Page:A Comprehensive History of India Vol 1.djvu/272

 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.

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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.