10 



of the Governor-General of the Indies. On his arrival, he 

 found himself involved in difficulties with his crew. They 

 cited him before the Chief Magistrate's Court complaining 

 that while cruising in the Banda Sea he had, presumably in 

 the interests of his own pocket, stinted them of their necessary 

 allowance of rations. As he was acquitted by the Court, 

 which was sufficiently experienced in such matters, we may 

 conclude that he was unjustly accused : at least we may give 

 him the benefit of the doubt. 



He was now bent on revisiting the home country, and to 

 accomplish this he was ready to accept for the time a sub- 

 ordinate post, and accordingly shipped as mate on board the 

 Banda The Banda was the flagship of a homeward-bound 

 fleet (r'etour vlooi) of several sail. Her skipper was Matthys 

 Quast, a bold and capable sailor, of whom we shall hear more 

 presently. When on the point of sailing, on 30th December, 

 1636, the officers and crew, 111 in number, were required to 

 make a declaration, which is interesting as illustrative of the 

 troubled state of the times, of the dangers of war, and the 

 prevalence of privateering. It also shows the survival of the 

 ancient usage— a part of the old maritime law of the 13th 

 century, the Roles d'Oleron— which gave to the ship's 

 Council, and even to the common sailors, a voice m the 

 control 'of the voyage. By this declaration— to which the 

 whole 111 set their signatures or marks— the Governor, 

 skipper, merchant, mates, officers, soldiers, and seamen, 

 presently appointed and sailing on the ship Banda, solemnly 

 promised that, in view of the Spanish men-of-war and the 

 privateers of Dunkirk, [they would in no wise pass through 

 the English Channel, but would hold their course round 

 England, Ireland, and Scotland, so that they might in safety 

 make the harbours of the Fatherland. 



The Banda arrived at the Texel on 1st August, 1637, 

 after a seven months' voyage. Tasman remained at Amsterdam 

 tor some months with his wife Jannetie, who had recovered 

 from an illness so serious that she had made her will. This 

 will is still in existence. It was drawn up on 18th December, 

 1636 by the Notary, Pieter Barcman. It recites that the 

 worthy '.Tannetje Tje'rcks, wife of Abel Jansz Tasman, citizen, 

 was then lying ill in bed, but was of good memory and under- 

 standing Her residence was at the corner of the Palm 

 cross-street on the Braeck. Should the testatrix die without 

 issue then after certain bequests to the poor, she constituted 

 her sister,' Geertje Tjercks her sole legatee. There u no 

 mention of her husband or of the little step-daughter, Claesjen. 

 We need not therefore assume that there had been any 

 quarrel between the married pair. The absence of Abel in the 



