to the Moluccas, for the purpose of attempting to seciu-e a trade which might be available to the next ships from England, he took his final departure.

The voyage home was very stormy ; and the Dragon, in particular, having lost her rudder, became so unmanageable, that Lancaster privately gave orders

Arrival at Bantam.

The voyage home.

' Churcliill's Voyages, vol. iii. p. 2.31.


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 Chap. I.] SECOND VOYAGE TO THE EAST. 211

to the Hector, which had hitherto kept by him, to continue her voyage and a.d. leos.

leave him to his fate. It must be confessed, that in taking this step he dis- played singular resolution and devotedness. At the time when he gave what voyage he believed to be his final orders to the captain of tlie Hector, he hastily ad- dressed a letter to his employers in the following terms: —

" Right Worshipful, — What hath passed in this voyage, and what trades I have settled for tliis Company, and what other events have befallen us, you shall understand by the bearers hereof, to whom (as occasion hath happened) I must refer you. 1 will strive with all diligence to save my ship and her goods, as you may perceive by the com"se 1 take in venturing my own life, and those that are with me. 1 cannot tell where you should look for me, if you send out any pinnace to seek me, because I live at the devotion of the winds and seas. And thus fare you well ; desiring God to send us a merry meeting in this world, if it be his good will and plejvsure. — Your loving Friend,

"James Lancaster."

The captain of the Hector^ unwilling to leave his commander in de.sperate circumstances, still managed to keep him in sight; and ultimately, after redoubling the Cape of Good Hope during the storm without seeing it, both vessels readied St. Helena. Three months after, on the 11th of September, 1603, they cast anchor in the Downs. The Ascension and Susan had pre- viously an-ived ; and thus, though numbers of the crews had perished, all the vessels and their cargoes returned safe.

Both as a first experiment under the charter, and in a pecuniary view, the successful

result

voyage was eminently successful. Two factories at important stations had been established imder the most favourable circumstances; and the clear profits, estimated at ninety-five per cent., were nearly as large as the whole capital adventured. It ought to be observed, however, that these profits cannot pro- perly be considered mercantile, as a large portion of them had been obtained, not by legitimate trading, but in the course of a predatory cruise.

Before Lancaster returned Queen Elizabeth had paid the debt of nature ; but the deep interest which she took in the proceedings of the Company had previously been manifested by a letter, in which she remonstrated with them for having allowed a second year to pass without entering into a new subscrip- tion ; and plainly hinted, that " in not following up the business in the manner the Dutch did, it seemed as if little regard was entertained either for her majesty's honour, or the lionom- of the country." Strange to say, the remon- strance proved unavailing, and no preparations were made for a second voyage tiU the success of the firet was actually ascertained.

In the second voyage the same vessels were employed as in the first, but secon.i the commands were different — Captain Henry Middleton sailing in the Red Draf/on ns admiral, and Captjiin Sufflet in the Hector as vice-admiral. The subscription, which appears to have been mainly advanced by the same parties Vol. I. 31


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 2i2

HISTORY" OF INDIA.

[Book II.

A..D. 1604. as before, since botli voyages were afterwards entered in one account, amounted to £60,450. Of this sum, the repaii-, ec^uipraent, and provision of tiie vessels absorbed no less than X48, 140, whereas the amount carried out in goods was only £1142; the remainder was bullion. The very paltry sum allowed for goods may perhaps be accounted for by the large quantity of Portugue.se pi-ize goods which Lancaster had left for future sale in the factories of Acheen and Bantam.

The vessels left Gravesend on the 25th of March, 1G04; and by this early departure avoiding the blunder by which they had formerly lost the proper season, arrived safely in Bantam Road on the 20th of December folio win f. Here they found six ships and three or four pinnaces belonging to the Dutch, with whom for a time a friendly intercourse was kept up, the Dutch admiral dining aboard the Dragon. At Bantam this intercourse remained undisturbed ; and the Hector and Susan having completed their cargoes about the middle of February, 1605, set sail for England. The Red Dragon and Ascension pro- ceeded for the Moluccas, from which the Dutch were then endeavoming to expel the Portuguese. In this having so for succeeded as to compel the surrender of the castle of Amboyna, the Dutch immediately altered their tone to the

Attempt to trade with the Spice Islands.

Temate, Tidore, and Uaiida.

Amboyna. — Churchill's Collection of Voyages.

English, and formally debarred them from trading to that island. On general principles, there is good ground for disputing the exclusive title which the Dutch thus assumed ; but it seems impossible to deny that the Company were not the proper parties to call it in question, as they were expressly prohibited, by a clause in their charter, from attempting to establish a trade at any place in the actual possession of any friendly Christian power which should openly object to it. But there were other islands of the Molucca group, to which, as the Dutch could not pretend to be in possession of them, the objection could not apply ; and the English vessels were only exercising a right which undoubtedly belonged to tliem, when they endeavoured to carry on a traffic with Ternate, Tidore, and Banda. Circumstances, howevei", were unpropitious ; and the Dutch,


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 1


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 Chap. I.]

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE EAST.

213

^^^

Tern ATE — From Nietthof.'

when they did not dare to use force, scrupled not to avail themselves of intrigue a.d. 1604. and misrepresentation, which were almost equally effectual in seeming the great object of their ambition — a complete monopoly of the spice trade.

The lied Dragon and Ascension, after remaining for some time in the Moluccas, though not in company, met again in the road of Bantam, from which they sailed for Europe on the 6th of October, 1G05. The Susan, which had sailed some time before, was never heard of; Rcsiutsof

the second

but the other three vessels, the Red Dragon, Hector, and Ascension, after voyage, rendezvousing in Saldanha Bay, proceeded home in company, and cast anchor in the Downs on the 6th of May, 1606. Notwithstanding the loss of the Susan the returns were favourable; and the two voyages, thrown, as already mentioned, into one account, nearly doubled the capital which had been adventured in them. It is still necessary, however, in calculating the profit, to remember that a con- siderable portion of it was derived not from trade, but from privateering ; and that the ninety-five per cent, said to have been returned was not realized in one year, but after a series of years, partly occvipied with the voyages, and jiartly spun out in long credits allowed to purchasers.

In 1 60 1, shortly after the vessels had sailed on their second voyage, King iie«"9e to

, Sir Kdw;ird

James I. granted a license to Sir Edward Michelborne, whose recommendation Miciieibomo. by Lord Burleigh for emplo^nnent by the Company has been already mentioned, to trade to " Cathaia, China, Japan, Corea, and Cambaya, &c." These comi- tries, though the Company had not yet visited them, are within the limits of their charter, and the license wjvs therefore an interference with the rights conferred by it. It was not, however, so indefensible a,s it is usually repre- sented. Sir Edward was a member of the Company, and was therefore entitled to the full use of all the privileges which they enjoyed. The intention, no doubt, was that a joint' stock should have been established, but the attempt had as yet failed ; and the voyages hitherto made, though carried on in the name of the Company, were truly for the benefit only of individual adventm-ei-s. In these circumstances, it might have been made a question whether every member was not entitled to claim a similar privilege in his o^vn name, and for his own behoof Even assuming that the aftirmative of this question could not be

' GesancUchaf von der IloUandischc-Oalindischcn Campagnie an den Kaiser in China, 1655.


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 S^-^ JIISTOKY OK INDIA. (Book JI.

A.D. iGi)8. maintained, another important consideration remaias behind Tiie crowii only renounced the right of granting a license " without the coasent " of the Com- pany; and before it can be said, witii Bruce, that "this license was a direct violation of tlie exclusive privileges granted by Queen Elizabeth to the London East India Company," it must be shown not only that the licease was given, but that the Company refused to consent. The probaVjility is that they were not considted on the subject ; but, knowing that they had the power of object- ing, if, from prudential considerations, they refrained from exercising it, they foreclosed themselves, and were not afterwards entitled to complain. Tiie cliarter might be withdrawn at any time after two years' notice ; and it is not to be presumed that the Company would have ventured, by withholding their consent, to oppose any of the wishes or even whims of the crown, and thereby imperilled their very existence. However, the Company may have felt they acted wi-sely in refraining from remonstrance, and allowing Sir Edward Michelbome to make the most of his license. Though he covered his design with the name of trade, his whole conduct showed that his only object was to enrich himself by priva- teering. In this he so signally failed as to give the Company the best security that no such licenses would again be gTanted. '^'^^^^ The third voyage — undertaken on a subscription of £53,500, of which

voyage. •' o

£28,560 was expended in equipping three ships, the Dragon, the Hector, and the Consent; £7280 on goods, and £17,600 in bullion — sailed in 1607, imder the command of Captain Keeling. The Consent, a sliip of 115 tons burden, commanded by Captain David Middleton, was first despatched, and made the voyage by herself without afterwards joining her companions. Weighing anchor from Tilbury Hope on the 12th of March, she made a prosperous voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, which was doubled on the 30th of July, and reached Bantam Road on the 14th of November. Having here landed the iron and lead which formed the cargo, refitted the ship, and taken in some goods for barter. Captain Middleton sailed for the Moluccas, which he reached in the begimiing of January, 1608. After experiencing considerable obstruction from the Portuguese, who, as a condition of trading, insisted that he should join them in their hostilities against the Dutch, he set sail %vithout having obtained a cargo, but had the good fortune, while off the island of Purchase of Boutoug, near the south-east extremity of the Celebes, to fall in with a Java

cloves. _

junk laden with cloves from Amboyna. The master of the junk ofiered his whole cargo for sale, and Middleton pm'chased for £2948, 15s., a quantity which was afterwards sold in England for £36,287. The object of his voyage having been thus accomplished, he hastened back to the factory at Bantam, landed the supercargoes who had accompanied liim to the Moluccas, and then set sail for England, which he reached in December.

The Dragon and Hector, the one commanded by Captain Keeling as admiral, and the other by Captain Hawkins, quitted the Do^VTls on the 1st of April,


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 CiiAP. I.l THIRD VOYAGE TO THE EAST. 245

] 607, and encountering very tempestuous weather, during which many of the a.d. 1609.

crew became diseased, took shelter in Sierra Leone, doubtful whether to prose- cute the voyage or retrace their steps to England. The bolder course was ultimately adopted ; and, after doubling the Cape, the voyage was continued north- wards along the east coast of Africa as far as the island of Socotra, where 24!00 lbs. of aloes were purchased at the rate of 5 lbs. for a dollar. The two ships afterw.ards separated. Captain Hawkins, , ,. v 1 r

i ' I ■'^ Java Junk. — Krom Nieuhof.

proceeding directly to Surat

with the Hector, which was thus the first vessel of the Company that anchored in ^^'^^ ^'sit of

'■ *^ tho Com-

a port of the continent of India; while Captain Keeling, in the Dragon, pvu'sued i)aiiy'8 siiipa the track taken by his predecessors, and after calling at Priaman in Sumatra, tineiitof

India.

and taking in some pepper, passed the Straits of Sunda, and anchored in the road of Bantam on the 5th of October. It had been resolved that the Dragon, in consequence of her unsatisfactory condition, should forthwith be despatched to England with the cargo which had been procured ; but before she sailed a vessel hove in sight, and proved to be the Hector. She had been rather unfor- tunate, for the Portuguese had attacked her, captmred eighteen of her crew, including some of the factors, and seized her goods to the value of 9000 dollars. Captain Hawkins, however, had found the prospect of opening a trade at Surat so promising that he had preferred to remain ashore, and send forward the vessel under the command oi his first officer. The arrangement wtis so far opportune that Captain Keeling, who, by the departure of the Dragon, might liave been left without a command, immediately assmned the command of the Hector, and proceeded with her, on the 1st of January, 1609, for the Moluccas.

The Dutch were now carrying on their trade with great spirit, and made no Dutch secret of their determination, as soon as they should establish their su})remacy hostiutV. in the Spice Islands, to exclude all others from trading to them. Captain Keeling, in his single vessel, found it impossible to resist their arbitrary pro- ceedings, and was obliged to carry on a precarious trade under a kind of ignominious sufferance. He succeeded, however, in obtaining a cargo of pepper, cloves, and nutmegs, and, returning to Bantam, prepared for the homeward voyage. Before departing, he placed the factory there upon a more regular footing than before. The salaries allowed strikingly illustrate the economical and even sordid spirit in which the Company made their fii-st arrangementa Augustine Spalding, the factor, received £50 a-year. The other officials were paid monthly, as follows: — Francis Kelly, surgeon, £2, 5s.; John Parsons, 30s.;


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 2^(j, insToRV or' INlJlA. [Book II.

AD. 1009. Ro))ert O'Neal, 298. ; Augustine Adwell, 24«. ; Etlieldred Lainpre and William Driver, 208. each; VVillium Wilson, 228.; William Lamwell and Philip Ba/l- nedg, 168. each; Francisco Domingo, 128.; Juan Seram and Adrian, lOs. each. The Hector reached the Dovvas in safety on the 9th of May, J fj 1 Before she arrived, two other voyages had been fitted out. The one, which Is ranked as the foui'th of the Company, had a subscription of £33, 000, and wa.s confined to two vessels, the Ascension and the Union. It proved a total loss, the fonner vessel having been cast away in the Gulf of Cambay while attempting to make Subsequent fop Surat ; aiid the lattei-, after arriving in the Ea.st, and trading with some

voyages. ' o ' o

success at Acheen and Priaman, having been wrecked as she was returninf; in the Bay of Biscay. The other voyage, usually classed as the fiftli of the Com- pany, though properly only a branch of the third already described, was more fortunate. It consisted only of a single vessel, the Expedition, for which the subscription was £13,700. It sailed on the 24th of April, 1609, under the com- mand of Captain David Middleton, who had previously made the succe.s.sful voyage in the Consent; and after reaching Bantam on the 7th of December, continued onwards to the Moluccas, where, notwithstanding the opposition of the Dutch, he managed, with considerable dexterity, to oljtain a valuable cargo, and bring it safely home to England. This voyage, thrown into one account with the third, yielded the largest return which the Company had yet obtained, the clear profit on both voyages being no less than 234 per cent. Obstacles to Tlic result of tlicse expei'imental voyages made it impo.ssible to doubt, that moiintea. Under the Company's charter a most lucrative trade might be established. There were, however, several formidable obstacles in the way. Among the Eastern islands the Dutch were attempting to establish a supremacy, under which they evidently meant to exclude all other nations from any share in the spice trade ; while the Portuguese, by their conduct at Surat, had shown that before the English could hope to traffic with any port on the continent of India they must be prepared to repel force by force. In future, therefore, it would be necessary for the Company to carry on their operations on a larger scale, and employ vessels which, while mainly adapted for mercantile purposes, might at the same time be able to maintain their ground against any enemy that should presume to attack them. In order to accomplish this, additional subscriptions were required ; but it was doubtfid if these would be forthcoming so long as the con- duct of the monarch left it doubtful whether he considered himself bound by the charter which his predecessor had granted. His conduct in giving a license to Sir Edward Michelborne justified suspicion; and it was therefore almost vain to hope that new risks would be run until assurance was given that he was pre- pared to recognize the validity of the charter by adopting it as his own personal New charter deed. Accordingly, in 1 609, when of course six years of the original fifteen

by King. • • n rr • t

James. Were still unexpired, the Company succeeded in obtaining from King James a new charter so nearly identical in its terms with that of his predecessor that a