Memorable Description of the East Indian Voyage

1618-25

Willem Ysbrantsz Bontekoe, Pieter Geyl

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• eBook ISBN: 9781134285709
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Indian & South Asian History
• Index: History

First published in 1929.
'Fire and shipwreck, fights ashore and afloat, the pitting of ceaseless patience and resource against fate, these things make one understand why the book, famous in its original tongue, has but to be savoured in translation to gain an equal popularity.' Manchester Guardian
Bontekoe's East Indian Voyage was one of the most popular books in which the Dutch seventeenth century public delighted and it continued to be reprinted throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
As well as providing an illuminating insight into the machinations of the Merchants and Directors of the East India Company and the often troubled waters of international trade and diplomacy, the account is a very personal one: of a human being battling against elemental forces, at tremendous odds, tenaciously holding on to life and coming through in the end.

Journal or Notable History of the East-Indian Voyages of Willem Ysbrantsz Bontekoe of Hoorn

IN the year of Our Lord 1618, the 28th December, I, William Ysbrantsz Bontekoe of Hoorn, set sail from Texel, being captain of the ship named New-Hoorn, manned with 206 men, of size about 1,100 tons, the wind being East.

The 29th day we passed the Heads.

The 30th day, in the evening, we sighted Portland, the wind still Easterly. The 31st day we passed Plymouth.

The 1st January 1619 we passed England’s End, the wind being the same, and set our course out to sea, S.W. by S.

The 2nd day the wind veered to S.E.; set our course S.S.W. with a stiff breeze.

The 3rd day the wind changed to South with a stiff breeze; set our course to W.S.W.

The 4th day the wind came S.W. with increasing force, so that we were compelled to take in our topsails. During the night the wind blew so hard that we took in the foresail and lay to westward with one sail.

The 5th at night we shipped three seas, so that the upper deck was half-full of water, and the men began to cry out “We’re sinking, we’re sinking, the bow gun ports are open!” Hearing that I ran hastily to the forecastle and found the portholes to be closed, whereupon I called out to them “There is no danger!” and said, “Look lively now, let a man go below to see if there may be water in the hold”, which was done at once and they found no water in the hold; so I ordered them to bale out the water with leathern buckets. But the men’s chests were slipping and shifting to and fro by the force of the water, so that they could hardly keep themselves on their feet to bale. So we were forced to break the chests to pieces with crowbars; then there was space to bale, and by God’s help we got rid of the water. We were then drifting without sails, but the ship swung so mightily that we were compelled to put up the sail again to steady her. We lay over to westward, the weather being very intemperate, with rain, so that the sea and sky did appear as if welded together, the whole sea foaming as if it were aboil.

The 6th, 7th and 8th day it continued foul weather with rain. We saw that day many sea-fowl, which caused us to believe ourselves near the island Brazil, if such island there be, but we had no sight thereof. That same day we veered and set our head to eastwards, the wind about W.S.W. with tempestuous weather and seeing the storm had long continued and still did not cease, at last through the fearful tossing of the ship and through the stretching of our standing rigging (although we had eased it in two places) our mainmast broke about 5 fathom above the deck. By this break we feared to have lost the mast entirely, therefore we resolved to haul down our top-mast and so if possible keep the main-mast standing, for our journey depended thereon, and if the mast had gone overboard we should have been forced to return to our country; but with great labour and inconvenience we got down the top-mast and let the lower end of it slip through the upper deck, and thus roped the top-mast fast to the mainmast, whereby (to the rejoicing of us all) it then stood firm. This storm continued till the 19th day; we lay now to westward then to southward as the wind shifted.

The 20th day the weather became fair and calm, and while drifting becalmed we bound our mast firmly and drew our main rigging taut and hauled our main topsail out of the top with the top-yard and put that up in place of our main-sail and the top-gallant instead of our main-mast with the top-gallant sail thereon, in which manner we made everything ready to sail and continue our voyage. Set our course for the Canary Islands, S.S.W., the wind being about S.E. with fair weather, and the pleasantness of the weather soon put us at our ease again.

The 21st day saw a sail astern of us that did her best (as we marked) to come near us; we turned to lee and waited for her. When near us we saw it was an East Indiaman that had sailed from Zealand on the 29 Dec. 1618, some days after we sailed from Texel. They were in good order and wanted nothing, nor had they suffered damage by the storm. The ship was named Nieuw-Zeelandt, the captain’s name was Pieter Tijsz of Amsterdam; we had good company of one another; we sailed near as fast as they though our sails were in a poor way, as related. Our course the same as before.

The 23rd day we again saw a sail on our starboard, and going near f ound it to be the ship Enkhuysen which set sail when we did, also bound for the East Indies. The captain was named Jan Jansz of Enkhuysen. Thus were we three ships in company, and visited one another and related to each other our adventures, Held course for the Canary Islands, which we had sight of and passed; the wind was S.E. with fair weather, we had our topsails up and looked to find the island of St. Anthony for our refreshing, yet by reason of much mist and rain could get no sight of it; therefore, for certainty’s sake, set our course for the island of Ile de Mayo or Ile del Foge.¹ Coming there about, it became calm with variable winds and we were forced to tack before we could make it; we now got parted from our consorts since they came to the Ile de Mayo and we to the Ile del Foge, these islands lying near together.

Arrived at the island we could find no anchorage, so ran close under the coast into calm water. We had brought with us from Holland a number of small masts and spars which we now got out, pushing them out backwards through the port and hauling them on deck. We sawed a spar of 14 palms through lengthwise and made two fishes and fixed them (besides two other fishes) against the mast, which made our mast as strong as it had been before. At the same time we sent our sloop to the coast to fish and being come close to the shore the Spaniards came with loaded muskets on to the beach and shot at our boat, to show they did not want our men to land; so they came back to us bringing but little fish. Meanwhile, we were busied with fixing and binding our mast. The mast being ready, we put up our top-mast again and made everything trim and shipshape, at which we all mightily rejoiced, for there our mast stood again so fine it was a pleasure to see. It was near as thick as the pillar of a church. That evening we departed from the lee of the before-mentioned island and set our course to pass the Æquinoctial Line.

While lying by this island there came a great shower of dust off the land, as if there had been a fire, and clung to the rigging of the ship so that it was as white as if strewn with white ashes. The next day, in the morning, when the cook had made ready the breakfast, we saw two sails behind on our lee, took in our topsails and held towards them. Being come near them, they were our two companions, to wit: the ship Nieuw-Zeelandt and the ship Enkhuysen whom we lost sight of in the night by the islands Ile de Mayo and Ile del Foge; we rejoiced greatly, visited one another on board and related our adventures. They told us how they had been on land on Ile de Mayo for their refreshing, but had found nothing and lost two of their men who were slain by the Spaniards, one of whom came from Hoorn by name Ysbrant Dirckz. The wind was S.E. we kept our course for the Æquinoctial Line. Coming under the line it was calm, but at times we had great gusts of wind with rain, the wind coming from all points so that we wasted three weeks before we could cross the Æquinoctial Line. By night the sea appeared as it were all afire and foaming, it seemed as if sparks of fire shot out from the bow of the ship, but by day it ceased; this (more than common) fire of the sea did greatly astonish all of us. Set our course to get above the Abrolhos,¹ having a S.E. wind. Coming up to the Abrolhos the wind stilled and we feared we could not get to windward of them, yet on nearing them the wind came up, but even so we ran so near that we had sight of the outside islands; thus we came to windward of them by God’s help, which rejoiced us all, for had we failed in this we should have been forced to make a long journey with the peril of having many of our men sick. We gave the men that day double ration of food and to every mess a can of Spanish wine. Set our course for the islands of Tristan d’Acunha. And after we had sailed for several days we were at the height of these same islands yet had no sight of them. The wind now being N.W. we bore eastwards to make the Cape of Bonesperance [Good Hope]. After holding this course for some time we saw black-specked gulls of which occasionally we caught some, with sticks covered with a piece of fat and hooks to them, and so pulled them into the ship by way of pastime.

The sight of these said gulls is a token of the Cape of Bonesperance being near, for they followed us to the Cape. But there is a trustworthy sign that the Cape be near or that you be at the height thereof, to wit: When you shall find the compass to hold straight south and North, then look out for land. We did prove this and saw land, namely the Cape of Bonesperance, yet the wind was so strong from the West that we ran with a reefed foresail and durst not attempt to land. Therefore we called the ship’s council together and resolved to sail past the Cape, having all our men in good health and no want of water; so we let her go before the wind and continued our way. This was in the last of May being five months after we sailed from Holland.

We kept our course along the coast to the land of Terra de Natal. In passing this coast the weather was very fair, we visited aboard one another and made good cheer. And the ship Enkhuysen being destined for the coast of Coromandel, she took leave of us and set another course as so to run inside the island of St. Laurentius, otherwise named Madagascar, and so further to the Mayottes to refresh themselves there; we took leave and wished one another a prosperous voyage. We and the ship Nieuw-Zeelandt set our course to run outside St. Laurentius, and while we sailed in company we came at times on board of one another and burned the signal light each for a night by turns; but after a time we had some dispute about setting our course and could not agree, yea, it went so far that we separated, each going the course he deemed best. Nieuw-Zeelandt went 2 degrees further South than we did; they had many sick men at that time.

When we had sailed for a long time after we separated, being at the height of 23 degrees South of the Æquinoctial Line, we had every day many who fell sick, by reason of which the officers (on the part of the common men) came into the cabin asking that we should go to the island of Madagascar for refreshing; they feared all our men would become sick, for about forty of them lay in their beds and many others did complain of being out of sorts. We therefore resolved with the whole council to hold a steady course to the island of Madagascar, to a Bay named Sancta Lucia. Coming near the coast we could see no place to bring in the ship; we put out our boat and I went with the boat well-manned to the shore the ship holding in and off near the land. Approaching the coast in the boat we found the sea beat so furiously on the shore that there was no chance to get into it; we saw many people come on the shore and one of our men sprang overboard and got to them, but he could not understand them, they waved their hands downwards as it were to say that there was a place to land. These folk, as far as we could see, had no fresh food with them; so we must needs go back empty-handed to the ship. And when we came on board (much as we hated it) without refreshments, the sick were grieved beyond measure. We resolved to go out to sea again and hold South to the height of 29 degrees, then veered and sailed East by South till we came to 17 degrees South of the Æquinoctial. Then our men again begged that we should make land to seek for refreshment, which we agreed to do seeing that every day more of our men fell sick and some died. Therefore it was resolved to make for the island of Mauritius or the island of Mascarenhas¹ and we set our course between the two, for these islands lie near together. So we struck the East end of the island of Mascarenhas, sailing close round the corner along the shore, found 40 fathom depth close to land and cast anchor, but it was an incommodious place for the ship to lie, being too near the shore. As we lay there the sick crawled out of their berths and would fain have got on land; but the sea running very high, we were afraid to take the sick with us to land; so we sent out the boat to examine the place and coming on land did find the dung of turtles and so returned to the ship; the sick kept on entreating to be put on land for they smelt the air saying: “Were we only on shore we were half cured of our sickness”. But the Merchant Heyn Rol would on no account agree thereto; saying that the coast was there too steep, whereby we might easily drift from the land and be cut off from our folk. But the men persisted and almost with clasped hands besought me to bring them on land, so that in the end I let my heart be softened and consented. I went to the Merchant Heyn Rol and asked him if he would agree to it. But he answered, “No, not in any way”. Then I said to him, “Then I will take it on myself. I will bring them on land”. I went up to the men and said, “Come here, men, help one another into the boat, I will bring you on land”. Then the crew helped the sick into the boat, and I ordered a sail to be given them for making a tent, also oil and vinegar, pans to cook with as well as victuals also cooks to look after the sick and cook for them, then we went directly to the shore.

Being on land they crept together in the grass saying, “We feel better already”, and looking about we found a great many doves in the trees, of those blue field-doves. They let themselves be caught by hand or killed with sticks, having no sense to fly away. We took that day about two hundred, brought them to the fire and fell a-boiling and a-roasting for the sick as well as for those in health. We found also many land-turtles; these we boiled with Damascus plums, of which we had brought plenty with us from Holland. I then returned to the ship leaving the sick (about forty in number) with the cooks on shore. Being come on board again we thought it well seeing that the ship lay in a perilous place, that I should go by night with the boat well-manned and sail along the coast to see if we could find a better roadstead to anchor the ship. This I did and sailed the boat close along by the land and found a good bay of sand to lay up the ship about five miles from the place where she now was. In the bay we went on shore and found there a great lake of water not quite fresh, the reason of which we judged to be that being no more than three ship’s lengths from the coast the salt sea water leaked through the sand and so made the other salt as well.

Coming further inland we found great number of geese, doves, grey parrots and other birds, also many land-turtles; seeing as many as twenty to twenty-five lying in the shade of a tree, so that we could have as many as we desired. The geese were not wise enough to fly up when we pursued them, and we beat them to death with sticks without their making a motion to fly. There were also some dodos that had small wings yet could not fly, they were so fat they could scarce move and as they walked dragged their backend along the ground.

And what we most did marvel at, when we held one of the parrots and other birds and squeezed it till it screamed, there came all the others from thereabout as if they would free it and let themselves be caught as well, so we had enough of them to eat. Having seen this we returned with the boat to the ship that (as stated) was about five miles distant from that place. Being again on board we related our adventures, how we had there found a good road in a sand-bay and good and safe anchorage for the ship. At this they all rejoiced exceedingly; we took the boat and brought the ne...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• The Broadway Travellers
• Full Title
• Copyright
• List of Illustrations
• Introduction
• Journal or Notable History of the East-Indian Voyages of Willem Ysbrantsz Bontekoe of Hoorn
• Notes
• Index