A true Description of three Voyages by the North-East towards Cathay and China, undertaken by the Dutch in the Years 1594, 1595, and 1596, by Gerrit de Veer

Published at Amsterdam in the Year 1598, and in 1609 translated into English by William Phillip

Charles T. Beke, Charles T. Beke

• Éditeur: Hakluyt Society
• Année: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317186274
• Édition: 1
• Sujet: Geschichte
• Sous-sujet: Frühneuzeitliche Geschichte

With an appendix of documents printed by Hakluyt and Purchas. Revised in First Series 54. The plates are taken from the German edition of De Bry, 1599, and are copies of the original Amsterdam edition. This is a new print-on-demand hardback edition of the volume first published in 1853.

THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.

AFTER that the seuen shippes (as I saide before) were returned backe againe from their north uoiage, with lesse benefit than was expected, the Generall States of the United Prouinces consulted together to send certaine ships thither againe a third time,¹ to see if they might bring the sayd uoyage to a good end, if it were possible to be done: but after much consultation had, they could not agree thereon; yet they were content to cause a proclamation to be made,² that if any, either townes or marchants, were disposed to venture to make further search that way at their owne charges, if the uoyage were accomplished, and that thereby it might bee made apparant that the sayd passage was to be sayled, they were content to give them a good reward in the countryes behalfe, naming a certaine summe³ of money. Whereupon in the beginning of this yeare, there was two shippes rigged and set foorth by the towne of Amsterdam, to sayle that uoyage, the men therein being taken vp vpon two conditions: viz., what they should have if the uoyage were not accomplished, and what they should have if they got through and brought the uoiage to an end, promising them a good reward if they could effect it, thereby to incourage the men, taking vp as many vnmarryed men as they could, that they might not bee disswaded by means of their wiues and children, to leaue off the uoyage. Upon these conditions, those two shippes were ready to set saile in the beginning of May. In the one, Jacob Heemskerke Hendrickson was master and factor for the wares and marchandise,¹ and William Barents chiefe pilote. In the other, John Cornelison Rijp² was both master and factor for the goods that the marchants had laden in her.

The 5 of May all the men in both the shippes were mustered, and vpon the tenth of May they sayled from Amsterdam, and the 13 of May got to the Vlie.³ The sixteenth wee set saile out of the Vlie,⁴ but the tyde being all most spent⁵ and the winde north-east, we were compelled to put in againe; at which time John Cornelisons ship fell on ground,⁶ but got off againe, and wee anchored at the east ende of the Vlie.⁷ The 18 of May wee put out of the Vlie againe with a north-east winde, and sayled north north-west. The 22 of May wee saw the islands of Hitland⁸ and Feyeril-land, the winde beeing north-east. The 24 of May wee had a good winde, and sayled north-east till the 29th of May; then the winde was against vs, and blewe north-east in our top-sayle.⁹ The 30 of May we had a good winde, and sailed north-east, and we tooke the height of the sunne with our crosse-staffe, and found that it was eleuated aboue the horizon 47 degrees and 42 minutes,¹⁰ his declination was 21 degrees and 42 minutes, so that the height of the Pole was 69 degrees and twentie-foure minutes.

The first of June wee had no night, and the second of June wee had the winde contrary; but vpon the fourth of June, wee had a good winde out of the west north-west, and sayled north-east.

And when the sunne was about south south-east [½ p. 9 A.M.], wee saw a strange sight in the element:¹ for on each side of the sunne there was another sunne, and two raine-bowes that past cleane through the three sunnes, and then two raine-bowes more, the one compassing round about the sunnes,² and the other crosse through the great rundle;³ the great rundle standing with the vttermost point⁴ eleuated aboue the horizon 28 degrees. At noone, the sunne being at the highest, the height thereof was measured, and wee found by the astrolabium that it was eleuated aboue the horizon 48 degrees and 43 minutes,⁵ his declination was 22 degrees and 17 minutes, the which beeing added to 48 degrees 43 minutes, it was found that wee were vnder 71 degrees of the height of the Pole.

John Cornelis shippe held aloofe from vs and would not keepe with vs, but wee made towards him, and sayled north-east, bating a point of our compasse,⁶ for wee thought that wee were too farre west-ward, as after it appeared, otherwise wee should haue held our course north-east. And in the euening when wee were together,⁷ wee tolde him that wee were best to keepe more easterly, because wee were too farre west-ward; but his pilote made answere that they desired not to goe into the Straights of Weygates. There course was north-east and by north, and wee were about 60 [240] miles to sea-warde in from the land,¹ and were to sayle north-east² when wee had the North Cape in sight, and therefore wee should rather haue sailed east north-east, and not north north-east, because wee were so farre west-ward, to put our selues in our right course againe: and there wee tolde them that wee should rather haue sayled east-ward, at the least for certaine miles, vntill wee had gotten into our right course againe, which by meanes of the contrary winde wee had lost, as also because it was north-east; but whatsoeuer wee sayde and sought to councell them for the best, they would holde no course but north north-east, for they alleaged that if wee went any more easterly that then wee should enter into the Wey-gates; but wee being not able [with many hard words]³ to perswade them, altered our course one point of the compasse, to meete them, and sayled north-east and by north, and should otherwise haue sayled north-east and somewhat⁴ more east.

The fifth of June wee sawe the first ice, which wee wondered at, at the first thinking that it had been white swannes, for one of our men walking in the fore-decke,⁵ on a suddaine beganne to cry out with a loude voyce, and sayd that hee sawe white swans: which wee that were vnder hatches⁶ hearing, presently came vp, and perceiued that it was ice that came driuing from the great heape,⁷ showing like swannes, it being then about euening: at mid-night wee sailed through it, and the sunne was about a degree eleuated aboue the horizon in the north.

The sixth of June, about foure of the clocke in the afternoone, wee entred againe into the ice, which was so strong that wee could not passe through it, and sayled south-west and by west, till eight glasses were r...