A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Ix Part 35

The 19th November, having dispatched our business at Swally with all expedition, we set sail towards Jasques. The 21st we chased a ship, which surrendered without resistance, being the Nostra Sennora de Merces, of 200 tons, bound from Muscat for Chaul, having on board forty-two Arabian horses, her princ.i.p.al loading, and for which trade she was built. The residue of her cargo consisted of dates and raisins. The name of her captain was Francisco de Mirando.

The 5th December, when in lat.i.tude 24 55' N. we met the Hart and Eagle coming from Jasques for Surat, because not of sufficient strength to encounter the Portuguese force which was waiting for them with the intention of ruining our Persian trade. Thus happily rejoined to our former consorts, we shaped our course for Jasques to accomplish our purpose. The 8th, at the earnest desire of the Portuguese and Moors taken in the prize, we set them on sh.o.r.e, except some Moor seamen whom we detained in our service, and the Portuguese pilot, who entreated to stay, as he feared some hard usage from his own people. On the 12th, certain volunteers who had engaged to set fire to our prize, and run her aboard the Portuguese admiral, were put on board of her, and she was fitted as a fire-ship. The 15th we had sight of the east point of Jasques roads, having upon it a tomb or old square flat-roofed house, which bore W.N.W. by compa.s.s, twelve miles off. From Diu head to this point, I make the longitude, by the ordinary plain chart, 9 55' 36" W.

but by Mercator's projection, 10 51'. From where we were, we could see the Portuguese men of war sent from Lisbon to oppose our trade with Persia, consisting of two Portuguese galleons, one of which was larger than the London, and two Dutch ships, one as large as the Hart, while the other was less than the Eagle. Their general was Don Ruy Frere de Andrado; the vice-admiral, Joam Boralio; and the two Dutch ships were commanded by Antonio Musquet and Baltazar de Chaves.[298]

[Footnote 298: According to a special account of this and the succeeding sea-fight, appended to the present relation in Purchas, the Portuguese fleet on the present occasion, besides the four galleons, consisted of two gallions and ten frigates or armed barks, none of which are here mentioned except the four galleons.--E.]

--3. _Account of the first Fight with the Portuguese_.

In the morning of the 16th December, our admiral and all the masters of our squadron went on board the prize, carrying two barrels of powder, some tar, and other combustible materials, to fit her up as a fire-ship, intending to lay her on board the Portuguese admiral athwart his hawse, that both might burn together. After she was fitted, we bore up for the Portuguese squadron, but it fell calm, and the current set us so near them, that they reached us with their shot. We kept under sail all night, and in the morning of the 17th, being to leeward of them in consequence of the land breeze, they weighed and made toward us, when we waited their approach, although they preserved the advantage of the weather-gage. The fight began about nine in the morning, and continued without intermission for nine hours. In the afternoon, a fine gentle sea-breeze sprung up from the westwards, which gave us the weather-gage; and the Portuguese admiral anch.o.r.ed, either of necessity to repair some defect about his rudder, or of policy to gain some expected advantage.

His vice-admiral and the large Dutch ship anch.o.r.ed to the eastwards, and the lesser Dutch ship to leeward of them all, stopping his leaks. We were now in great hopes of putting our fire-ship to a good purpose; but being too soon fired and forsaken by those who had her in charge, she drove clear of them all, to their joy and our disgrace. Seeing them remain at anchor, and keeping to windward of them, we turned to and again close a-head of them as they rode at anchor, raking them as we pa.s.sed, through and through, fore and aft, especially the admiral, receiving only in return their prow and bow-chases. By these, as I pa.s.sed to the north, two unfortunate shots cut asunder the weather leech ropes of the Roebuck's foresail and fore-topsail, in the middle depth of both sails; owing to which we could not bring her into stays, and were forced, for repairing these sails, to bear down to leeward, between the enemy and the sh.o.r.e; in which course, the three great ships plied their whole broadsides against us, but with less hurt than I could have imagined, G.o.d be praised. Having compa.s.sed the three large ships, I luffed up to rejoin our squadron, which still held the advantage of the wind, and plied their great guns on the Portuguese like so many muskets.

When I had got to windward of the smaller Dutch ship, which stood off as I did till he had our fire-ship directly between him and me, he turned tail, and steered right before the wind along sh.o.r.e to the eastwards, with all the sail he could carry. The other three now set sail to his rescue, and were now so tame, that as the Hart pa.s.sed along their broadsides, she received only a few shots great and small from any of them, and from some none at all. The night now coming on, and our people being all wearied by the long continuance of the fight, we all desisted from any farther chase, and came to anchor in our usual road.

In this fight, the London and Hart had very little harm in their hulls and tackling, and less, or rather none, in their men. The main-mast of the Eagle was hurt in five places, four of which were quite through, and one of her men lost his right arm. In the Roebuck, I had one man slain by a cannon ball striking his head. A piece of his skull and some splinters of the ball wounded one of my mates in the forehead, and destroyed his left eye; and two others of my men lost the use of their right hands. G.o.d be praised for our good fortune; for I never heard of so small loss in so long a fight as we now sustained. I cannot truly state the loss of the enemy: but, by the report of our merchants, their vice-admiral and another captain were slain, and thirty or forty men in the admiral's ship alone, the rest as yet unknown. As to their Moors, they do not count them among the num her of their men.

In the morning of the 18th, the day after the action, we could see the Portuguese at anchor ten miles to the east of us, having the wind fair to have come down, but they did not. We then held a consultation, whether it were better for us to take the first of the sea breeze, which usually begins about noon, to stand towards them and try it out for the mastery, before they could receive supplies from Ormus, Muskat, or Goa, or else to make sail for Jasques roads, on purpose to land our goods and money, in case of the worst, these being the prize they sought to obtain and we to defend. Accordingly, the London got that night into Jasques road, but the rest could not get in before the 20th, by reason of contrary winds. On the 21st and 22d most of our goods were landed.

--4. _Second Sea Fight with the Portuguese_.

On the 22d, seeing the Portuguese galleons open the road of Jasques, and supposing they might intend to come in with the sea breeze, we set sail and stood off for them. At first, they made a shew of giving us battle, but soon afterwards made off upon a tack; and till the 28th, they were either to windward, or so favourably placed at anchor, that we could not attempt to attack them without manifest disadvantage. During this time, they were joined by two or three frigates, or barks, from Ormus, bringing them a supply of men and ammunition. We made one attempt on Christmas day, but were forced back by a sudden flaw of wind; on which occasion, some blacks aboard of us, said the Portuguese had brought a witch from Ormus, to supply them with favourable winds.

On Innocents day, 28th December, perceiving the drift of our Portuguese _Fabius cunclator_, to protract and avoid fighting, that by delays and the advantage of his frigates, he might hinder us from prosecuting your business in Persia, we determined to attempt closing with him. About one o'clock there sprung up a favourable east wind for our purpose, on which we immediately weighed and put every thing in order for battle. The London and Hart came to anchor within a cable's length and half of their broadsides, and so endured the main brunt of this second fight; for, no sooner were they at anchor, but it fell calm and so continued all day, insomuch that the Roebuck and Eagle, which had steered nearer to the sh.o.r.e, with the intention of coming to anchor, one on the bow of their admiral, and the other on the bow of their vice-admiral, got astern, and could not with all our diligence be of any service for a full half hour after the action began. At length we got within point-blank shot of them, and then were forced either to anchor or drive farther off with the current, as there was not a breath of wind.

We now brought our broadsides to bear, and our whole squadron plied their ordnance upon them so fast, that had the knowledge of our men equalled their resolution, not one of them had escaped from us. Not willing to endure such hot entertainment, they cut their cables about three o'clock, and drove from us with the tide to the westwards, till out of our reach. Then came their frigates, which the day before had made a bravado along sh.o.r.e with drums, trumpets, flags, and streamers, and, now employed in a fitter task, towed them away all mangled and torn. Their admiral, in the very hottest of the fight, was under the necesity of giving his ship a heel to stop his leaks, his main-top-mast and the head of his main-mast having fallen overboard. The great Dutch ship had both his top-masts and part of his boltsprit shot away, and the smaller lost all his shrouds and top-masts. Their vice-admiral escaped best this day, having commonly one or other of their own ships between him and us.

We kept them company all night, in hope of being able next morning to give them their pa.s.sports; but having taken a survey of our shot, which we found scanty, and considering the importance of the voyage we still had to perform, we thought it best to give over the chase and return to Jasques; leaving them glad of our absence, their two great ships towing the two smaller. We have had no account of their loss in this action.

All your worships ships remain serviceable, G.o.d be praised, and only five men slain outright in these two long and severe engagements. Our worthy admiral and kind commander, Captain Andrew Shilling, received a great and grievous wound by a cannon ball through his left shoulder, which he bore with such wonderful courage and patience, that we were in great hopes of his much-wished-for recovery: But he had likewise two of his uppermost ribs broken on the left side, and died on the 6th January, 1621, shewing himself a resolute commander in the action, and an a.s.sured Christian in his death. We intended to have carried his body to Surat, to have there performed his funeral rites according to his great merit, and oar surgeons undertook to preserve his body by means of embalming and cere-cloth, but it became so noisome that we were forced to bury him at Jasques, which was done on the 7th, with all the solemnity and respect in our power.

In this engagement, the London expended 1382 great shot of several sorts, the Hart 1024, the Roebuck 815, and the Eagle 800, in all 4021.

In consequence of the death of our worthy admiral, the white box, No. I.

was opened; and according to your worships appointment, Captain Richard Blithe succeeded to the supreme command of the London, I was removed into the Hart, Christopher Brown into the Roebuck, and Thomas Taylor was made master of the Eagle.[299]

[Footnote 299: This account does not agree with an accompanying official letter, dated 13th January, 1621, giving a similar account of the two engagements, often in the very identical words used by Swan, in which the name of Thomas Taylor is omitted, instead of whom William Baffin is the last in the list of signatures; and the Christian name of Swan is made Robert instead of Richard.--E.]

--5. _Sequel of the Voyage_.

The 14th January, 1621, having had forty-eight hours continual and excessive rain, which, or much wind, is usual at Jasques for three or four days at the full and change of the moon, and having finished our business at Jasques, we set sail on our return to Surat, where we arrived on the 1st February. Nothing material occurred on the pa.s.sage, except that, on the 27th January, between Diu and the _sand-heads_, we surprised a small ship of war, called Nostra Senaora de Remedio, of 100 tons, commanded by Francisco de Sylva, manned by thirty-five Portuguese and twenty-five Moors, sent out by the governor of Diu to protect their small merchant ships against the Malabar rovers. We dismissed the men and kept the ship for our use, calling her the Andrew, after our late excellent general. She had in her neither meat, money, nor commodities, and scarcely as many poor suits of clothes as there were backs.

The 27th of February we began to take in our loading. The 5th of March, the, Eagle was sent down to keep guard over the junk belonging to the prince, and to hinder her from any farther loading, till they granted free pa.s.sage for our carts with goods and provisions, which had been restrained for six or seven days by the vexatious procedure of the governor of Olpar, a town near Surat. By this means, no cotton wool was allowed to come down till our ships were fully laden. On the 16th of March, having notice that the Camla, from Agra, had been robbed by the Deccan army, we resolved to seek rest.i.tution upon the ships of the Deccan prince and his confederates in this transaction, as we intended wintering in the Red Sea. The 19th, the governor of Surat having given us satisfaction in regard to the carts, and a supply of powder and shot for our money, and promise under his hand for redress of other injuries, we dismissed the junk belonging to the prince from duress.

From the 25th of March to the 6th of April, 1621, the winds have been S. and S.S.W. or W. and blowing so hard from noon till midnight, raising so great a surf on the sh.o.r.e, that no business could be done except on the last quarter of the ebb and first of the flood tide. We sailed on the 7th April. The 9th, the Eagle and a Dutch pinnace, called the Fortune, parted company, being consigned to Acheen and Bantam. The London, Hart, Roebuck, and Andrew, were intended for the Red Sea, if not too late.

The 1st May, the Andrew and our boats surprised a Portuguese ship of 200 tons called the St Antonio, which we named the May-flower. Her princ.i.p.al lading consisted of rice taken in at Barcelor, whence she had gone to Goa, and sailed from thence for Ormus and Muskat on the 8th of April. We learnt from this prize, that Ruy Frere de Andrada was busy in repairing his ships at Ormus, and that Don Emanuel de Azeredo had departed from Gor fifty days before for Ormus, to reinforce Andrada with two galleons, one of these being the same in which the viceroy was personally, when he engaged our fleet under Captain Downton. During a calm on the 7th, we captured a small frigate-built ship called the Jacinth, which we named the Primrose, which had come from Mozambique and was bound for Goa.

Thence to the 13th, we had variable winds, with calms and much rain.

Finding the May-flower delayed us much, and that our pilots were either ignorant or malicious, we resolved to trust to our own endeavours for finding an anchoring place, for our safe riding till the strength of the adverse monsoon was over, for which purpose we determined upon going to Macera.[300]

[Footnote 300: From the lat.i.tude of this place, mentioned afterwards in the text, this seems to refer to Mazica, an island about sixty miles long and fifteen or twenty in breadth, a few miles from the oceanic coast of Arabia, in lat. 20 48' N. and long. 57 3O' E. from Greenwich.--E.]

We descried land on the 2d June, and anch.o.r.ed in seventeen fathoms three miles offsh.o.r.e, in lat. 20 20' N. variation 17 W. We found plenty of water in four or five pits, three quarters of a mile from the sh.o.r.e. I had forty tons from one well, which we rolled in hogsheads to the beach.

The people were tractable, but we got little else besides water. A tuft of date trees by the watering place bore N.W. by W. from our anchorage, and the other end of the island N.E. 1/2 E. five leagues off. The 12th we sailed for the N.E. end of the island, and in the afternoon came to anchor in a fair bay, having seven fathoms on clean ground, a black oozy sand, the N.E. point bearing S. 1/2 a league off, the landing place W.S.W. two miles off, and the north part of the bay N. by W. four miles off. The lat.i.tude of this bay is 20 30' N. and the variation 17 W.[301] In this bay you may ride safely in any depth between five and twelve fathoms. It is an excellently healthy place, cold and hungry, affording no refreshments except water, enough of which is to be had by digging pits; but it is ill to boat except at the usual landing place.

This place afforded us no better supplies than the former, except that we got a few goats and lambs in exchange for canikens. Though good anchorage, this bay was much troubled by a tumbling rolling sea, yet we resolved to remain here with the Hart and Roebuck till the fury of the monsoon were past.

[Footnote 301: The north end of Mazica is in lat. 21 12", and its south end in 20 15', both N.--E.]

Having separated some time before from the London, our admiral, we sent on the 19th of June, one Abdelavie, an inhabitant of this island, as far as Zoar with letters in quest of the London. He returned on the 6th July with letters in answer, informing us that the London was at Zoar, seven leagues within Cape Rasalgat, having watered with difficulty at Teve, where their surgeon, Mr Simons, and the chaplain's servant, were surprised on sh.o.r.e by the Portuguese and Arabs. The Hart and Roebuck sailed from Macera, [Mazica,] on the 6th of August, and anch.o.r.ed in the evening of the 8th beside the admiral in the port of Zoar. This road differs from that in which we were in, being cairn, but the air was so hot as to take away our appet.i.tes.

We sailed from Zoar on the 15th of August and returned to Swally roads.

The 21st September, our whole fleet sailed from Swally, and on the 27th we took leave of the fleet bound for Jasques, consisting of the London, Jonas, Whale, Dolphin, Lion, Rose, Shilling, Richard, and Robert. The 1st January, 1622, we were between Johanna and Mayotta, two of the Comoro islands. The 29th we anch.o.r.ed in Saldanha roads, [Table Bay,]

having come thither from Surat in nine weeks and three days, blessed be G.o.d for our safe and speedy pa.s.sage. We here watered, bathed in the river, caught fish, and buried our letters; purchasing three cows, one calf, and four sheep, all unsavoury meat.

We sailed again on the 3d February, and anch.o.r.ed on the 19th at St Helena, where we found the Wappen and the Hollandia, two Dutch ships, the latter of which caught fire on the 22d, owing to her cloves, which had been taken in too green at Amboina. There was likewise a third small Dutch ship. They arrived eleven days before us, and it will take them at least ten days more to discharge and reload their damaged cloves. We sailed from St Helena on the 28th February, and anch.o.r.ed in the Downs on the 7th June, 1622.

SECTION XIII.

RELATION OF THE WAR OF ORMUS, AND THE TAKING OF THAT PLACE BY THE ENGLISH AND PERSIANS, IN 1622.[302]

"In the Pilgrims of Purchas, vol. II. pp. 1785-1805, there is a long confused account of this business, contained in four several sections; to which many letters and certificates on the subject are subjoined.

The _first_ is a brief historical memoir of the foundation of Ormus, from a chronicle in the Arabic, said to have been composed by _Pacha Turunxa_, perhaps Pacha Turun Shah, one of the kings of that petty sovereignty. The _second_ is a relation of the Ormus war, by Mr W.

Pinder, who appears to have served under Andrew Shilling, during the preceding voyage, and sailed as master of the Andrew on this occasion.

The _third_ is an account of the earlier part of this war of Ormus, written by T. Wilson, a surgeon serving in the expedition. The fourth is a more particular relation of the whole events of this expedition, extracted by Purchas from the journal of Mr Edward Monoxe, agent for the East Indian merchants trading in Persia. This last has been chosen, as best adapted to give a distinct view of the expedition, but some freedoms have been a.s.sumed with it, by a.s.sisting the narrative from the other doc.u.ments in Purchas, already specified."--E.

[Footnote 302: Purch. Pilgr. II. 179s.]

At a consultation held in Swally roads on the 14th November, 1621, a commission was given by Mr Thomas Rastell, president, and the rest of the council, of our factory at Surat, to Captains Richard Blithe and John Weddell, who were bound for Jasques, with five good ships and four pinnaces. The ships were the London, Jonas, Whale, Dolphin, and Lion, and the pinnaces the Shilling, Rose, Robert, and Richard. They were directed to sail with the earliest opportunity for Jasques, keeping together for their mutual defence against the enemy; and, as the Portuguese had disturbed the trade, and made sundry a.s.saults on our ships, killing, maiming, and imprisoning our men, they were authorized to chase and capture any vessels belonging to the ports or subjects under the viceroy of Goa; as likewise, if they met any ships belonging to Dabul, Chaul, or other ports of the Deccan, or to the subjects of the Zamorin of Calicut, to arrest them, in replacement of goods robbed and spoiled by these powers, without embezzling any part of their cargoes, that rest.i.tution might be made, after due satisfaction rendered on their parts. A sixth part of the goods taken from the Portuguese were to be distributed as prize, the ship and the rest of the goods to remain to the company; and all the prisoners to be retained, that they might be exchanged for our countrymen, held by them in miserable bondage. They were directed to hasten their business and dispatch at Jasques, if possible within thirty days. And as our enemy under Ruy Frere de Andrada, was reinforced to six galleons, with other small vessels, waiting on the coast of Persia in all likelihood to attack our fleet, they were authorized, both defensively and offensively also, to use all opportunities or advantages against the Portuguese fleet, even in their own ports, if approved by a general council of war.

We arrived in Costack roads on the 23d December, about twenty-seven leagues from Jasques, Ormus being in sight about ten leagues W.N.W. by a meridional compa.s.s. Our factors here informed us, that after our sea-fight in the former year, the Portuguese governor of Ormus had erected a fort on Kismis, an island within sight of Ormus, to which the Persians had laid siege for seven or eight months ineffectually, and had lost eight or nine thousand men in the siege; wherefore the Khan or prince of Shiras had, by his ministers, demanded the aid of our ships against the common enemy, the Portuguese, otherwise threatening to detain all the goods and money belonging to the company in Persia. In a consultation held on the 26th December on board the Jonas, in which were present, Captain Richard Blithe, John Weddell, Edward Monoxe, William Baffin, and many others, articles of agreement for giving our aid to the Persians against the Portuguese were drawn up, and being translated into the Persian language, were forwarded by the governor of the province of Mogustan to the Khan of Shiras, then on his way towards Mina, near the mouth of the Persian gulf.

In this consultation, it was considered, as it was required of us by the Persians, that we should give them aid with our ships and people in this war, not only for the purpose of vanquishing the Portuguese navy, but for conquering the island and castle of Ormus; and as we were confident they would endeavour to force us into this service, by embargoing our goods, the governors having already refused to give us camels for their carriage from Mina to the ports: Wherefore, the foresaid proposition being maturely considered, together with the commission from the factors at Surat, warranting us to right ourselves for the great losses and hindrances suffered from the Portuguese, by interrupting our trade both in India and Persia, and their attack last year against the fleet under Captain Shilling; we therefore agreed to proffer the following articles to the Khan, for the public benefit and the securing a peaceable and profitable trade.

_First_.--In case of conquering the island and castle of Ormus by the Persians with our aid, one half of the spoil and purchase of both to belong to the English, and the other half to the Persians.

_Secondly_--The castle of Ormus shall be delivered up to the English, with all the ordnance, arms, and ammunition thereunto belonging; and the Persians to build another fortress there for themselves, at their own charges. _Thirdly_.--The customs of Ormus shall be equally divided between the English and the Persians, and the English shall be for ever free from customs. _Fourthly_.--All Christians made prisoners in this war shall be given up to the disposal of the English, and all Mahomedan prisoners to the Persians. _Fifthly_.--The Persians shall be at half the charges of the ships employed in this enterprize, in victuals, wages, wear-and-tear, and shall furnish all necessary powder and shot at their sole expence.

These were the chief articles, besides which several others were agreed upon, to be proposed to the Khan. After his arrival at Mina, Mr Bell and Mr Monaxe were sent to wait upon him, on the 8th January, 1622, and were entertained at a sumptuous banquet. A great feast and triumph was also made, in consequence of intelligence that the Shah had conquered a great country in Arabia, with its capital Aweiza.[303] Next day, the Khan sent his vizier and two other princ.i.p.al officers to give an answer to our proposed articles. The _first_ was granted. For the _second_, it was subst.i.tuted that the castle of Ormuz was to be occupied by both nations till the King's pleasure was known. The _third_ was granted, provided also, that the goods from India belonging to the king and the Khan were to pa.s.s free of duty. In regard to the _fourth_, reservation was made as to the two princ.i.p.al Portuguese captains, Ruy Frere, captain of Kismis Castle, and Simon de Mela, governor of Ormus, till the king's pleasure were known. Other articles were agreed upon; such as that no change was to be made in regard to religion, and the expence of military stores was to be divided. The Khan and Mr Bell signed these articles; and presently our goods were laden upon the Khan's own camels at free cost, which could not be procured before for any money.

[Footnote 303: This a.s.suredly alludes to Ahwas in Khosistan, to the N.W.

of the lower Euphrates, opposite to Bussrah, which, though not in Arabia, is in its immediate neighbourhood, and princ.i.p.ally inhabited by people of Arabian origin.--E.]

The 10th of January we returned to Costack, and going on board, acquainted our commanders with the success of our mission. When the news of this agreement became known among the several ships companies, they consulted among themselves, and with one voice refused to take any share in the business. This broke out first in the London, in which ship fifty or sixty of her crew took part in refusing to have any thing to do with this warlike measure; but, after taking much pains to reconcile them to the propriety and necessity of joining with the Persians, Captain Blithe at last prevailed with them, and they promised to go with him wherever he chose to lead them. In a day or two, the flame of discontent and opposition spread among the other ships, alleging that it was no mercantile business, and that it might lead to a breach of the peace between our nation and Spain; but formal protests being taken against the crews, what with the fear of forfeiting their wages, and a promised gratification of a month's pay, they all at last yielded.

We set sail for Ormus on the 19th of January, and anch.o.r.ed on the night of the 22d before the town, about two leagues from the castle, expecting that the enemy's armada would come out to fight us, consisting of five galleons, and some fifteen or twenty frigates, or armed barks; but they hauled in so near the castle, that we could not get nigh them. For which reason, and because our avowed enemy, Ruy Frere de Andrada, was in his newly-erected castle of Kismis, we sailed to that place, where we arrived the next day, and were just in time to save the lives of the Portuguese, who were no longer able to hold out against the Persians, and were willing rather to yield to us than them. After many meetings and treaties, they yielded up both themselves and their castle into our hands on the 1st February, it being concluded that the whole garrison was to depart with their private property to any place except Ormus, their commander only remaining in our hands as a pledge for the fulfilment of the capitulation. In this service two of our people were slain, one of whom was Mr Baffin.[304]

[Footnote 304: Mr Baffin was a mathematician and mariner, to whom our northern and north-western voyages are much indebted.--_Purch_.