Description:

LOG OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY SHIP "ROYAL CHARLOTTE" BOUND FOR CANTON
Bound volume, approx. 176pp. legal folio, an original handwritten log book documenting the 1802 voyage of the British East India Company ship ROYAL CHARLOTTE, carrying a shipment of lead and other materials from London to Canton (modern Guangzhou) in China. The volume is bound in brown leather boards with an embossed floral design, with the initials of the ship "R C" and the phrase "To China" burned into the front cover. The first six pages of the log, completed in the style of a standard journal, detail the outfitting of the ship at Northfleet on the Thames, from January to March of 1802. After putting to sea on March 30 in company with the East India Company ships BRUNSWICK and GLATTON, the format of the entries changes to a tabular accounting of the hourly course of the Royal Charlotte and the condition of the winds, with a space for other comments and observations. The passage to China is relatively uneventful, save for several instances in which the ship's seamen are flogged or put in irons for drunkenness, theft, and assaulting superior officers, and the loss of the topmasts in a gale, which requires her to put into the Bay of All Saints in Brazil for repairs. She arrives in Canton on September 5, where she discharges her cargo and makes necessary repairs. On October 25, the ship's fourth officer dies in the city, and is interred at French Island. She takes on a shipment of tea for the return voyage to England, and puts to sea again on November 6, with the notation: "Adieu to China for some time". During the voyage home, a passenger, the captain's steward, and the cooper's mate all die of unstated causes and are buried at sea. Again, several seamen have to be confined or flogged, including Charles Connor, who repeatedly attempts to incite mutiny amongst his fellow sailors. He is flogged several times for his behavior, but eventually proves to be such a problem that he is confined aboard the warship HMS ROMNEY when the Royal Charlotte calls at St. Helena. The ship eventually arrives at Plymouth on April 13, 1803. The British East India Company was founded in 1600, and over the next two and a half centuries came to account for over half of the world's trade. They were an important force for European colonization in Asia, and held autonomous control over much of India through private military forces. The volume bears several old accession numbers, as well as the foxing and toning one would expect from a document of this age, else very good.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

November 17, 2016 11:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 26.5% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000