Abstract: Journal of the voyage of the East India Company ship
Royal Jamesby Richard Monck from England to Surratt [Surat, also written in the journal as Surrat], and back to England between 27 March 1624 and 12 October 1626 (Captains John Weddell and Richard Swanley). The journal employs Old Style (Julian) dates only.The journal consists of tables of entries recording navigational information under the following column headings: dayes [days], course, leagues, departures, longitude, E or W, variations wendes [winds] and in addition general remarks. The journal mentions contact with other East India Company ships (i.e.
Blessing, William), contact with Dutch East India Company ships, and contact with Duch [Dutch] fleet and Portuguese fleet. It also mentions carried goods. The entries contain some drawings of faces on folio 14. In addition, the journal contains consultations on the
Royal Jamestaken during 1624 (folios 38-51).The journal mentions the fact that from Surratt the ship went to Gombroone [Bandar-e ʻAbbās, also written in the journal as Gumborone, Gambroon, Gombroone, and Comorund], where Commander John Weddell joined a Hollande [Dutch] fleet to fight the Portuguese fleet. The entry gives a brief account of the battle, which lasted for several days, and mentions the total number of deaths and injuries in the English fleet (folios 7-10).The ship's route is as follows (dates given are for arrival unless otherwise indicated): Downs, 27 March 1624 (folio 2); Cape of Good Hope, 17 July 1624 (folio 4); St Larrince [St Lawrence, i.e. Madagascar], 21 August 1624 (folio 4); Mohelia [Moheli, Comoros], 31 August 1624 (folio 4); Surratt, 12 October 1624 (folio 6); Land of Persia, 21 December 1624 (folio 8); Gombroone , 28 December 1624 (folio 9); Java, 5 June 1625 (folio 13); Bantum [Bantem], 6 August 1625 (folio 16); Gombroone, 18 November 1625 (folio 16); Swally [Suvali], 12 April 1626 (folio 18); Cape [Cape of Good Hope], 8 July 1626 (folio 21); Santta Lena [Saint Helena], 6 August 1626 (folio 21).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 52; 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.The volume includes a sequence of blank pages, ff 23-36, which have not been digitised