Purchas Has Chosen To Place This, And The Subsequent Early Voyages Of
The English To The East, In A Separate
Division of his Pilgrims, which
he entitles "English Voyages beyond the East Indies, &c. In which
their just commerce was
Nobly vindicated against Turkish treachery;
victoriously defended against Portuguese hostility; gloriously advanced
against Moorish and Heathenish perfidy; hopefully recovering from Dutch
malignity; and justly maintained against ignorant and malicious
calumny."
[Footnote 397: Purch. Pilg. I. 884, Astl I. 451.]
The full title of this voyage in the Pilgrims is, "The Eighth Voyage
set forth by the East Indian Society, wherein were employed three Ships,
the Clove, the Hector, and the Thomas, under the Command of Captain John
Saris: His Course and Acts to and in the Red Sea, Java, the Moluccas,
and Japan, by the Inhabitants called Neffoon, where also he first
began and settled an English Trade and Factory; with other remarkable
Rarities: The whole collected out of his own Journal." In the preface to
the 4th book of his Pilgrims, Purchas makes the following observations
respecting this voyage: "We here present the East Indies made
westerly, by the illustrious voyage of Captain John Saris; who, having
spent some years before in the Indies, by observations to rectify
experience, and by experience to prepare for higher attempts, hath here
left the known coasts of Europe, compassed those more unknown coasts of
Africa from the Atlantic to the Erithrean Sea, and after commerce there,
tum Marte quam Merurio, compasseth the shores, and pierceth the seas,
to and beyond all just names of India and Asia, penetrating by a long
journey, the islands, cities, and court of the Japonian empire, there
settleth an English factory; and after safe return, is ready to render
to the readers the pleasure of his pain, and [why stay I thee any
longer?] by a more pleasant discoursive way, to discover to thee the
rarities of that discovery, and by hand, by the eyes, to lead thee along
with him all the way: and then leave thee to those that shall tell thee
of after accidents and later occurrences in the Japonian, Indian, and
Asian affairs." - Purch.
"What Purchas has called collected out of the Journal of Captain
Saris, means probably abbreviated by himself from that source. Saris
was factor at Bantam in 1608, at the time of the third voyage of the
East India Company, and has given an account of occurrences there from
the time Scott left off, as contained in Section II. of this chapter
of our Collection. In this voyage, he went farther eastwards than any
English navigator had gone before, being the first of our nation that
sailed to Japan in an English ship. William Adams indeed had been there
some years earlier, having been carried there in a Dutch ship, by a
western course. The remarks of Captain Saris are generally curious,
judicious, and full of variety. As already noticed in the extended title
by Purchas, Captain Saris had three ships under his command, the Clove,
in which he sailed as general, the Hector, and the Thomas." - Astl.
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