1. 'Ship Discovery'

Description:

Abstract: Ledger of the Discovery(Captain John Evans), to accompany her voyage from England to Mocha and back, 1700-02.The ledger contains the accounts of pay and other financial records of each of the ship's crewmembers.There is a list of the ship's crew on folio 10.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 41; 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 42-51, which have not been digitised.

2. Discovery: Journal

Description:

Abstract: Journal of the voyage of the East India Company ship the Discoveryfrom England to Surat, Persia [Iran] and Java (Captain John Vian), 7 April 1626 to 14 November 1628. The Discoverydeparted from the Downs on 16 April 1626, and the journal covers the ship's visits to the following destinations (dates are those of the arrival, and both Old Style and New Style dates are given): 30 July 1626, Johanna [Anjouan]; 15 October 1626, Bombay [Mumbai]; 24 October 1626, Suratt [Surat]; 18 January 1626/7, Gomoroone [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; March 1626/7, Surratt; 27 May 1627, Battavia [Jakarta]; October 1627, Surratt; 12 May 1628, Cape [of Good Hope]; 15 June 1628, St Hellena [Saint Helena]; 25 October 1628, Downs.The Journal consists of daily entries covering navigational information, winds, weather, contact with other East India Company ships and English men-of-war, sightings of other vessels, deaths of crewmembers, commodities carried, and general remarks.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 69; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

3. 'Discovery's Journall Bound for Mocha 1700'

Description:

Abstract: Journal of the voyage of the Discoveryfrom England to Mocha and back, 1700-02 [Captain John Evans]. The Discoverywas at Mocha from 27 May to 25 August, and at Succatra [Socotra] from 9 to 17 October.The Journal consists of daily entries recording navigational information under the following column headings: H [Hour], K [Knots], F [Fathoms], Course, Wind, and general remarks. When the ship is at anchor, or sailing near shore, the entries consist of general remarks.The remarks include sightings of other vessels, contact with other English ships, availability of ports (folio 55), and news of the death of King William III (folio 67).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 68; 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 69-90, which have not been digitised.

4. ‘Survey of the Western Shore of the Persian Gulph’

Description:

Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, a Marine and Forest Letter from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai].The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Henry Meriton, Superintendent of Marine; the East India Company Court of Directors; the Bombay Marine; and Captain Phillip Maughan.The item concerns a survey of the western side of the Persian Gulph [Gulf]. It includes:A recommendation from the Court of Directors, in 1815, for the Government of Bombay to undertake a survey of the western side of the GulfThe arrival, in 1820, of the survey ship Margaret and Francisin Bombay, and the suggestion that it might be employed to carry out the previously-mentioned surveyThe carrying out of repairs to the Margaret and Francis, its renaming as the Discovery, and the appointment of Captain Maughan as CommanderThe preparations for the survey, including the supply of surveying instruments, and the question of the allowances that should be granted to the officers employedMaughan’s relinquishing of his command of the Discoverydue to illness, with the ship subsequently being refitted and placed under the command of Lieutenant John Michael GuyDiscussions regarding the types of vessel most suitable for carrying out survey workThe methods suggested by Maughan for the completion of the survey.The title page contains the following references: ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 86, Dr[a]ft 359, 22/3’ and ‘Examiner’s Office Sept. 1822’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 5 and terminates at f 71, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the volume also contains an original pagination sequence.

5. 'A jurnall kepte by me William Speare bound for the East Indies in the good Shipp Discovery begininge the firste day of Marche Anno dm 1632'

Description:

Abstract: Journal of the voyages of the Discoveryand the Londonkept by William Speare between 1633 and 1637.Folios 5-92 cover the following voyages of the Discovery(Captain William Morris):England to Surratt [Surat, India], March-November 1633, via St Lawrence [Madagascar], Comoros and Comorone [Bandar Abbas, Iran]Surratt to Comorone and back, January-April 1634Surratt to Massipitan [Machilipatnam, India], April-September 1634, via Morisheus [Mauritius], St Lawrence and ComorosMassipitan to Comorone, December 1634-March 1635Comorone to Bumbee [Bombay, India], April-May 1635Bumbee to Syndie [Karachi, Pakistan], September-November 1635, via SurrattSyndie to Surratt, January-March 1636, via Comorone.Folios 93-132 cover the following voyages of the London(Captain Matthew Wills):Surratt to Massipitan, May-June 1636, via Gorre [Goa, India]Massipitan to Bantam [Banten, Java, Indonesia], August-October 1636Bantam to England, January-July 1637.The journal consists of daily entries of information on navigation, winds, weather, contact with other ships, and general observations.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 155; 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 133-153, which have not been digitised.

6. 'Journall kept by Richard Forder Mrs Mate in shipp Palsgrave. Anno. 1632'

Description:

Abstract: Journal of the voyage of the Discoveryfrom England to Surratt [Surat], and Persia (Captain William Morris, Master Richard Monk), 1633-37: 23 July 1633, Bay of St Augustine; 12 August 1633, Commorowe [Comoros]; 19 September 1633, Commoroone [Bandar Abbas]; 7 November 1633, Sarat [Surat]; 28 February 1634, Cumborroone [Bandar Abbas]; 8 April 1634, Surat; 20 June 1634, Maurrisshes [Mauritius]; 8 September 1634, Meslupotane [Masulipatam]; 1 February 1635, Honnor [Onore]; 28 March 1635, Gumborroune [Bandar Abbas]; 2 May 1635, Bomebay [Bombay]; 2 October 1635, Deman [Daman]; 20 October 1635, Surat; 4 February 1636, Gumberronn [Bandar Abbas]; 17 March 1636, Surat; 11 July 1636, Morriusses [Mauritius]; 26 September 1636, S Ellena [St Helena]; 21 January 1637, the Dowens [Downs].The Discoverywas at Gombroon (various spellings) [Bandar Abbas] in September 1633, February 1634, March 1635, and February 1636.Inscribed on front cover: 'March 1632/33 Palsgrave, Discovery, Reformation, Comfort' (these were the four ships that comprised the fleet on the outward voyage of the Discovery).The volume commences as the Journal of the Palsgrave, kept by Richard Forder, Master's Mate aboard the Palsgrave, from 7 March to 9 April 1633 (folios 1-11). However, following the death of one of the Master's Mates aboard the Discovery, Forder left the Palsgraveat the request of her Captain, and went aboard the Discovery. Thereafter the volume comprises the Journal of the Discovery, from 10 April 1633 to 31 January 1637 (folios 11-119). Note in margin: 'A Journall kept by mee Richard ffoorder [...] ship Discovery' (folio 11).The Journal contains daily entries recording navigational information, winds, weather, the provisioning of the ship, and general remarks. The volume also contains monthly tables of navigational data.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 127; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains a pagination sequence.

7. Vol 34: Letters Outward

Description:

Abstract: This volume consists of contemporaneous copies of outward letters from the Bushire Residency. Most of the letters are written by the Resident in the Persian Gulf, Ephraim Gerrish Stannus. A small number of letters are written by the Assistant Surgeon at Bushire, James Pringle Riach, who was temporarily in charge of the Residency during Stannus's absence. Most of the letters are addressed to East India Company officials at Bombay, of which the most prominent recipients are the following: William Newnham, Chief Secretary to Government, Bombay; John Wedderburn, Accountant General, Bombay; and Mountstuart Elphinstone, President and Governor in Council, Bombay. Many of the letters to William Newnham contain copies of the Resident's correspondence with a number of local rulers, including: Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Sharjah and Ra's al-Khaymah; Shaikh ‘Abd al-Rasūl Khān, Governor of Bushire; His Royal Highness Ḥusayn ‘Alī Mīrzā, Prince of Shiraz; and the Imam of Muscat, Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Sa‘īd. Other recipients include a number of commanders of East India Company ships as well as Henry Willock, His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of Persia, and his brother, George Willock, Secretary in Charge of the British Mission, Tabrīz. The letters in this volume cover a range of topics, including the following: the accounts and expenses of the Bushire Residency; trade, both at Bushire and at other Persian ports; relations between Rahma bin Jabir and the ruler of Bahrain; the estate of the former Governor of Bushire, Muhammad Nabi Khan; a dispute between Tahnun bin Shakhbut, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, and his brother, Muhammad bin Shakhbut Al Nahayan, former Shaikh of Abu Dhabi; speculations on the intentions of Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī; the Resident's concerns about the reduced scale of the marine establishment; the costs involved in carrying out alterations and repairs on the Residency building; updates from Stannus regarding an act of piracy, which is reported to have been committed to the south of Muscat by two boats from Sharjah.Physical description: Pagination: There is a pagination sequence, which is written in pencil, in the top right corners of the rectos and the top left corners of the versos. Not every verso has been numbered, but the sequence is consistent. The sequence begins with the first item of correspondence, on number 1, and ends on the last page of writing, on number 144.Foliation: The foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio after the front cover, on number 2, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 76. This is the sequence which has been used by this catalogue to reference items within the volume.Condition: The folios in this volume have suffered from insect damage. Parts of the bottom edges of the front cover are missing, as are parts of the bottom edges of the first dozen or so folios within the volume.

8. John Vian’s Journal on the Discovery

Description:

Abstract: The volume is part of the Marine Department Records, Ships’ Journals. Inscribed: ‘A Journall [Journal] kept by me John Vian from England to Endie [India] and Persia and from there backe agayn [back again] in the good ship Discoverie [Discovery], Capt. John Bickell, Commander in the yeare. [year] Anno: 1629.’ A note on the front cover also states ‘25 March 1629. Discovery, Charles, Reformation, London, Samuel Pinnace.’ The log provides navigational information; notes of sightings of other vessels, Dutch ships in particular; and general remarks.The journal covers the voyage of the East India Company ship Discoveryfrom England to Surat and Persia, and back, 1629-31, including the following places: Cape Bonsperance [Cape of Good Hope]; Island of St Larence [St Laurence/Madagascar]; the Island of Mayotos [Mayotte]; the Island of Molala [Mohilla]; the Coast of Endies [the Indies]; Surrat [Surat] port; port of Swalie [Swalley/Suvali]; Comoron [Bandar ‘Abbas, also known as Gombroon at this time]; St Johns along the Coast of Endies [Indies]; the Moritissis [Mauritius]; St Augustine [Bay of St Augustin]; Island of Johana [Anjouan]; Bassen [Bassein/Vasai]; Porsia [Persia]; Bay of Saldanie [Saldanha Bay]; and the Island of St Hellna [St Helena].The three types of navigational information mentioned are, Lat [Latitude], Log [Longitude], and Mrc [Mercator/ Mercator projection, which is a type of a flat map of the globe, devised by Gerardus Mercator in 1569].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 46; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.Pagination: the file also contains an original pagination sequence.

9. Journal: Discovery, David Davis

Description:

Abstract: Journal of the voyage of the East India Company ship the Discoveryfrom England to Surat, Persia [Iran] and Java, (Captain Johnson), 1626-1629, (dates given are for arrival unless otherwise indicated). The Discoverydeparted from the Downs on 16 April 1626 and the journal covers the ship's visits to the following destinations: 30 July 1626, Johanna [Anjouan]; 15 October 1626, Bombay [Mumbai]; 24 October 1626, Saratt [Surat]; 18 January 1627, Gombroon [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; March, Saratt; 27 May 1627, Batavia [Jakarta]; October, Surat; 12 May 1628, Cape [of Good Hope]; 15 June 1628, St Helena; 25 October 1628, Downs.Daily entries for when the ship was in port and at anchor record: wind and other weather conditions; goods and provisions received on board the ship; goods unloaded from the ship and taken ashore; actions performed by the crew; the arrival and departure of other ships; members of the crew receiving corporal punishment; and deaths of members of the crew.The journal also records (folio 39) the Discoveryanchoring with East India Company ships the Mary, the Hartand the Starr.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 119; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original pagination sequence.A previous foliation sequence, bottom right corner, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.The volume includes a sequence of blank pages ff 60-102, which have not been digitised.