Abstract: Volume containing extracts from journals kept by Captain Thomas Best during various voyages between 1612 and 1617.Folios 2-4 cover a voyage aboard the
Hosianderfrom Surat, India, to Achene [Banda Aceh, Indonesia], January 1612 [New Style date 1613]-April 1613.Folios 6-8 contain an account of a voyage aboard the
Lionfrom the Cape of Good Hope to Surat, June-October 1615.Folios 9-10 contain an account of a voyage aboard the
Hosianderfrom Daman, India, to Surat, September 1612.Folios 11-18 contain instructions for sailing from England to Indonesia.Folios 20-53 cover a voyage aboard the
Jamesfrom England to Surat, March 1615 [New Style date 1616]-September 1616, from Surat to Jasquet [Bandar-e Jask, Iran] and back, November 1616-February 1616 [New Style date 1617], and from Surat to Bantam [Banten, Java, Indonesia], March-July 1617.The extracts contain information on navigation, winds, weather, contact with other ships, and general observations.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 53; 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.
Abstract: Journal kept by Henry Crosby between 1619 and 1624, including voyages on the East India Company ships
Charlesand
Exchange.Folios 8-15 cover the voyage of the
Charlesfrom England to Surat, March-October 1619, from Surat to Jasquet [Bandar-e Jask, Iran] and back, November 1619-January 1619 [New Style date, 1620], and from Surat to Achine [Banda Aceh, Indonesia], March-April 1620 (Captain John Bickell).Folios 15-16 state that Henry Crosby departed Achine aboard the
Rauebuckein July 1620 and spent the next months trading along the coast of Sumatra before arriving at Jakatraye [Jakarta] in December. The
Rauebuckecould be presumed to be the same as the East India Company ship
Roebuck, except that the journal for the
Roebuckfound in IOR/L/MAR/A/XXX states that the ship is travelling between the Cape of Good Hope and Surat in July-December 1620.For the remainder of the journal it is not clear which ship Crosby is aboard, until he arrives in England aboard the
Exchange(Captain Richard Swanley). It has been presumed that he departed from Jakatraye in the
Exchange, as there is no further mention of him changing ships.Folios 16-24 cover the voyage, presumably of the
Exchange, from Jakatraye to patrol the coast of Mozambique as part of the Anglo-Dutch Fleet of Defence, with a base at the Island of Molala [Moheli, Comoros], October 1621-July 1622.Folios 24-29 cover continued service with the Anglo-Dutch Fleet of Defence, travelling from Molala to Surat, August-October 1622, patrolling the coast of India and joining a blockade of Goa, November 1622-April 1623, and arriving at Jakatraye in June 1623. Folio 28 describes an earthquake that was felt at sea off the coast of Sumatra on 27 May 1623.Folios 29-34 cover the voyage of the
Exchange, accompanied by the East India Company ship
Elizabeth, from Jakatraye to England, December 1623-June 1624.The journal consists of daily entries of information on navigation, winds, weather, contact with other ships, including engagements against Portuguese ships, and general observations.The margins contain several pencil annotations, presumed to have been added by someone within the India Office during the twentieth century.The dates provided in folios 8-20 have been altered to a year earlier than originally written. The altered dates fit with the remainder of the volume and are presumed to be correct.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 37; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.