2^(j , insToRV or' INlJlA. [Book II.
AD. 1009. Ro))ert O'Neal, 298. ; Augustine Adwell, 24«. ; Etlieldred Lainpre and William Driver, 208. each; VVillium Wilson, 228.; William Lamwell and Philip Ba/l- nedg, 168. each; Francisco Domingo, 128.; Juan Seram and Adrian, lOs. each. The Hector reached the Dovvas in safety on the 9th of May, J fj 1 Before she arrived, two other voyages had been fitted out. The one, which Is ranked as the foui'th of the Company, had a subscription of £33, 000, and wa.s confined to two vessels, the Ascension and the Union. It proved a total loss, the fonner vessel having been cast away in the Gulf of Cambay while attempting to make Subsequent fop Surat ; aiid the lattei-, after arriving in the Ea.st, and trading with some
voyages. ' o ' o
success at Acheen and Priaman, having been wrecked as she was returninf; in the Bay of Biscay. The other voyage, usually classed as the fiftli of the Com- pany, though properly only a branch of the third already described, was more fortunate. It consisted only of a single vessel, the Expedition, for which the subscription was £13,700. It sailed on the 24th of April, 1609, under the com- mand of Captain David Middleton, who had previously made the succe.s.sful voyage in the Consent; and after reaching Bantam on the 7th of December, continued onwards to the Moluccas, where, notwithstanding the opposition of the Dutch, he managed, with considerable dexterity, to oljtain a valuable cargo, and bring it safely home to England. This voyage, thrown into one account with the third, yielded the largest return which the Company had yet obtained, the clear profit on both voyages being no less than 234 per cent. Obstacles to Tlic result of tlicse expei'imental voyages made it impo.ssible to doubt, that moiintea. Under the Company's charter a most lucrative trade might be established. There were, however, several formidable obstacles in the way. Among the Eastern islands the Dutch were attempting to establish a supremacy, under which they evidently meant to exclude all other nations from any share in the spice trade ; while the Portuguese, by their conduct at Surat, had shown that before the English could hope to traffic with any port on the continent of India they must be prepared to repel force by force. In future, therefore, it would be necessary for the Company to carry on their operations on a larger scale, and employ vessels which, while mainly adapted for mercantile purposes, might at the same time be able to maintain their ground against any enemy that should presume to attack them. In order to accomplish this, additional subscriptions were required ; but it was doubtfid if these would be forthcoming so long as the con- duct of the monarch left it doubtful whether he considered himself bound by the charter which his predecessor had granted. His conduct in giving a license to Sir Edward Michelborne justified suspicion; and it was therefore almost vain to hope that new risks would be run until assurance was given that he was pre- pared to recognize the validity of the charter by adopting it as his own personal New charter deed. Accordingly, in 1 609, when of course six years of the original fifteen
by King . • • n rr • t
James. Were still unexpired, the Company succeeded in obtaining from King James a new charter so nearly identical in its terms with that of his predecessor that a
