Page 69 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

LIFE AT SEA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 69

dard size of the ships of the Company’s fleet was 500 tons,
and it was vessels of this class which throughout the long
period of the Company’s history as a trading organization
conducted the bulk of its extensive operations.
James, who by this time had obtained a clearer know­
ledge of the value of the Indian trade and of the desirability
of encouraging it in the only practicable way by giving the
Company a free hand, deigned to identify himself speci­
ally with the new phase of commercial activity which the
construction of this big ship was destined to introduce.
Accompanied by the Queen and Prince Henry he, on
December 30, 1609, went to the docks where the vessel
was lying and formally christened it the Trade's Increase,
and at the same time bestowed upon the pinnace which
was to be its consort the whimsical though not inappro­
priate name of the Peppercorn, A third ship, the Darling,
to which Nicholas Downton was posted as commander,
completed the composition of the new fleet.
It may be of interest at this point, before we follow
Middleton’s ship on what was to prove an eventful voyage,
to say something about the manner of life of those who
were employed in the Company’s service in these early
years. The crews, like the commanders, appear to have
been selected with care. They must have been on the
whole well educated men, according to the standard of the
time, and a few of them were probably of superior ability.
An individual was recommended for service in one of the
earliest fleets because he could speak fluently Spanish,
Portuguese and Italian. His qualifications were not
altogether exceptional if we may judge from the frequent
references to the linguistic attainments of individuals in
the records. And that the general average of knowledge