1. Dragon: Journal, William Finch and John Hearne, Factors, Vol. 5

Description:

Abstract: Journal of the East India Company ship, Red Dragon(Captain William Keeling), kept by John Hearne and William Finche. The journal covers the ship's voyage from England to Sierra Leona [Sierra Leone], Madagascar, and Zokatora [Socotra]. The ship's passage from Zokatora to Bantam [Banten] is not covered by the journal. Dates of landing are as follows: 15 April 1607, Plymouth; 6 August 1607, Sierra Leona; 18 December 1607, Saldania [Saldanha]; 19 February 1608, St Augustine Bay, Madagascar; 21 April 1608, Zokatora.The journal consists of almost daily entries with information such as course, winds, weather, navigational data, land sightings, and other general remarks. When the ship is at anchor the entries tend to be longer, with details of geography, people encountered, trade, and other miscellaneous information. The margin contains names of the deceased and, written in a different hand and probably made a later date, notes on the main text. Throughout the volume there are small pen sketches of islands and coastlines observed on the voyage (folios 6, 8, 16, 19, 23, 24, 25).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 47; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The volume includes a sequence of blank pages, ff 34-46, which have not been digitised.

2. Admiral Watson: Journal

Description:

Abstract: The journal of the ship Admiral Watsonby Captain William Cooke. The journal contains:'The list of ship Admiral Watson's Company', including soldiers and Indo-Portuguese lascars (ff 2-4)The daily entries for the voyage from Rotherhithe to Deptford (11 January 1758), Gravesend (27 February 1758), Spithead (28 April 1758), The Lizard (21 May 1758), Island of Trinidada [Ilha da Trindade] (18 July 1758), the coast of Africa (30 August 1758), St Augustine's Bay [Helodrano Ianantsony, Madagascar] (7 September 1758), Johanna [Anjouan] (16 September 1758), the coast of Africa (27 September 1758), the coast of Arabia (24 October 1758), the coast of Persia [Iran] (5 November 1758) and Gombaroon [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] (19 November 1758)The daily entries for the voyage from Gombaroon to Cape Jasques [Cape Jask] (10 January 1759) and Bombay [Mumbai] (24 January 1759)The daily entries for the voyage from Bombay to Point de Galle (21 April 1759), Cape Lagullas [Cape Agulhas] (7 July 1759), St Helena (30 July 1759), Ascention [Ascension] (14 August 1759), Brava [Ilha Brava] (28 August 1759), the English Channel (5 October 1759), the Downs (12 October 1759), Deptford (22 October 1759) and the Custom House (6 November 1759).The journal contains daily entries in seven columns: Weather Conditions, H [Hour], K [Knots], F [Fathoms], Courses, Winds, and Week Day, Date and Observations. The entries consist of remarks only when the ship is at anchor. The journal provides navigational information, notes on the sightings of other vessels, and other observations made during the course of the voyages.At the front of the journal is the inscription: 'This is my original Journal, Wm [William] Cooke'. The journal was received on 7 November 1759.Physical description: The foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 1, and terminates at f 122; it is part of a larger physical volume of different shelfmarks in which every shelfmark has been given its own separate foliation sequence, i.e. non-consecutive; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

3. New Year's Gift: Journal

Description:

Abstract: Journal of the voyage of the East India Company ship New Year's Giftfrom England towards Surat and Bantam (Captain Thomas Elkington, Master Martin Pring/Nicholas Downton), 9 March 1613 [New Style date 9 March 1614]-14 September 1615 (dates given are for arrival unless otherwise indicated): 9 March 1613 [New Style date 9 March 1614], off the Lizard; 15 June 1614, Saldanie [Saldanha Bay, Cape of Good Hope]; 6 August 1614, St Augustine's Bay [Madagascar]; 9 September 1614, Sucatora [Socotra].The journal ends on 14 September 1614, with the ship leaving Socotra bound for Surrate [Surat].Labelled on the front cover 'No. 15', and inscribed '1614. Begun 9th. March 1613/14. Ends 30 Sept [September] 1614' (folio 1B).The journal contains regular dated entries in (variously) seven or eight columns, under the following headings: daies [days]; houres [hours]; course; leages [leagues]; latitude (degrees and minutes); varia[tion]; windes [winds]; and [month, year, and remarks]. When the ship is in harbour, the entries consist of remarks only.The journal records: navigational information; weather; sea conditions; topographical and anthropological descriptions; descriptions of flora and fauna; potential trading commodities; and references to the other ships with which the New Year's Giftsailed in convoy.The journal includes descriptions of Saldanha Bay and Pengwin Ilande [Penguin Island] (folios 5-7); St Augustine's Bay (folios 11-12); and the reception given to members of the ship's crew by the King of Socotra (folios 12-13).The record includes a draft letter dated 27 February 1614 [New Style date 27 February 1615], which describes the voyage, and gives an account of an engagement between English ships and a Portuguese fleet at Surratt [Surat] in January [1615] (folios 14-15).The record bears summary notes of a later date in pencil on the front cover, and in the left hand margin of the journal and letter.The journal and letter (where indicated) employ Old Style (Julian calendar) dates only.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1a, and terminates at the last folio with 15; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.The file contains foliation anomalies, f 1a and 1b. The volume includes a sequence of 131 unfoliated blank pages following f 15, which have not been digitised.

4. Doddington: Journal

Description:

Abstract: This volume consists of a journal (log book) recording the second voyage of the East India Company ship Doddingtonfrom England to Bombay and Mocha, kept by the Captain Norton Hutchinson. The journal entries are dated 8 January 1752 to 9 June 1754.The journal contains the following inscriptions: ‘This is my origional Journall [sic] Norton Hutchinson’, ‘Witness W[illia]m Settle’ and ‘Rec[eive].d 3d July 1754’.The entries record the ship setting sail from the Downs on 20 March 1752, having been at Woolwich and Gravesend prior to this. The entries record the ship being anchored in the following places: Lisbon Harbour (10 to 30 April 1752); St Augustin’s [Augustine’s] Bay (3 to 17 August 1752); Bombay (9 to 21 October and 14 to 20 November 1752, with the ship being on a cruise between these dates); Surat (26 December 1752 to 2 January 1753); Scindy Road [probably the waters off Karachi in Sindh] (9 to 13 January 1753); Surat (19 to 24 February 1753); Bombay (26 February to 6 March 1753); Mangalore [Mangaluru] (10 to 15 March 1753); Tellicherry [Thalassery] (16 to 21 March 1753); Mocha (16 April to 27 August 1753); Bombay (16 September to 3 December 1753); Table Bay (14 February to 5 March 1754); and St Helena (17 to 22 March 1754). The ship moored at Gravesend on 31 May 1754.Daily entries for when the ship was in port or at anchor record information including: wind and other weather conditions; goods, provisions and dispatches received on board the ship; goods and chests of treasure unloaded from the ship and taken ashore; actions performed by the crew; members of the crew being punished for offences committed; and the arrival and departure of other ships.Daily entries for when the ship was at sail consist of tables recording the following: hours (H), knots (K), fathoms (F), courses, winds, remarks (mostly about the weather), and other comments. The other comments record information including: wind and other weather conditions; the course of the ship; actions performed by the crew; ships with which the Doddingtonwas sailing in company; sightings of other ships; birds, snakes, and animals observed; and deaths of members of the crew. These entries also include measurements relating to the course of the ship, meridian distance from various places, and latitude and longitude.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 134; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

5. Salisbury: Journal

Description:

Abstract: This volume consists of a journal of the first voyage of the East India Company ship the Salisbury, the Commander of which was Christopher Burrows, recorded by the First Mate William Foreman.The journal is inscribed: ‘This my Originall Journall W[illia]m Foreman’, ‘Witness Rob[er]t James’, and ‘Rec.[eive]d 9 Nov.[embe]r 1744 –’.The journal entries are dated 12 January 1742 to 9 November 1744.The entries record the ship anchoring in the following places: Gravesend (31 January to 11 March 1742); Portsmouth (14 to 21 March 1742); St Augustins Bay [St Augustine’s Bay] (9 to 28 July 1742); Bombay Harbour (6 September to 3 October 1742); Annanore [Kannur, also spelled Ananore in the volume] (24 to 26 October 1742); Tillicherry [Thalassery] (1 to 9 November 1742); Bombay Harbour (26 November to 1 January 1742/3); Gombaroone [Bandar Abbas, also spelled as Gomberoom in the journal] (20 to 31 January 1742/3); Bombay (16 February to 1 March 1742/3); Surratt [Surat] (9 to 16 March 1742/3); Bombay (19 to 21 March 1742/3, and 26 March to 11 April 1743); Compta [also spelled Comtaw and Crompta in the volume] (18 to 20 April to 1743); Ananore (20 to 21 April 1743); Tellechery [Thalassery] (24 to 29 April 1743); Callecutt [Calicut or Kozhikode] (30 April to 7 May 1743); Fort St Davids (22 to 25 May 1743); Madrass [Madras] (26 May to 27 September 1743); and Table Bay and Cape Bona Esperanca [Cape of Good Hope, also spelled Cape Bonesperencia in the volume] (28 December 1743 to 26 April 1744). The ship reached St Helena on 15 May 1744, and Tinmouth [Teignmouth] on 8 September 1744, before mooring at Deptford on 2 October 1744.Entries for when the ship was at sail consist of tables recording the following: hours (H), knots (K), fathoms (F), courses, winds, weather etcetera, and comments. The comments mostly relate to the following: wind and other weather conditions; actions performed by the crew; sightings of land and other ships; and navigational measurements.Entries for when the ship was at anchor or in port mainly record: wind and other weather conditions, actions performed by the crew, goods and provisions received on board the ship, and goods unloaded from the ship and taken ashore.The journal also includes:A list of the officers and seamen on board the ship, dated 1742 (folios 4 verso to 5) recording number (N), names, quality (position), whether they were dead, whether they had run away from the ship, and when and where they had died or run away; a list of soldiers on board the ship bound for Bombay (folio 6); a list of the passengers bound for Bombay, and a list of the passengers from Bombay to Tellecherry [Thalassery] (folio 6)A list recording the dates of the ship’s arrival at, and departure from, the ports at which it stopped from 30 January 1742 to 15 May 1743 (folios 185 verso to 186).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 190; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

6. Hector: Journal

Description:

Abstract: Journal of the East India Company ship, Hector, kept by Captain Stephen Kirwan. The journal covers the ship's voyage to Gombroon [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] and Bombay [Mumbai] (all dates are those of arrival): 12 February 1751, Gravesend; 14 March 1751, Downs; 7 July 1751, St Augustine Bay, Madagascar; 28 August 1751, Gombroon; 27 September 1751, Bombay; 18 December 1751, Aurangabunda [Aurangabander, Sindh]; 18 January 1752, Bombay; 31 January 1752, Surat; 20 April 1752, Bombay; 18 September 1752, Culpee [Kulpi, near Kolkata]; 12 January 1753, Anjengo [Anchuthengu]; 25 January 1753, Cochin [Kochi]; 4 February 1753, Tellicherry [Thalassery]; 11 March 1753, Bombay; 29 April 1753, Tellicherry; 16 June 1753, Bourbon [Réunion]; 24 December 1753, St Helena; 28 April 1754, Downs; 1 May 1754, Blackwater Docks.At the beginning of the journal (folios 2-4) are four lists of those aboard. These are officers and seamen belonging to the ship, passengers heading to places abroad, people taken on board at St Helena who are working their passage home, and the East India Company's soldiers and galley men. Each list contains information on names, quality (i.e. profession), time of entry, and dates for any person who may have died, been discharged, or run away.The main body of the journal consists of daily entries in seven columns: H [Hour], K [Knots], F [Fathoms], Courses, Winds, Weather, and a remarks column. When the ship is at anchor the entries are remarks only. The remarks column contains the date and information on weather, courses, distances, land sightings, ship sightings, ship maintenance, rigging, employment of the crew, and some navigational data. Occasionally other miscellaneous notes are made, such as the names of the deceased, flora and fauna seen from the ship, and any unusual occurrences.At the end of the journal (folio 135) Stephen Kirwan, Captain, has signed his name in testament to it being his original journal. It is witnessed by John Webster.Crew List; Passenger List; Soldier ListPhysical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 1, and terminates at f 145; it is part of a larger physical volume of different shelfmarks in which this shelfmark has been given its own separate foliation sequence, i.e. non-consecutive; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.