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Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.Major, Richard Henry

History

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Name: Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.
Author: Major, Richard Henry

Major, Richard Henry

Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels

In consideration of the uncertainty of life in the human race, and the
disorders which many times arise from the loss of those in command, and
to prevent as much as possible all evils, we have found good to order,
as we do by this: that if the skipper, commodore Abel Jansz Tasman, upon
this voyage of discovery should decease (which God forbid), the skipper
of the yacht the _Zeemeuw_, Dirk Cornelisz Haan, shall succeed in his
place, shall be acknowledged and obeyed as chief, and receive and follow
this our instruction given to Tasman as given to himself.

In this case, for the service of the Company, is this our meaning and
desire.

Out of the castle, Batavia, day and date as above.




THE VOYAGE AND SHIPWRECK OF CAPTAIN FRANCIS PELSART, IN THE BATAVIA, ON
        THE COAST OF NEW HOLLAND, AND HIS SUCCEEDING ADVENTURES.


The Directors of the East India Company, encouraged by the successful
return of the five ships of General Carpenter, richly laden, caused
eleven vessels to be equipped the very same year, 1628, for the same
voyage: amongst which, there was one ship called the _Batavia_,
commanded by Captain Francis Pelsart. He sailed from the Texel on the
28th of October 1628; and, as it would be tedious to the reader to give
him a long account of a passage so well known as that to the Cape of
Good Hope, I shall pass over in silence that portion of his journal, and
content myself with observing, that on the 4th of June in the following
year, 1629, this vessel, the _Batavia_, being separated from the fleet
in a storm, was driven on some rocks which lie in the latitude of 28°
south, and which are called by the Dutch the Abrolhos of Frederick
Houtman. Captain Pelsart, who was sick in bed when this accident
happened, perceived at once that his ship had struck. It was night,
indeed; but the moon shone very brightly, and the weather was fair. He
immediately ran upon deck, and found that all the sails were set; their
course was north-east by north; and the sea appeared covered with a
white froth as far as the eye could reach. He summoned the master, and
charged him with the loss of the ship; who excused himself by saying, he
had taken all the care he could; and that, having discerned the froth at
a distance, he asked his shipmate, what he thought of it; who told him,
that this whiteness was occasioned by the rays of the moon. The captain
then asked him, what was to be done; and in what part of the world they
were. The master replied, that God only knew that, and that the ship was
on an unknown reef. They sounded, and found eighteen feet of water
abaft, and much less foreward. They immediately agreed to throw their
cannon overboard, in hopes that, when the ship was lightened, she might
be brought to float again. They dropped an anchor, however; but
meanwhile there arose a storm of wind and rain, which soon convinced
them of the danger they were in; for, being surrounded with rocks and
shoals, the ship was perpetually striking.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Major, Richard Henry

Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels

In consideration of the uncertainty of life in the human race, and the
disorders which many times arise from the loss of those in command, and
to prevent as much as possible all evils, we have found good to order,
as we do by this: that if the skipper, commodore Abel Jansz Tasman, upon
this voyage of discovery should decease (which God forbid), the skipper
of the yacht the _Zeemeuw_, Dirk Cornelisz Haan, shall succeed in his
place, shall be acknowledged and obeyed as chief, and receive and follow
this our instruction given to Tasman as given to himself.

In this case, for the service of the Company, is this our meaning and
desire.

Out of the castle, Batavia, day and date as above.




THE VOYAGE AND SHIPWRECK OF CAPTAIN FRANCIS PELSART, IN THE BATAVIA, ON
        THE COAST OF NEW HOLLAND, AND HIS SUCCEEDING ADVENTURES.


The Directors of the East India Company, encouraged by the successful
return of the five ships of General Carpenter, richly laden, caused
eleven vessels to be equipped the very same year, 1628, for the same
voyage: amongst which, there was one ship called the _Batavia_,
commanded by Captain Francis Pelsart. He sailed from the Texel on the
28th of October 1628; and, as it would be tedious to the reader to give
him a long account of a passage so well known as that to the Cape of
Good Hope, I shall pass over in silence that portion of his journal, and
content myself with observing, that on the 4th of June in the following
year, 1629, this vessel, the _Batavia_, being separated from the fleet
in a storm, was driven on some rocks which lie in the latitude of 28°
south, and which are called by the Dutch the Abrolhos of Frederick
Houtman. Captain Pelsart, who was sick in bed when this accident
happened, perceived at once that his ship had struck. It was night,
indeed; but the moon shone very brightly, and the weather was fair. He
immediately ran upon deck, and found that all the sails were set; their
course was north-east by north; and the sea appeared covered with a
white froth as far as the eye could reach. He summoned the master, and
charged him with the loss of the ship; who excused himself by saying, he
had taken all the care he could; and that, having discerned the froth at
a distance, he asked his shipmate, what he thought of it; who told him,
that this whiteness was occasioned by the rays of the moon. The captain
then asked him, what was to be done; and in what part of the world they
were. The master replied, that God only knew that, and that the ship was
on an unknown reef. They sounded, and found eighteen feet of water
abaft, and much less foreward. They immediately agreed to throw their
cannon overboard, in hopes that, when the ship was lightened, she might
be brought to float again. They dropped an anchor, however; but
meanwhile there arose a storm of wind and rain, which soon convinced
them of the danger they were in; for, being surrounded with rocks and
shoals, the ship was perpetually striking.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

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