THE LURE OF NATIONS
When once it was realised how wonderful was Portugal’s good fortune in
the East, the nations of Europe one and all desired to enjoy some of
these riches for themselves.
Even during the time of Henry VIII. one Master Robert Thorne, a London
merchant, who had lived for a long time in Seville and had observed
with envy the enterprise of the Portuguese, declared to his English
sovereign a secret “which hitherto, as I suppose, hath beene hid”—viz.
that “with a small number of ships there may bee discovered divers
New lands and kingdoms ... to which places there is left one way to
discover, which is into the North.... For out of Spaine they have
discovered all the Indies and Seas Occidentall, and out of Portingall
all the Indies and Seas Orientall.” His idea, then, was to seek a way
to India via the north. The same Robert Thorne, writing in the year
1527 to Dr Ley, “Lord ambassadour for king Henry the eight,” concerning
“the new trade of spicery” of the East, pointed out the wealth of the
Moluccas (Malay Archipelago) abounding “with golde, Rubies, Diamondes,
Balasses, Granates, Jacincts, and other stones and pearles, as all
other lands, that are under and neere the Equinoctiall”; for just as
“our mettalls be Lead, Tinne, and iron, so theirs be gold, silver and
copper.”
Now Master Thorne was a very shrewd investor. “In a fleete of three
shippes and a caravel,” he says, “that went from this citie armed by
the marchants of it, which departed in Aprill last past, I and my
partener have one thousand foure hundred duckets that we employed in
the sayd fleete, principally for that two English men, friends of
mine, which are somewhat learned in Cosmographie, should go in the
same shippes, to bring me certaine relation of the situation of the
countrey, and to be expert in the navigation of those seas, and there
to have informations of many other things, and advise that I desire to
know especially.” His idea was that our seamen should obtain some of
the Portuguese “cardes” (_i.e._ charts) “by which they saile,” “learne
how they understand them,” and thus, in plain language, crib some of
the Portuguese secrets.
Thorne shows that he was no mean student of geography himself. Already
he possessed “a little Mappe or Carde of the world” and pointed out
that from Cape Verde “the coast goeth Southward to a Cape called Capo
de buona speransa” (the Portuguese name for the Cape of Good Hope).
“And by this Cape go the Portingals to their Spicerie. For from this
Cape toward the Orient, is the land of Calicut.” “The coastes of the
Sea throughout all the world I have coloured with yellow, for that
it may appeare that all is within the line coloured yellow is to be
imagined to be maine land or islands: and all without the line so
coloured to bee Sea: whereby it is easie and light to know it.” Now
Thorne had obtained this “carde” somehow by stealth: by rights he
should not have possessed it, for the Portuguese, as already mentioned,
were most anxious that their Indian secrets should not be divulged. He
therefore begs his friend not to show anyone this chart else “it may
be a cause of paine to the maker: as well for that none may make these
cardes, but certaine appointed and allowed for masters, as for that
peradventure it would not sound well to them, that a stranger should
know or discover their secretes: and would appeare worst of all, if
they understand that I write touching the short way to the spicerie by
our Seas.”
We see, then, the determined desire to obtain the required information
about a route to India obtained from the study of the very charts
which the Portuguese made after some of their voyages, and by sending
Englishmen out in their ships sufficiently expert in cosmography to
learn all that could be known. It must not be forgotten, at the same
time, that there were also land-travellers who journeyed to India and
brought back alluring accounts of India. Cæsar Frederick, for instance,
a Venetian merchant, set forth in the year 1563 with some merchandise
bound for the East. From Venice he sailed in a vessel as far as Cyprus:
from there he took passage in a smaller craft and landed in Syria, and
then journeying to Aleppo got in touch with some Armenian and Moorish
merchants whom he accompanied to Ormuz (on the Persian Gulf), where
he found that the Portuguese had already established a factory and
strengthened it, as the English East India Company’s servants were
afterwards wont, with a fort. From Ormuz he went on to Goa and other
places in India. Already, he pointed out, the Portuguese had a fleet
or “Armada” of warships to guard their merchant craft in these parts
from attack by pirates. Proceeding thence to Cochin, at the south-west
of India, he found that the natives called all Christians coming from
the West Portuguese, whether they were Italians, Frenchmen or whatever
else: so powerful a hold had the first settlers from the Iberian
Peninsula gained on the Indians. We need not follow this traveller on
his way to Sumatra, to the Ganges and elsewhere, but it is enough to
state that the accounts which he gave to his fellow-Europeans naturally
whetted still more the appetites of the merchant traders anxious to
get in touch with India by sea. He told them how rich the East was
in pepper and ginger, nutmegs and sandalwood, aloes, pearls, rubies,
sapphires, diamonds. It was a magnificent opportunity for an honest
merchant to find wealth. “Now to finish that which I have begunne to
write, I say that those parts of the Indies are very good, because that
a man that hath little shall make a very great deale thereof: alwayes
they must governe themselves that they be taken for honest men.”
When Magellan set forth from Seville to find a new route to India he
had gone via the straits which now bear his name, and then striking
north-west across the wide Pacific had arrived at the Philippine
Islands, where he was killed. But his ships proceeded thence to the
Moluccas, and one of his little squadron of five actually arrived back
at Seville, having thus encircled the globe. Englishmen, however, were
so determined that there was a nearer route than this that, in the year
1582, the Indian frenzy which enthralled our countrymen culminated
in the voyage of Edward Fenton that set forth bound for Asia. This
expedition consisted of four ships. It was customary in those days to
speak of the Commodore or Admiral of the expedition as the “Generall,”
thus indicating, by the way, that not yet had the English navy got
away from the influence of the land army. The flagship was spoken of
as the “Admirall.” These four ships, then, consisted, firstly, of the
_Leicester_, the “Admirall” of the squadron. She was a vessel of 400
tons, her “generall” being Captain Edward Fenton, with William Hawkins
(the younger) as “Lieutenant General,” or second in command of the
expedition, the master of the ship being Christopher Hall. The second
ship was the _Edward Bonaventure_, a well-known sixteenth-century craft
of 300 tons, which was commanded by Captain Luke Ward, and the master
was Thomas Perrie. The third ship was the _Francis_, a little craft of
only 40 tons, whose captain was John Drake and her master was William
Markham. The fourth was the _Elizabeth_, of 50 tons; captain, Thomas
Skevington, and master, Ralph Crane.
Before we proceed any further it may be as well to explain a point
that might otherwise cause confusion. In the ships of that time the
captain was in supreme command, but he was not necessarily a seaman
or navigator. He was the leader of the ship or expedition, but he
was not a specialist in the arts of the sea. As we know from Monson,
Elizabethan captains “were gentlemen of worth and means, maintaining
there diet at their own charge.” “The Captaines charge,” says the
famous Elizabethan Captain John Smith, the first president of Virginia,
“is to commaund all, and tell the Maister to what port he will go, or
to what height” (_i.e._ latitude). In a fight he is “to giue direction
for the managing thereof, and the Maister is to see to the cunning
[of] the ship, and trimming the sailes.” The master is also, with his
mate, “to direct the course, commaund all the saylors, for steering,
trimming, and sayling the ship”: and the pilot is he who, “when they
make land, doth take the charge of the ship till he bring her to
harbour.” And, finally, not to weary the reader too much, there is just
one other word which is often used in these expeditions that we may
explain. The “cape-merchant” was the man who had shipped on board to
look after the cargo of merchandise carried in the hold.
On the 1st of April 1582 the _Edward Bonaventure_ started from
Blackwall in the Thames, and on the nineteenth of the same month
arrived off Netley, in Southampton Water, where the _Leicester_ was
found waiting. On 1st May the four weighed anchor, but did not get
clear of the land till the end of the month, “partly of businesse, and
partly of contrary windes.” The complement of these ships numbered
a couple of hundred, including the gentlemen adventurers with their
servants, the factors (who were to open up trade), and the chaplains.
In selecting crews, as many seamen as possible were obtained, but
by this time these were not at all numerous in England: and even
then great care had to be taken to avoid shipping “any disordered or
mutinous person.”
The instructions given to Captain Fenton are so illustrative of these
rules then so essential for the good government of overseas expeditions
that it will not be out of place to notice them with some detail.
As for the “Generall,” “if it should please God to take him away,” a
number of names were “secretly set down to succeede in his place one
after the other.” These names were inscribed on parchment and then
sealed up in balls of wax with the Queen’s signet. They were then
placed in two coffers, which were locked with three separate locks,
one key being kept in the custody of the captain of the _Edward
Bonaventure_, the second in the care of the _Leicester’s_ captain, and
the third in the keeping of Master Maddox, the chaplain. If the general
were to die, these coffers were to be opened and the party named
therein to succeed him.
Fenton’s instructions were to use all possible diligence to leave
Southampton with his ships before the end of April, and then make for
the Cape of Good Hope and so to the Moluccas. After leaving the English
coast the general was to have special regard “so to order your course,
as that your ships and vessels lose not one another, but keep companie
together.” But lest by tempest or other cause the squadron should get
separated, the captains and masters were to be advised previously of
rendezvous, “wherein you will stay certaine dayes.” And every ship
which reached her rendezvous and then passed on without knowing what
had become of the other ships, was to “leave upon every promontorie
or cape a token to stand in sight, with a writing lapped in leade to
declare the day of their passage.” They were not to take anything
from the Queen’s friends or allies, or any Christians, without paying
therefor: and in all transactions they were to deal like good and
honest merchants, “ware for ware.”
[Illustration: THE “ESSEX,” EAST INDIAMAN, AS SHE APPEARED WHEN
REFITTED AND AT ANCHOR IN BOMBAY HARBOUR.
(By courtesy of Messrs. T. H. Parker Brothers)]
With a view to inaugurating a future trade they were if possible to
bring home one or two of the natives, leaving behind some Englishmen
as pledges, and in order to learn the language of the country. No
person was to keep for his private use any precious stone or metal:
otherwise he was to lose “all the recompense he is to have for his
service in this voyage by share or otherwise.” A just account was to
be kept of the merchandise taken out from England and what was brought
home subsequently. And there is a strict order given which shows how
slavishly the Portuguese example of secrecy was being copied. “You
shall give straight order to restraine, that none shall make any charts
or descriptions of the sayd voyage, but such as shall bee deputed by
you the Generall, which sayd charts and descriptions, wee thinke meete
that you the Generall shall take into your hands at your returne to
this our coast of England, leaving with them no copie, and to present
them unto us at your returne: the like to be done if they finde any
charts or maps in those countreys.”
At the conclusion of the expedition the ships were to make for the
Thames, and no one was to land any goods until the Lords of the Council
had been informed of the ships’ arrival. As to the routine on board,
Fenton was instructed to set down in writing the rules to be kept by
the crew, so that in no case could ignorance be pleaded as excuse for
delinquency. “And to the end God may blesse this voyage with happie
and prosperous successe, you shall have an especiall care to see that
reverence and respect bee had to the Ministers appointed to accompanie
you in this voyage, as appertaineth to their place and calling, and
to see such good order as by them shall be set downe for reformation
of life and maners, duely obeyed and perfourmed, by causing the
transgressours and contemners of the same to be severely punished, and
the Ministers to remoove sometime from one vessell to another.”
But notwithstanding all these precautions this voyage was not the
success which had been hoped for. After reaching the west coast of
Africa and then stretching across to Brazil, where they watered ships,
did some caulking, “scraped off the wormes” from the hulls, and learnt
that the Spanish fleet were in the neighbourhood of the Magellan
Straits, they determined to return to England. This they accordingly
did. Before leaving England they had been instructed not to pass by
these straits either going or returning, “except upon great occasion
incident” with the consent of at least four of Fenton’s assistants. But
a conference had decided that it were best to make for Brazil. And then
the news which they received there of the Spanish fleet convinced them
that it were futile to attempt to get to India that way.
But as the Italian whom we mentioned just now got to India by the
overland route, so an Englishman named Ralph Fitch, a London merchant,
being desirous to see the Orient, reached Goa in India via Syria and
Ormuz. He set sail from Gravesend on 13th February 1582, left Falmouth
on 11th March, and then never put in anywhere till the ship landed him
at Tripoli in Syria on the following 30th April. After being absent
from home nine years, Fitch came back in an English ship to London in
April 1591. The reports which he brought were similar to the Italian’s
verdict. India was rich in pepper, ginger, cloves, nutmegs, sandalwood,
camphor, amber, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, pearls, and so on. There
was not the slightest doubt that it was the country to trade with. But,
as yet, no English ship had found the way thither.
During the years 1585-1587 John Davis tried to find a way thither by
the North-West Passage. Davis had a fine reputation as “a man very well
grounded in the principles of the Arte of Navigation,” but none the
less his efforts were unavailing. In 1588 the coming of the expected
Armada turned the energies of the English seamen into another channel.
But already, in the year 1586, Thomas Candish had set out from Plymouth
with the _Desire_, 120 tons, the _Content_ of 60 tons and the _Hugh
Gallant_ of 40 tons, victualled for two years and well found at his own
expense. Journeying via Sierra Leone, Brazil and the Magellan Straits,
he reached the Pacifice and China, and after touching at the Philippine
Islands passed through the Straits of Java. From Java he crossed the
ocean to the Cape of Good Hope, was able to correct the errors in
the Portuguese sea “carts,” and in September 1588 reached Plymouth
once more, having learnt from a Flemish craft bound from Lisbon that
the Spanish Armada had been defeated, “to the singular rejoycing and
comfort of us all.”[A]
The value of this voyage round the world was, from a navigator’s
point of view, of inestimable advantage. For the benefit of those
English navigators who were, a few years later, to begin the ceaseless
voyages backwards and forwards round the Cape of Good Hope, between
England and India, Candish made the most elaborate notes and sailing
directions, giving the latitudes (or, as the Elizabethans called them,
“the heights”) of most of the places passed or visited. Very elaborate
soundings were taken and recorded, giving the depth in fathoms and
the nature of the sea-bed, wherever they went round the world, if the
depth was not too great. In addition, he gave the courses from place to
place, the distances, where to anchor, what dangers to avoid, providing
warning of any difficult straits or channels, the variation of the
compass at different places, the direction of the wind from certain
dates to certain dates, and so on. But this, valuable as it undoubtedly
was in many ways, did not exhaust the utility of the voyage. From
China, whither the ships of the East India Company some years later
were to trade, “I have brought such intelligence,” he wrote on his
return to the Lord Chamberlain, “as hath not bene heard of in these
parts. The stateliness and riches of which countrey I feare to make
report of, least I should not be credited: for if I had not knowen
sufficiently the incomparable wealth of that countrey, I should have
bene as incredulous thereof, as others will be that have not had the
like experience.”
And he showed in still further detail the fine opportunity which
existed in the East and awaited only the coming of the English
merchant. “I sailed along the Ilands of the Malucos, where among some
of the heathen people I was well intreated, where our countrey men may
have trade as freely as the Portugals if they will themselves.”
It is not therefore surprising that in the following year the English
merchants began to stir themselves afresh. The East was calling
loudly: and with the information brought back by Candish and some
other knowledge, gained in a totally different manner, the time was
now ripe for an expedition to succeed. For in the year 1587 Drake had
left Plymouth, sailed across the Bay of Biscay, arrived at Cadiz Roads,
where he did considerable harm to Spanish shipping, spoiled Philip’s
plans for invading England that year, and then set a course for the
Azores. It was not long before he sighted a big, tall ship, which was
none other than the great carack, _San Felipe_, belonging to the King
of Spain himself, whose name in fact she bore. This vessel was now
homeward-bound from the East Indies and full of a rich cargo. Drake
made it his duty to capture her in spite of her size, and very soon she
was his and on her way to Plymouth.
Now the most wonderful feature of this incident was, historically,
not the daring of Drake nor the value of the ship and cargo. The
latter combined were found to be worth £114,000 in Elizabethan money,
or in modern coinage about a million pounds sterling. But the most
valuable of all were the ship’s papers found aboard, which disclosed
the long-kept secrets of the East Indian trade. Therefore, this fact,
taken in conjunction with the arrival of Candish the year following,
and the wonderful incentive to English sea-daring given by the victory
over the Spanish Armada—the fleet of the very nation whose ships had
kept the English out of India—will prepare the reader for the memorial
which the English merchants made to Queen Elizabeth, setting forth the
great benefits which would arise through a direct trade with India.
They therefore prayed for a royal licence to send three ships thither.
But Elizabeth was a procrastinating, uncertain woman. She had in that
expedition of Drake in 1587 first given her permission and then had
sent a messenger post haste all the way to Plymouth countermanding
these orders. Luckily for the country, Drake had already got so far out
to sea that it was impossible to deliver the message: and it was a good
thing there was no such thing as wireless telegraphy in Elizabeth’s
time.
So, in regard to these petitioning merchants, first she would and then
she wouldn’t, and she kept the matter hanging indecisively until a few
months before April 1591. By that time the necessary capital had been
raised and the final preparations made, so that on the tenth of that
month “three tall ships,” named respectively the _Penelope_ (which was
the “Admirall”), the _Marchant Royall_ (which was the “Vice-Admirall”)
and the _Edward Bonaventure_ “Rear-Admirall”) were able to let loose
their canvas and sailed out of Plymouth Sound.
FOOTNOTE:
[A] Drake of course had previously encircled the globe in a voyage of
twenty-six months, having set forth from Plymouth in 1577, though his
was even more of a buccaneering expedition than that of Candish.