2l(.i
IILSTOIIY OF INDIA.
[B«;OK I.
A.D. 1589.
Petition to the queen.
and Ciiina .sea.s, tliere were many ports in which a trade in English rnanufactnre.s and Eastern produce rni<^iit be advantageously established, tiiey prayed for permission to fit out three ships and three pinnaces to be employed in this trade, with tlie queen's liceiLse and protection, and subject to no other c^jndition than the payment of the usual customs on their return.
Before presenting this petition, the memorialists had felt .so confident of success that they had actually obtained, or at least bargained for, pos.sessioii of the vessels which they meant to employ: these are hence mentioned in the memorial by their names as the Royal Merchant, the Susan, and the EdvMrd Bonaventuve. These names are of some consequence, as, in the absence of any direct information as to the answer given to the memorial V.)y the lords of council, we are enabled to infer that it was favourable from the fact that, in April, 1591, less than eighteen months from the date of the application, three ships, of which two were the same as those named, sailed on this wery voyage. Sailing of ^g in the former case the accounts are very imperfect, and do little more
a new
expedition, than prove that a second failm-e, though not so complete as before, ^vas experi- enced. The leading ship, the Penelope, was commanded by George Bajinond, the Royal Merchant by Abraham Kendal, and the Edward Bonaventure by James Lancaster. They sailed from Plymouth on the 1 0th of April, reached the Canaries by the 25th, were off Cape Blanco on the 2d of May, passed the tropic of Cancer on the 5th, and continued with a fair wind at north-east till the 13th, when they were within 8° of the equator. Here they encountered a gale which obliged them to lie oli" and on in the sea till the 6th of June, when they passed the hne. They had previously captured a Portuguese caravel, bound from Lisbon to Brazil, and loaded chiefly with wine, oil, olives, and divers necessaries. These last are said to have proved better to them than gold, as many of the crew had previously fallen sick.
An E S.E. wind prevailing, carried them far west till within 100 leagues of the coast of Brazil. They had reached 26° south latitude, when the wind, veering i-ound to the north, enabled them to steer for the Cape of Good Hope, which the}- saw for the first time on the 28th of July. Being prevented by contrary* winds from douliling it, they cast anchor on the 1st of August in Saldanha Bay. Here, as the number of hands had been reduced by death, and many, from having been attacked with scurvy, had become inefficient, it was deemed expedient to send liack the Royal Merchant with the sick, and continue the voyage only "wdth the Penelope and the Edivard. On reaching Cape Corrientes, on the east coast of Africa, near the tropic of Capricorn, a hiu'ricane arose, during which the vessels parted company. The Penelojoe was never afterwards heard of; but Lancaster, who continues the account, persevered in the voyage. After coasting northward, and losing a large part of his crew by an attack of the Mooi"s, who came sud- denly upon them while procuring water, they sailed directly for Cape Comorin,
Its pro- ceedings.
