On This Day...

[Thagarr]

[imgleft]http://lh3.ggpht.com/_cQOyQjTP3GY/SzdzjT8-9qI/AAAAAAAAAIw/UJBFa27Du4w/wiki.gif[/imgleft] On this day in 1601, the first voyage of the East India Company set out from England for the East Indies . The flagship of the five vessel fleet was the Red Dragon, under the command of English merchant James Lancaster.

East India Company, First Voyage (1601–1603)

Formed on 31 December 1600,[7] the East India Company's first voyage departed on 13 February 1601. The flagship of the five-vessel fleet was the Scourge of Malice, purchased from the Earl of Cumberland for £3700. On a more peaceful mission, the East India Company renamed the vessel the Red Dragon.[8] The other vessels in the fleet were the Hector (300 tons), Ascension (260 tons), Susan (240 tons) and the Gift, a small victualler.[9] In spite of their February departure, the fleet did not clear the English Channel until early April due to delays from contrary winds. They landed at the Canary Islands, and then, keeping too close to Africa, fell into the Doldrums, where they remained for a month. They replenished their provisions from a captured Portuguese vessel on route, but much of the fleet was affected by scurvy by the time they arrived at Table Bay on 9 September. Lancaster had managed to prevent his sailors from being so stricken by regularly dosing them with lemon-juice, and he was forced to send members of his own crew to help man the other ships. They stayed at Table Bay for seven weeks before departing, navigating along the eastern side of Madagascar. Since leaving England, they had lost more than a fifth of their crew complement across the fleet, but those that remained were fit and healthy. Adverse wind conditions, and a second bout of scurvy forced the fleet to drop anchor in Antongil Bay, where they remained from Christmas Day through until 6 March 1602. On the resumption of their journey, they reached the Nicobar Islands after two months further travel, and took the opportunity to take on water and trim their vessels, staying for three weeks.[10]