Page 18 - Bulletin 20 2016

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Dutch and English ‘merchant adventurers’ began to consider sending their own trading fleets
to the East.

The coming of the East India Companies

The first expeditions sent out by the English under the command of James Lancaster in 1591
and the Dutch, under Cornelius de Houtman, in 1595, relied on sailing instructions gleaned
from Portuguese sources. Thus Sir James Lancaster records that initially he had the intention
of sailing on to the Agoada de Sáo Bras / Mossel Bay as was customary for Portuguese ships
if forced by necessity to stop along the shores of southern Africa. (Fig. 2.7.) As Lancaster
recorded:

th
“The 28 of July we had sight of the foresayed Cape of Buona Esperanza. Until the
31 wee lay off and on, with the wind contrary to double the Cape’ hoping to double it
and so to have gone seventy leagues further to a place called Agoada de S. Bras.....But
our men being weak and sick in all our ships.....we bare up the land to the northward
of the Cape; and going along the shore we espied a goodly baie with an island
[Robben Island] lying to seaward of it; into which we did beare, and found it very
commodious for our ship to ride in. This baie is called Agoado de Saldanha, lying 15
leagues on the hither side of the Cape” (15) .

Setting up camp along what in time would come to be known as the ‘Fresh River’ Lancaster
and his still healthy enough crew members did the best they could to find fresh provisions to
ward off the malnutrition they were suffering from - which included dispatching their
longboat to Robben Island to collect penguins, penguin eggs and seals to eat. In time they
were also able to establish friendly relations with the local Khoekhoen and with trinkets such
as knives and bits of iron had soon traded for more livestock than they could consume. Thus
they were able to restore the health of their men to the point that two of Lancaster’s ships -
Penelope and the Edward Bonaventure – were able to carry on with the trading mission while
the third - Merchant Royal - returned to England with those members of crew too infirm to
continue to the East.

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