Notable Voyagers From Columbus to Nordenskiold by W.H.G. Kingston

Author:W.H.G. Kingston [Kingston, W.H.G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Xist Publishing
Published: 2016-03-09T08:00:00+00:00

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Chapter Twenty..

Cape Horn first doubled by Schouten and Le Maire—A.D. 1615-17

Desire of Dutch merchants to find a fresh passage into the South Sea—Le Maire applies to Captain Schouten—The Unity and Horn fitted out—Sail—Touch at Dover and Plymouth—Put into Sierra Leone—Fruit and water obtained—The Horn struck by a sea-unicorn—Make the coast of South America—Attempting to enter Port Desire, the Unity strikes a rock—Both vessels nearly lost—The vessels put on shore to clean—The Horn burnt—Penguins—Sea-lions—Discovery of the Straits of Le Maire—Cape Horn named and doubled—Steer for Juan Fernandez—Unable to find anchorage off it—Touch at Dog, Water, and Fly Islands—Fire at a double canoe—Some of the natives killed—The Unity anchors off an island—Natives swarm around her—Boat attacked—Natives become friendly—Their chief visits the ship—The savages attack the ship—Course changed to the northward—Two savages killed—Friendly intercourse with others—The King and his courtiers take to flight at the sound of a great gun—Meeting of two Kings—A feast—Other islands visited—Coast of New Guinea reached—Natives attack the ship—Shock of an earthquake felt on board—Sail along western coast of New Guinea—Hostility of the natives—Barter with the natives at the south end—Touch at Gilolo and Amboyna—The Unity confiscated at Batavia—Death of La Maire—Captain Schouten reaches Holland.

The Dutch, from an early period of their history, had actively engaged in commercial enterprises. They had followed the Spaniards and Portuguese to India, and having successfully competed with them for its trade, had established settlements and factories in many of the most fertile portions of the Eastern Archipelago. They had, notwithstanding, no idea of the advantages of free trade, and the Dutch East India Company having been formed, obtained from the States General of the United Provinces—as their government was then called—exclusive privileges, prohibiting all the rest of their subjects from trading to the eastward beyond the Cape of Good Hope, or westward through the Straits of Magellan, in any of the countries within those limits, whether known or unknown, under the heaviest penalties. This prohibition gave great dissatisfaction to many of the wealthy merchants of Holland, who wished to employ their ships in making discoveries and trading at their own risk. Among them was Isaac Le Maire, a rich merchant of Amsterdam, then residing at Egmont, who had a desire to employ his wealth in acquiring fame as a discoverer.

Le Maire was a person of determination, and having considered among his friends who was most likely to assist him, fixed upon William Cornelison Schouten, of Horn, an experienced master-mariner, who had already made three voyages to the Indies, as supercargo, pilot, and master. Le Maire first asked him whether he thought it possible that some other passage, besides that of the Straits of Magellan, might be found to the South Sea, and if so whether the countries to the south of that passage would afford commodities as rich as those of the East or West Indies.

Schouten replied that such a passage might be found, and also that there might be many wealthy countries to the westward of the straits.

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