Prima pars descriptionis itineris in Indiam Orientalem,

£20,000 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

important eye-witness acount of Java First Latin edition of this important account of Cornelius Houtman's voyage, the first Dutch voyage to the East Indies, extensively illustrated with more than forty-eight illustrations of the geography, native life and natural history of primarily Java and Bali. According to Lach, this work 'provided European readers with the most detailed descriptions of Java to date and with the first continuous description of Bali in any language' (III.1.439). In 1598, the year after Houtman's return, Lodewyckszoon's account of the voyage instigated 'a flurry of activity among Dutch entrepreneurs' and no fewer than twenty-five ships set out from two provinces of Holland to the East Indies. Within a period of eighteen months, the Dutch had established three factories in the Indies which became the foundation of their future control of the Moluccan spice trade and provided a foothold from which to launch further voyages eastward. This first Dutch venture to the East Indies was instigated by Linschoten's Itineraria. Following Linschoten's advice, de Houtman's route took them across the Indian Ocean from Madagascar to the Sunda Straits. On the way, he stopped at Sumatra, engaged in trading operations in Bantam, and made a number of further stops on the northern coast of Java. Of the contemporary accounts of the voyage, Lach singles out that by Lodewyckszoon for containing the most descriptive detail, and emphasizes the importance of the 'first eyewitness ac

• Binding: Hardcover

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