Daniel Beeckman, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718).
Edward Worth’s copy of Daniel Beeckman’s A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718), was printed by Thomas Warner (fl. 1718), at the Black Boy and Jeremy Batley (1717–37 at the Dove) in Paternoster-Row in 1718.[1] Warner had previously been responsible for printing The Lives of the Two Illustrious Generals – John Duke of Malborough and Francis Eugene, Prince of Savoy (in 1713); The History of the Reign of King Charles the First (in 1716); and The Memoirs of the Church of Scotland (in 1717); while Batley had printed a 1717 edition of Francis Quarley’s Divine Poems, and would go on to print the second edition of John Aubrey’s Miscellanies (in 1721); and A New Version of All the Books of the New Testament, with a Literal Commentary on All the Difficult Passages (in 1726).
John Stow, A Survey of Cities of London and Westminster (London, 1720), i, Book II double-page plate between pp 124 and 125. Paternoster Row recorded on a map of the wards of Faringdon Within and Baynard’s Castle.
As the above image shows, Paternoster Row is a small alley located on the north side of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. The alley has undergone several changes in function over the centuries. It owed its name paternoster (Latin for ‘Our Father’), to the fact that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the area was occupied by a paternoster guild which produced prayers beads.[2] Towards the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the early fifteenth centuries the area had begun to attract stationers, limners, text writers, and book binders. With the advent of print the nearby St Paul’s Cathedral soon became a focal point for the London book-trade, but it took some time for the trade to infiltrate Paternoster Row, which was primarily an alley filled with cloth merchants, lace sellers, haberdashers, and women tailors throughout much of the sixteenth century. It was only during the seventeenth century and especially the reign of Queen Anne (1665–1714), that Paternoster Row became established as an important locus of the book trade, taking over the supremacy of Little Britain. This migration was influenced by its location as a book market close to its target market, namely the scientific and educational institutions there, including: the grammar schools of St Mary-le-Bow and St Martin-le-Grand, the educational institutions of St Paul, and the former monastic study centres of Whitefriars, Blackfriars, and Greyfriars.[3]
The book was written by a captain of the East India Company (EIC) named Daniel Beeckman (fl. 1713–15), to recount his journey from England to Borneo and back, a voyage which had taken two years and 15 days (12 October 1713 – 29 October 1715). Beeckman had travelled to Borneo in order to buy a large amount of pepper (as much as 4-5,000 pecull which when converted into tonnes, comes to around 241-302 tonnes), from the area of Banjar Masseen (Indonesian spelling now ‘Banjarmasin’). In fact, this was not the first time that EIC representatives had gone to Banjarmasin. Prior to Beeckman’s journey, the EIC had repeatedly attempted to establish a factory there: the first attempt had been in 1615, but it was closed in 1618 due to the Anglo-Dutch war. It had been rebuilt in 1635 but was demolished in 1651 due to debt. The third factory was built in 1701 and was demolished again in March 1702 due to a war between the EIC and the Banjar tribe, which had been triggered by the arbitrary actions of the factory head (suppressing the price of pepper, subjugating the local population). In the same year, the EIC had rebuilt the factory which functioned as a transit station and pepper storage but yet again, the factory managers engaged in fraud, looting and robbery of local traders, collecting taxes on Chinese junk, challenging local control by building forts, all of which resulted in an attack on the factory by Banjar forces in 1707.[4]
Daniel Beeckman, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718), Sig. A3r: dedication to Sir Gregory Page.
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Beeckman would have been aware of this contentious history and he was keen to give an account of his own experience in Borneo. He dedicated his work to Sir Gregory Page (1669-1720), 1st Baronet. Page had been a brewer, a shipbuilder (continuing his father’s business), an East India long-distance merchant, and a Whig MP for New Shoreham – West Sussex for three terms (1708–1710; 1710–1713; 1715–1720), during the reigns of Queen Anne and George I (1660-1727). As both a wealthy merchant and a member of parliament, he had been created a baronet on 3 December 1714 by King George I of Great Britain. More importantly for Beeckman, Page had contributed greatly to the EIC: he had served on the board of the East India Company (1706–1708), and been a director of the company on several occasions (1709–1712; 1713–1714; 1715–1720.[5] Beeckman, by dedicating his work to Page, hoped to acquire a wealthy and influential patron who could further his career.
Daniel Beeckman, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718), plate facing p. 1. Map of Borneo Island.
Beeckman also included an address to potential readers and in this he highlights that the book was written to provide directions and rules in regard to trade. In addition, he wished to offer advice on how to avoid a great many inconveniencies that might happen in the countries discussed. Beeckman hoped to share his experience of the humour of the people he had visited, his manner of dealing with them, the country, the product/commodity and its price, as well as his experience of his navigation to Bali and knowledge of the port of Banjarmasin which was known to be difficult for British sailors to conquer, especially during the western monsoon – which at that time was still very rarely discussed. The book has three main sections – each of which is an explanation of the islands or waters that Beeckman had passed or visited. Beginning with the characteristics of the landscape, he proceeds to discuss the weather, the people (if any), the flora and fauna, the main commodities, their customs/traditions, and a little about its history. He also estimates the size of the island and the depth of the seabed where his ship was anchored, measuring these in units of fathom; tuns; league; breadth; circuit. He was keen to provide sailors with practical information, always including information about wind direction in his narration of how he and his crew moved from one place to another: ‘… here abouts we met with the Trade-winds, so called because they always blow between the E. N. E. and N. N. E. they continued with us till we came near the Equinoctial Line…’.[6] He drew attention to the difficulties of the voyage and the obstacles from nature which affected his trip: ‘we lost our trade-wind, and met with much rain; thunder, lightning, and a large rowling sea from the South …’[7]
Section 1 focuses on the outward journey, starting with Beeckman’s departure for Borneo from England from the Downs (off the coast of Kent in England near the town of Deal), on 12 October 1713 on the EIC ship Eagle Galley. From the Downs, the ship headed south through the Canary Islands, and, taking advantage of south-westerly winds, reached Cape Verde. Then (in the new year (1714)) he went further south to Table Mountain and continued to travel around the Cape of Good Hope until he arrived at Christmas Island, located in the southwest of Java Island, East Indies – Indonesia. Beeckman was able to dock on the island of Java – (Batavia) after five months and seven days at sea. Here he spent 42 days repairing the ship as well as replenishing food supplies. By going down the northern sea of Java and taking advantage of the land-sea wind, he passed through the ports of Java occupied by the Dutch, including Semarang, Jepara, Rembang, Surabaya – as well as the surrounding small islands, namely, Madura Island and Karimun Java. He reached Tomberneo (Tabanio) in Borneo on 29 June 1714.
Daniel Beeckman, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718), plate facing p. 37. Depiction of an Orangutan.
Section 2 is the main section of the book and in it Beeckman documents not only the characteristics of the new places that he observes on his travels, but also the story of his relationship with the local authorities. According to Beeckman, Borneo, especially the southern part, is an unhealthy area because it is very humid, filled with trees and swamps so that there are many mosquitoes, but it is rich in natural resources (flora, fauna, minerals). He noted that one of Borneo’s natural treasures, not found elsewhere, is the oran-ootans (‘orangutan’, in Indonesian means forest people) – primates that look like apes walking upright with long arms. Interested, Beeckman even bought one from a local for 6 Spanish Dollars, but unfortunately the creature only lasted seven months, and he often stole Beeckman’s alcohol and suffered from flux.[8]
In his mission to buy pepper, Beeckman went to Caytangee (Kayutangi, current Indonesian spelling) the site of the Sultan’s palace. There he was accepted by both the local rulers and the people as they did not recognize his ship as being part of the EIC – but rather considered it a private ship. Beeckman and his crew were welcomed by the Sultan and his family, being greeted with dances and even became special guests at his daughter’s wedding. His mission was quite successful, for the Sultan even gave him a token of friendship and a grant of trade – which meant trade protection in the Sultan’s sphere of power without limits. Beeckman had succeeded in winning the hearts of the nobles and the Sultan, and in order to help others be equally successful, he shared several suggestions, including: (1) to arrive in early August, in order to acquire  last year’s crop (i.e. this avoiding a long wait, given that the pepper is only harvested in late September); (2) to dock at Cocket Island in order to ask for permission in advance, thus avoiding surprising the residents by proceeding directly to Tatas; (3) not to flaunt his own guard of private soldiers, because it could scare local residents; (4) to give gifts incrementally (rather in an initial lump sum), as the local rulers tended to make more than one request; (5) to make sure that the initial price of the goods offered was doubled for he considered Banjar people to be stingy in bidding for the goods.
Daniel Beeckman, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718), plate facing p. 166. Map of the Bali Strait.
Section 3 discusses Beeckman’s return from Borneo to the UK. The route he chose, after exiting Borneo, was to Madura Island, and then onwards to the Southeast to Cape Zandareen, passing through the waters between the Cape and Gilleboang Island (the entrance to the Bali Strait) and then anchoring briefly at a nearby bay to refill supplies. Unfortunately, due to a big tornado, their ship was carried away by the current until it returned to Madura Bay. He therefore had to travel through the narrow Bali Strait. The above image depicts what he saw on his journey: the mountains in the tip of Java and Bali Islands. After sailing through the strait, he anchored at Ballamboang Bay (Blambangan), and on 23 January 1714 he continued his journey to the Cape of Good Hope. However, due to adverse winds, they only arrived there in April and therefore decided to settle for about a month to recover their health.
Daniel Beeckman, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718), plate facing p. 180. Depiction of a manatee or sea cow in the Cape of Good Hope.
One of the animals that caught Beeckman’s attention during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope was what he called a ‘manitee’ or ‘sea cow’. He described it as follows: ‘There is also an amphibious creature, called by them Manitee, or a Sea-Cow, which when alive, could weigh no less than 25 or 30 hundred weight. She comes up the fresh rivers at night and then gets on shore to graze. She has a large body, a belly hanging low almost to the ground, a short thick neck and legs, and seems to be a very unwieldy, slow creature. Her teeth are large, with huge long tusks, which are counted as good ivory. They say the flesh of the young ones makes excellent bacon’.[9]
It is interesting that instead of calling the manatee or sea cow a mammal, Beeckman referred to it as an amphibian—possibly because he saw it moving from water to land. However, manatees and sea cows cannot actually live on land. More intriguingly, when we examine the physical features and descriptive details in Beeckman’s account, the animal he described seems to resemble a hippopotamus more than a manatee or sea cow. As shown in Figure 6, the creature he called a ‘manitee’ or ‘sea cow’ has upright ears, four legs, and a downward-hanging tail. This clearly does not match the appearance of a manatee or sea cow, which have no external ears, no legs—only flippers—and a tail. Additionally, hippopotamuses have large lower canines that curve upward, which Beeckman may have mistaken for tusks. More importantly, as we know, hippos spend most of the day submerged in water and only come out at night to graze—exactly as Beeckman described. Based on this, I suspect that the animal Beeckman encountered was not a manatee or sea cow, but a hippopotamus. Beeckman may simply have misinterpreted its dual habitat as an amphibian trait.
In the concluding part of this section Beeckman describes his journey to St. Helena and the Ascension islands. From there he travelled up to Cape Clear, an island off the south-west coast of Ireland, having accidentally met a ship from which he heard news of a potential Anglo-France war. He finally arrived back in the UK on 29 October 1715.
Beeckman’s descriptions and location names, not to mention his depiction of objects, is often confusing. For example, on page 25, he tells us that he was heading to ‘Father Smith Island’. His naming of the islands located around the island of Java is not even close to the names of the islands in modern spelling today – making them difficult to decipher. Similarly, the map of Bali, illustrated on page 166, instead of depicting the ‘helicopter’ form with which we are familiar, looks instead to be closer to a rectangular shape. In addition, Beeckman’s comments on the lifestyle of the local people he met often reflect his own racist assumptions. This is particularly evident in his description of the ‘Hottentot’ (i.e. Khoekhoe) tribe: ‘The Men are tall, strong set, and very swift Runners; having broad flat Noses, blubber Lips, great Heads, disagreeable Features, short frisled Hair; and take them altogether, nothing can be more ugly. Their Skin is like our Chimney-Sweepers; not that they are naturally so black, but they make themselves so by daubing themselves with Soot and stinking Grease; which makes them smell most intolerably ... The Women are generally short squat Creatures, but strong built, altogether as ugly in their kind as the Men … They are not really unlike Monkeys or Baboons in their Gestures and Postures, especially when they sit Sunning themselves as they often do in great numbers …’[10]
The racism on display in Beeckman’s account of the Khoekhoe is mirrored in his accounts of other peoples he met with on his travels. Unfortunately, he was not alone in this, for it was a trend visible since the arrival of Vasco da Gama in South Africa in 1497, when Europeans began to build a negative image of the Khoekhoe, describing them as ‘wild’, ‘dirty’, and more like monkeys than humans. This stereotype was further reinforced in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through travel writings and colonial records, such as Sir Joseph Banks’ 1771 declaration that they were ‘outcasts of the human species’.[11] The contempt for the Khoekhoe was based on a belief in European superiority, which was not actually supported by scientific theory. They failed to realize that between the Europeans and those they called the ‘Hottentots’, differences were perceived mutually— the world did not revolve solely around Europe. For them, differences in living standards, language, and religion were enough to label the Khoekhoe as ‘anomalies’. Finally, Beeckman’s emphasis on Khoekhoes’ physical differences and his portrayal of them as repulsive and closer to monkeys, was part of the narrative of colonial racism designed to justify European imperialism.[12]
Daniel Beeckman, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718), plate facing p. 175: on the way home!
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Text: Ms Apriliya Rida Nabila (MA in Public History, UCD).
Sources
Banks, Joseph, Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks during Captain Cook’s first voyage in H.M.S. Endeavour in 1768-71 to Terra del Fuego, Otahite, New Zealand, Australia, the Dutch East Indies, etc., ed. J. D. Hooker (London, 1896).
Beeckman, Daniel, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718).
Christianson, Paul C., ‘The rise of London’s book-trade’, in Lotte Hellinga and J. B. Trapp (eds), The Cambridge history of the book in Britain. Volume III, 1400-1557 (Cambridge, 1999), pp 128-147.
Cokayne, George Edward, Complete Baronetage. Volume V, 1707-1800 (Exeter, 1906).
Hudson, Nicholas, ‘‘Hottentots’ and the evolution of European racism’, Journal of European Studies, 34, no. 4 (2004), 308-332.
Miller, John D., Beads and prayers: the rosary in history and devotion (London, 2002).
Mumby, Frank Arthur and Ian Norrie, Publishing and bookselling. Part one: From the earliest times to 1870 ; Part two: 1870-1970 (London, 1974).
Plomer, Henry R., et al., A dictionary of the printers and booksellers who were at work in England, Scotland and Ireland from 1668 to 1725 (London, 1968).
Sedgwick, Romney R., ‘PAGE, Sir Gregory, 1st Bt. (c.1669–1720), of Greenwich’, in Romney R. Sedgwick (ed.), The House of Commons, 1715-1754, 2v. (London, 1970).
Stow, John, A Survey of Cities of London and Westminster 2 v. (London, 1720)
Suntharalingam, R., ‘The British in Banjarmasin : An Abortive Attempt at Settlement 1700-1707’, Journal of Southeast Asian History, 4, no. 2 (September 1963), 48-72.
[1] Plomer, Henry R., et al., A dictionary of the printers and booksellers who were at work in England, Scotland and Ireland from 1668 to 1725 (London, 1968), p. 26.
[2] Miller, John D., Beads and prayers: the rosary in history and devotion (London, 2002), p. x.
[3] Christianson, Paul C., ‘The rise of London’s book-trade’, in Lotte Hellinga and J. B. Trapp (eds), The Cambridge history of the book in Britain. Volume III, 1400-1557 (Cambridge, 1999), p. 128; Mumby, Frank Arthur and Ian Norrie, Publishing and bookselling. Part one: From the earliest times to 1870; Part two: 1870-1970 (London, 1974), p. 89.
[4] Suntharalingam, R., ‘The British in Banjarmasin: An Abortive Attempt at Settlement 1700-1707’, Journal of Southeast Asian History, 4, no. 2 (September 1963), 48-72.
[5] Sedgwick, Romney R., ‘PAGE, Sir Gregory, 1st Bt. (c.1669–1720), of Greenwich’, in Romney R. Sedgwick (ed.), The House of Commons, 1715-1754, 2v. (London, 1970), v.2, pp 319-320; Cokayne, George Edward, Complete Baronetage. Volume V, 1707-1800 (Exeter, 1906), p. 24.
[6] Beeckman, Daniel, A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East-Indies … (London, 1718), p. 7.
[7] Ibid., p. 14.
[8] Ibid., p. 38.
[9] Ibid., p. 180.
[10] Ibid., pp 184–87.
[11] Banks, Joseph, Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks during Captain Cook’s first voyage in H.M.S. Endeavour in 1768-71 to Terra del Fuego, Otahite, New Zealand, Australia, the Dutch East Indies, etc., ed. J. D. Hooker (London, 1896), p. 439.
[12] Hudson, Nicholas, ‘‘Hottentots’ and the evolution of European racism’, Journal of European Studies, 34, no. 4 (2004), 308-332.