A, D. 1616, 285 



The Englilh Eaft-Tndia company now fent out five fhlps of rcoD, 900, 

 800, 400, and 150 tons burden: and this was called their fifth voyage 

 on the joint flock ; yet we have not yet met with any account of their 

 fourth voyage. In this voyage they took a Portuguefe (hip loaded with 

 elephants teeth, which they landed at Surat, together with their own 

 cargoes of coral, cloth, tin, wines, fl:rong waters, &c. Thence they went 

 to Jacatra ; but the Dutch, having a fort there already, ufed our factory 

 (fettled there by a grant from the king of Bantam) fo rudely, that our 

 people were obliged to attack their fleet ; and ours being joined by Sir 

 Thomas Dale, with fix more fiiips from England, and other fliips of the 

 company's at Bantam, it confifl:ed of thirteen fail of good fhips, where- 

 by they beat the Dutch fleet near Jacatra, as they alfo did in another 

 engagement on the coaft of Sumatra: yet, in the end, five of our fliips 

 were taken by the Dutch, we having before taken one of theirs. In the 

 mean time a fliip from England brought an account of agreement at 

 home between 'the two companies, which put an end to thefe hoftilities. 

 Afterwards our fliips at Firando in Japan joined with the Dutch, who 

 now ftiewed our people all friendfliip, in applications to the emperor, 

 who granted all their requefl:s. In their return to Bantam, they found 

 a French fliip trading there in the year 1621 * ; and ours returned that 

 year home, loaded with pepper, filk, cloves, and benjamin. In this 

 voyage, one of our fliips failed to Mocha in the Red fea, and fettled a 

 fadlory there for the firft time, by permiflion of the Turkifta aga. 



The accounts given by the writers of voyages in thofe times are often 

 vague and confufed. They pretend that the princes and chiefs of the 

 Banda ifles, by a folemn writing, reiigned thofe ifles, fo famous for nut- 

 megs and cloves, in full property to the king of Great Britain for ever; 

 declaring that they never acknowleged the Dutch as their fovereigns ; 

 and that, in token of their fubjeclion, they would annually fend a 

 branch of nutmegs to our king. Whereupon our people eredted forts 

 there, and warned the Dutch to come thither no more ; yet the later 

 found means to furprife both our fliips at Pooloway ; and at Bantam, 

 inftead of a friendly accommodation of thofe differences, the fadories 

 of the two companies fell to fighting; and the Dutch infifted on the ifle 

 of Poolaroon as the condition of refl-oring our two fliips; and, more- 

 over, in 1 61 8, they took two more of our (liips. 



This year eight fliips from London and Plymouth failed to the coun- 

 try fince called New England, whence they carried great quantities of 

 fifh and oil to Spain and Portugal, as they did alfo in the year 1618 : 

 but no fettlement was yet made in that country, 



* This was apparently the fliip commanded by Beaulieu, who in the narrative of his voyage, pub- 

 •iiflicd in The\eni:,t''s Ri/nticns de voyages, fays, that at different times in the year l6zi he met with 

 two Englifh (liips at Acheen. M. 



