John Jourdain
John Jourdain (? – 17 July 1619), was a captain in the service of the English East India Company (EIC), and the first president of the EIC Council of India
Life and career
He was the sixth child and fourth son of John Jourdain, a Lyme Regis based merchant and mayor of the town.[1] By 1595 he was trading on his own account in the Azores but on 7 December 1607 he was engaged by the EIC as one of their factora at a salary of £3 per month plus £10 for "outfit".[2]
He sailed for
The Dutch, too, were insolent and aggressive, and threatened to become more dangerous enemies than the Portuguese, with whom there had always been war.Jourdain had intended to go home at the end of 1615, but the death of Captain Nicholas Downton delayed his return for a year. He arrived in England in the early summer of 1617, and in November entered into another agreement with the company for five years at a salary of £350 per annum, of which £50 was to be paid in England.[5] Departing in February of the following year (O.S. 1618), he arrived in Bantam on 22 November 1619[6] By now the English and Dutch were at war in the Banda Islands with Nathaniel Courthope blockaded on the island of Run.[7] After an attack on the Dutch Black Lion, their Governor-General, Jan Pieterszoon Coen burned down the English factory at Jakarta and a siege ensued with the English supporting the natives against the Dutch.[8] As 'president of the council of India,' Jourdain refused to admit the authority claimed by Sir Thomas Dale as commander-in-chief. Dale's command, he insisted, was limited to the fleet he came out with, unless other ships were placed under his orders by the president and council: "The dissension and crossings between Sir Thos. Dale and Capt. Jourdain hath caused this calamity with the English in India, through their striving for superiority".[9] The dispute seems to have been amicably settled. Dale was apparently already affected by the sickness which carried him off a few months later. Jordain departed in the Sampson, with the Hound in company, to arrange affairs at Patani.
Death
On 2 June 1619, Jourdain anchored off Patani where he reorganised an English factory established seven years previously. Once matters were settled, he departed only to be pursued by a Dutch squadron dispatched by Coen. A battle began on 17 July and despite a spirited defence, after two hours the English hoisted a
References
- ^ Foster 1905, p. xii–xv.
- ^ Foster 1905, p. xvi–xvii.
- ^ Foster 1905, p. lx–lxi.
- ^ Foster 1905, p. lxviii.
- ^ Foster 1905, p. lxvii.
- ^ "East Indies, China and Japan: February 1619". Calendar of State Papers Colonial, East Indies, China and Japan, Volume 3, 1617–1621. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1870. British History Online. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ Foster 1905, p. lxix.
- ^ Foster 1905, p. lxx.
- ^ "East Indies, China and Japan: October 1620". Calendar of State Papers Colonial, East Indies, China and Japan, Volume 3, 1617–1621. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1870. British History Online. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ Foster 1905, p. lxxii–lxxiii.
- Bibliography
- Foster, William, ed. (1905). The Journal of John Jourdain, 1608–1617: Describing His Experiences in Arabia, India, and the Malay Archipelago. London: Hakluyt Society.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Jourdain, John". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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