I haue receiued your letters, and according to your desire, haue returned these few lines in answer thereunto. If I haue not so fully satisfied the particulars of your letters, as I wished and purposed, I pray you impute it not to any want of will, but vnto my disaquaintance with your Dutch tongue and hand: I should per­aduenture haue giuen you better satisfaction then now I doe, If you had written to me in the Latine tongue. But to leaue excuses and come to the mat­ter, the thing you touch in your Letter is but too too true, to wit, that the hatred and dissension a­mong Christians (if it continue, as God defend it should) is, and will be the cause of much innocent bloud-shedding amongst friends, and of estranging the hearts of Heathens, from the worship of the true God. And therefore that enimitie amongst friends may cease, and that such as are as yet with­out, may bee allured to submit themselues to the scepter of Iesus Christ: it standeth vs vpon (who are Preachers of the Gospell of peace) to be instru­ments of peace, which for my owne part how wil­ling I am to doe, is not vnknowne to such as know my selfe, and among whom I doe daily conuerse. I haue alwaies both in publike and priuate, by Let­ters to our Worshipfull company in England, and [Page 2] by liuely voice to our Commanders here in the In­dies, declared how good a thing it is for vs that are Christians, professing one Faith, one Christ, one Baptisme, to liue in peace, and to dwell together in vnitie. And of this my earnest desire to be a peace­maker, Master Brancraft your Master of the Black-Lyon, who remained after his taking some weekes aboord of the Royall Iames, can giue euident testi­mony & witnesse. And now that you haue written to this end, I will stir vp my selfe, and set a fresh vp­on the worke of reconciliation. It is pelfe indeed and pride, that is the Make-bate breeding strife and discord: for, had not the riches of the Moloccos and the robbing of the Chinaes and others by you, vn­der the English colours, fathering thereby your theft vpon vs, cast you into a deepe and deadly Le­thargie, you would not as you haue done, haue abu­sed your best friends abroad, that haue shed so much of their deerest bloud in defence of you and your country at home; but now you are freed from the Spaniard at home, you fall out with your frends abroad. Is this the recompence of our loue and bloud shewed vnto you, and shed for you, to keepe you from the supposed thraldome of Spaine? Did Dauid thus reward his three Worthies, who aduen­tured their liues to satisfie his longing, & to quench his thirst? Did he not say, Lord be it farre from me that I should doe this: is not this the bloud of the men that went in ieopardy of their liues? 2 Sam. 23. 17. Doe you thus requite vs, as Lot did Abra­ham, Who when as hee with the 318. that were borne and brought vp in his house, did recouer Lot [Page 3] and his goods and women out of the hands of the Conquerors, cared not for him but to serue his own turne, and being deliuered did in a manner scorne Abrahams company. Well, though Abraham being the elder and worthier might haue stood vpon his right, yet yeelded of his interest, that hee and Lot might liue as brothers, and the rather because both of them at this time soiourned among the Cananites and Pheresites, who were ready to take notice of their discord, and so to curse their God, and holy religion. Yet what gained Lot by separating companie, but a showre of fire and brimstone, which rained vpon Sodome wherein he liued, and would haue consu­med both him and his, if God had not beene merci­full vnto him at Abrahams request?

It is not long of the English that wee expose our selues to the mockery of Infidels: our Company loue peace, and trade peaceably: they haue put vp for peace sake more wrongs at your hands, then they meane to doe againe. You write and publish to the world that the Sea is free, and yet by your encroach­ing vpon it, are not you both the Mothers and Nur­ses of discord? One of our Commanders, wrote (as I thinke, or at least sent word by one of speciall note amongst your selues) to Coen your Comman­der concerning a parly before the shooting downe of our Turret at Iackatra: but the first and last newes wee heard of him, was it not the beating downe of our house there, and the defaming of our Nation, with Penoran at Bantam and others here?

And thinke you that this is the way to make peace?

[Page 4]The present Captaine of your Fort at Iackatra promised to the Right Worshipful Sir Thomas Dale our chiefe Commander, vpon the faith of a Christi­an, that M. Peter Wadden (now your prisoner) should haue free ingresse and egresse in and out of your house to parley betweene vs, to retourne to our Ships: and yet is either promise or oath kept? hath he not, and doth hee not continue your priso­ner to this hower? You remember Iehu his answer to Iehoram, What peace whiles the whoredomes of thy Mother Iezabel, and her witchcrafts are yet in great number? 2 King. 9. 23. No sound league of friend­ship or reconciliation can be made, or being made can continue, till the wrongs which men haue done one to another, be reproued, and remoued; and sa­tisfaction giuen by word and deed, where it may possibly be performed; else it will be like a wound or sore, that being cured outwardly to the eye, doth bleed and fester inwardly; many hollow reconcili­ations are daily made amongst men, which after­wards breake out to the hurt of both parties, and scandall of others: As a wound that is ill cured, by an vnskilfull or an vnconscionable Chirurgion. As for mine owne part, I would to God that if it were possible, I might with all my best skill and cunning bee the Chyrurgion to cure this wound, that our reconciliation, when euer it shall bee made, may not be hollow, but holy and firme: yea I wish from my heart, that my very bloud might be the milke to put out this wilde fire which now is kindled, and (if it be not quenched in time) is like to deuoure, not onely the ships and goods (as it hath [Page 5] done some al ready, and is like to doe [...] precious lives, of many of both nations and of [...] (it is like) will but se the time that euer the English and Dutch knew the Indies. All [...] one side, there must be a yeelding of both [...], if euer there be a sound peace [...] sides [...] who shall begin [...]eer, what avalleth anger without strength to beare it out? What is fiercenesse of spi­rit without wisdome of heart? but euen as fooles bo [...] against himselfe. And to such a one may not the saying of Archidamus to his sonne, being too foole-hardie, be as fitly applied as a gloue to a mans hand [...] sonne put to more strength, or take away some of this courage? You cannot be ignorant that when Herod intended to make warre against the Tyrians and Sidonians, how they came all with one accord, & perswaded Blastus the Kings Cham­berlaine that they might liue in peace, or else they should all of them be starued, Act. 12. 20. Take heede you come not to this when it is too late. Are you so well able to liue of your selues in Holland, that you haue no need of your neighbour countrey England? Are you so high aboue the waters, that the sluces of heauen cannot drowne you? Or are the Seas so low beneath your Netherlands, that you feare no deluge? Shebna the Treasurer, was he not as surely seated as your Graue is in Holland? or the greatest amongst you here in the Indies, euen Coen himselfe? and yet was hee not tossed vp and downe as a foote-ball in a strange countrey? and were not the Chariots of his glory the shame of his [Page 6] Lords house? Esay 22. 18. But I haue runne my selfe a little beyond that I intended, and now to re­couer my breath, by these lines I promise, and by word and deed will, God willing, with saile and care labour to bring to passe, that we may liue as friends and neighbours both here and at home. Thus I haue returned you an answer to that you desire, and looke that both of vs should doe our best endeuour for the good of our present Fleets, and of such as hereafter may liue to blesse vs. From our Royall Iames riding neere to Bantam Rode, this 20. of Aprill 1619.

AVgust the second 1619. our ship and goods were taken by the Flemmings in the Strait of Sinday neere Bantam, and set a shore at Iaquatry. September the 8. 1619, the Flemmings disperst vs into their ships, and on the coast of Su­matra the first of October 1619. they tooke foure other English ships, viz. the Dragon, the Beare, the Expedition, and the Rose. And on the second of October they turned vs all a shore at Tekoo amongst the Indians, where our Merchants had no trade, but for eight dayes. We were then 370. and odde men, all or the most part vndone. About 15. men were killed in fight. They left vs the little Rose to shift for our selues.

October the 23. 1619. there came into the Rode out of England three other ships, the Paltegraue, the Elizabeth, and the Merchants Hope. From Tekoo we sailed to and fro, and at length came to anchor at an Iland called Amyncan, where we had fresh water and some fish, but is no place of trade, nor is there any man that knoweth of any thing that growes vpon it. The people are thought to be man-eaters. After this we returned backe for Tekoo, and neere the same Ianuary 29. 1619. we met with Generall Prynne in the Royall Iames, and his whole fleet of ships in number nine. All the fleet being then twelue goodly ships, were resolued to saile for Bantam: and in sight of two Flemmish ships (which we purpo­sed [Page 8] to take) Captaine Adams in the ship called the Bull, together with one of the Flemmish ships came vp with newes of peace. We then sailed for Iaqua­try, where by the way met vs 17. saile of goodly Flemmish ships, with whom (had not the peace then come) we must haue fought it out. But peace being then concluded betweene the Flemmings and vs, our English Factorie was againe setled at Iaquatry; and the ships diuided some for one place, some for another.

Aprill 26. 1620. the Royall Iames, and a ship of some 800. Tonnes, called the Vnicorne, set saile for Iapan, the distance neere about 1400. leagues. Iune the second 1620. the Vnicorne was cast away on the coast of China, neere a certaine Iland called the Macoio Iland. In the ship were two English women; both which, and all the men were saued: for they ranne the ship neere the shore. Most part of all their goods they lost. As we sailed for Iapan, at a place called Puttany, we heard of Captaine Iordayne, who being there with two ships, called the Hound, and the Samson, there came into the Rode and fought with them three Flemish ships: Captaine Iordayne was slaine in that fight, and the Flemmings tooke both their ships. December 17. 1620. the great Iames being well trimmed at a place called Farando in Ia­pan, came away from thence: and Ianuary the 14. 1620. we arriued safely at Iaquatry, where shee is now loaden for England.

The ships that since my comming from England, haue beene taken and lost, are the Sunne, cast away [Page 9] neere Bantam; the Starre, taken neere Bantam; the Dragon, the Beare, the Expedition, and the Rose, taken at Tekoo; the Hound and the Samson taken at Put­tany; the Vnicorne cast away on the coast of China; two or three other ships taken and lost at the Mol­lucas.

Men of good command, dead, are, Captaine Par­ker of Plymmouth, Sir Thomas Dale, Captaine Ior­dayne killed at Puttany, Captaine Bunnier killed at Tekoo while we were at Iapan. The Flemmings yeel­ded vp againe the Starre to the English, and shee is gone to the Mollucas.