Sir William Foster - The Voyages of Sir James Lancaster to Brazil and the East Indies, 1591-1603

The Voyages of Sir James Lancaster to Brazil and the East Indies, 15911603

Edited by

SIR WILLIAM FOSTER

First published by Ashgate Publishing

Published 2016 by Routledge

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ISBN 13: 978-1-4094-1452-0 (hbk)

WORKS ISSUED BY

The Haklunt Socetn

THE VOYAGES OF SIR JAMES LANCASTER

SECOND SERIES
No. LXXXV

COUNCIL OF THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY 1939/40

SIR WILLIAM FOSTER, C.I.E., President.

THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL BALDWIN OF BEWDLEY, K.G., P.C., Vice-President.

ADMIRAL SIR WILLIAM GOODENOUGH, G.C.B., M.V.O., Vice-President,

JAMES A. WILLIAMSON, Esq., D.LIT., Vice-President.

J. N. L. BAKER, ESQ.

E. W. BOVILL, ESQ.

SIR RICHARD BURN, C.S.I.

PROF. SIR GEOFFREY CALLENDER, F.S.A.

PROF. FRANK DEBENHAM, M.A., O.B.E.

E. W. GILBERT, ESQ., B.LITT.

DR PHILIP GOSSE

PROF. VINCENT T. HARLOW, D.LITT.

MALCOLM LETTS, ESQ., F.S.A.

PROF. A. P. NEWTON, D.LIT.

PROF. EDGAR PRESTAGE, D.LITT.

S. T. SHEPPARD, ESQ.

SIR PERCY SYKES, K.C.I.E., C.B., C.M.G.

PROF. E. G. R. TAYLOR, D.SC.

R. A. WILSON, ESQ.

EDWARD HEAWOOD, ESQ., M.A., Treasurer.

EDWARD LYNAM, ESQ., M.R.I.A., F.S.A., Hon. Secretary (British Museum, W.C.).

THE VOYAGES OF

SIR JAMES LANCASTER

TO BRAZIL AND THE EAST INDIES 1591-1603

A new edition with Introduction and Notes by

SIR WILLIAM FOSTER, C.I.E.

PRINTED IM GREAT BRITAIN

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

Sir James Lancaster

From a painting at Skinners Hall (see p. xxxvi).

Lancasters Arms

The Fight with the Carrack

From Het fournael van Jaris van Speilbergen,

This drawing, though contemporary, is lacking in accuracy. The large vessel in the centre is of course the Portuguese carrack. Above this are shown the three English shipsthe Red Dragon on the right, the Hector on the left, and the Ascension between them; and to balance these the artist has depicted below three more vessels, all wearing the Dutch colours. Of the three, the one on the left is identified as Speilbergens ship, the Sckaep, and that on the left as the Lam (exaggerated in size). The last-named, however, was English property and formed part of Lancasters squadron. The sixth vessel, explained as being Speilbergens sloop, is not mentioned in any of the narratives, and seems to be a figment of the artists imagination. The wind is obligingly blowing from all quarters at once.

MAPS

A previous volume on this subject was published by the Society in 1877 (ser. I, vol. LVI), under the editorship of Mr (afterwards Sir) Clements Markham. This, however, has long been out of print; while in the sixty years that have since elapsed much additional information has accumulated. It has therefore been thought desirable to prepare a fresh account of these three voyages, of which the two directed to the East Indies were not only memorable in themselves but constituted important stages in the establishment of regular intercourse by sea between England and the Far East.

To the four narratives contained in the earlier edition, which were drawn from the pages of Hakluyt and Purchas, it has been found possible to add three more, given in contemporary pamphlets. The longest of these deals with Lancasters raid on Pernambuco: the other two with his second voyage to the Indies. Of the first pamphlet only two copies are known to exist, and these are both in the United States. I am much indebted to the authorities of the libraries concernedthe John Carter Brown Library at Providence (Rhode Island) and the Henry E. Huntington Library in Californiafor permitting me to utilize them; and particularly to Mr Lawrence C. Wroth, the librarian of the former institution, who not only arranged the supply to me of photostats of the copy in his charge, but further sent a photostat of the additional matter which appears only in the Huntington Library copy. Thanks are also due to the authorities of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, for their courtesy in allowing photostats to be made of their two pamphlets relating to the voyage of 1601-3. I desire further to offer my warm thanks to the Master, Wardens, and Court of the Skinners Company, for consenting to the reproduction of the portrait of Lancaster which hangs at Skinners Hall. For facilities in taking the photograph, and for other assistance, my thanks are due to Mr J. J. Lambert, the Clerk of the Company.

Assistance from other quarters has been acknowledged in the text; but I wish especially to record my gratitude to the Rev. Dr W. G. Shellabear, for allowing me to make use of his translation of the grant obtained by Lancaster at Achin, and to Mr Edward Lynam, the indefatigable secretary of the Society, for advice and help in many directions.

Sir Clements Markhams volume included also (a) abstracts of, and extracts from, journals preserved at the India Office of early voyages to the East; (b) a calendar of these journals; and (c) the journal kept by Captain John Knight of his voyage in 1606 in search of the North-West Passage. No attempt has been made in the present volume to deal with this extra matter, some of which has been rendered obsolete by later publications.