dard size of the ships of the Company's fleet was 500 tons, and it was vessels of this class which throughout the long period of the Company's history as a trading organization conducted the bulk of its extensive operations.
James, who by this time had obtained a clearer knowledge of the value of the Indian trade and of the desirability of encouraging it in the only practicable way by giving the Company a free hand, deigned to identify himself specially with the new phase of commercial activity which the construction of this big ship was destined to introduce. Accompanied by the Queen and Prince Henry he, on December 30, 1609, went to the docks where the vessel was lying and formally christened it the Trade's Increase, and at the same time bestowed upon the pinnace which was to be its consort the whimsical though not inappropriate name of the Peppercorn. A third ship, the Darling, to which Nicholas Downton was posted as commander, completed the composition of the new fleet.
It may be of interest at this point, before we follow Middleton's ship on what was to prove an eventful voyage, to say something about the manner of life of those who were employed in the Company's service in these early years. The crews,like the commanders, appear to have been selected with care. They must have been on the whole well educated men, according to the standard of the time, and a few of them were probably of superior ability. An individual was recommended for service in one of the earliest fleets because he could speak fluently Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. His qualifications were not altogether exceptional if we may judge from the frequent references to the linguistic attainments of individuals in the records. And that the general average of knowledge
