Historis Journael van de Voyagie Gedaen met 3 Schepen uyt Zeelandt naer d'Oost-Indien, Onder 't beleydt van Commandeur Joris van Spilberghen, sijn eerste reyse, inde Jaren 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604 [...] Beschrijvinge van het Eylandt JAVA

Joris van Spilbergen - Historis Journael van de Voyagie Gedaen met 3 Schepen uyt Zeelandt naer d'Oost-Indien, Onder 't beleydt van den Commandeur Joris van Spilberghen, sijn eerste reyse, inde Jaren 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604 [...] Beschrijvinge van het Eylandt JAVA - t'Amsterdam - Door Joost Hartgers, Boeck-verkooper op den Dam bezijden het Stadt-huys - Anno 1652 - [= 5th edition] - 62 pp - Paper wrappers - 15 x 19 cm.

Condition: Good - Complete; old water stain but NEAT and attractive item in 19th century decorative paper cover. Rare.

Antique 17th century travelogue of the missions that Joris van Spilbergen carried out for the Dutch 'Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie' in the early years of that 'first multinational in the world'. Illustrated with engraved title-page and three copper engravings in the text (picturing i.a. elephants). Also interesting is the mention (on p. 36) of an accident on the ship 'de Ram' by an exploding cannon in which cannonier Houtepen was killed.

The log was kept by helmsman Cornelis Janszoon Vennip from the departure of the fleet from Veere on May 5, 1601 until his death on June 15, 1603 (p. 54), after which an unknown writer completed the report. The first edition of Spilbergen's voyage appeared in 1604. Subsequently it was reprinted in 1605, 1617, 1648 and 1652. In this edition, Steven van der Hagen's account as used in earlier printings was omitted, but a description of the island JAVA ( p 58-62) was added "tot vervullinge van de overschietende leedighe Bladeren" [= to fill up the pages].

¶ Not in Landwehr (# 198 does give the 1648 edition); According to NCC, the 1652 edition is physically present in only one public collection. Cf. Tiele Mémoire 144: "(...) surtout intéressant à cause du récit cironstancié du sejour des Hollandais à Ceylan [= Ceylon; present-day Sri Lanka] (...)".

Howgego p. 987: Joris van Spilbergen (1568-1620) was an [Antwerp born] navigator in Dutch service who left for the East Indies under the auspices of entrepeneur [and VOC founder] Balthasar de Moucheron (1552-1630) with his fleet of three ships Lam, Ram and Schaap in the spring of 1601. Proceeding around the Cape of Good Hope he named Elizabeth Island (= Dasseneiland) after his wife, and entered and named Tafel Baay (=Table Bay) after the flat-topped mountain overlooking it. In 1602 Van Spilbergen negotiated a treaty with the king of Kandy. Between September 16, 1602, and March 30, 1603, they were in Acheh (Atjeh, Sumatra) hunting for Portuguese ships. After spending the summer of 1603 in Bantam (Java), Van Spilbergen returned to Vlissingen on March 24, 1604.