A view of Aceh in 1665.
A view of Achin (Aceh) in about 1665, some sixty-four years after Sir James Lancaster’s historic visit on behalf of Queen Elizabeth I in 1602. The sudden change in attitude among England’s merchants had several causes. One was the downfall of the Hanseatic League, which had set merchants free to seek new partners: see An Odious Monopoly. Another was the recent and historic trade deal with Russia, which had given English merchants a taste for making their own arrangements: see Merchants of Muscovy. A third was the way that Portugal and then Holland had tried to establish a bullying monopoly over trade with the Far East, causing prices in European markets to leap dizzyingly: see Seeds of Empire.
Part 1 of 2
AFTER passing through more adventures and dangers, and seeing many strange and wonderful sights, they at length came to Achin in the island of Sumatra.*
Queen Elizabeth had sent a letter to the King of Achin,* and now Captain James Lancaster went on shore to deliver it.* He was received with great honour and was led to the King’s court riding upon an elephant, while a band marched in front of him making a fearful noise with drums and trumpets.
After Lancaster had presented his letter there were banquets and cock-fights in his honour, with much present giving, without which no Eastern could do any business. Then after a great deal of talking the King wrote an answer to the Queen, and a treaty of peace and agreement to trade was made.
* Aceh (pronounced AH-chay), also spelled Acheh, Achin (pronounced AH-cheen) or Atjeh, is an autonomous region of northern Sumatra in Indonesia, with its capital at Banda Aceh. Islam reached the area in the thirteenth century, and spread from there throughout Indonesia. Aceh remains an almost wholly Islamic society to this day, practising strict shariah law though there is a tiny Christian community too.
* The ruler of the Kingdom of Aceh at this time was Sultan Alauddin Ri’ayat Syah Sayyid al-Mukammal (r. 1589–1604), tenth sultan of Aceh. During his time, Dutch, French and English merchants came calling, and the streets were notable for all manner of shops and boutiques selling Turkish fashions imported from India to the west.
* James Lancaster (?1554-1618) was a privateer, i.e. the captain of a ship in private service rather than the Royal Navy. The word carries the connotation of piracy, as privateers often plundered other ships on the high seas, and on his earlier voyage to the Malay Peninsula in 1591-94 James had proved no exception. His second voyage, in 1601-1603 as captain of the ship Red Dragon, won him a knighthood from the new King, James VI of Scotland and I of England.
Précis
In 1602, James Lancaster and his little fleet of merchant ships arrived in the Sumatran kingdom of Aceh, today part of Indonesia, hoping to find trade partners for the newly-established East India Company. The Sultan welcomed the English graciously, sending an elephant and a marching band to bring them to court, and reciprocating Queen Elizabeth I’s message of goodwill. (58 / 60 words)
Part Two
Dutch merchants received in Aceh, 1601.
The Arrival of the Dutch in Aceh in 1601, as drawn in 1604 by Johann Theodor de Bry (1561-1623) for Indiae Orientalis (1607), which gives us some idea of how the scene may have been set for the arrival of the English a few months later. Captain Lancaster was evidently much taken aback to be asked by a Muslim if he knew the Psalms, but the Sultan had very happily hit upon something common to the two religions which required no conscience-testing compromises.
This king was a Mohammedan, and when the Englishmen came to take leave of him, he turned to Captain Lancaster and asked, “Do you know the Psalms of David?”*
“Yes,” replied Lancaster, greatly astonished, “we say them every day.”
“Then,” said the King, “I and these nobles about me will sing a psalm to God for your prosperity.”
So very solemnly this heathen king and his nobles sang a psalm. It was a curious sight. There in the gorgeous heathen palace stood the few rough English sailors. Around them singing crowded the dark-faced Indians, clad in brilliant dresses of red and yellow, glittering with jewels and gold.
When the psalm was ended, the King again turned to Lancaster. “Now,” he said, “I would hear you too sing a psalm in your own language.”
So in their turn the Englishmen sang. And the psalm being finished, they took their leave.
* The Psalms of David are, like the Christian Gospels, regarded respectfully by Muslims and regarded as having some value as divine revelation, though not on the same level as the Koran.
Précis
As they prepared to leave Aceh, the Sultan asked whether the Englishmen were familiar with the Book of Psalms. Somewhat taken aback, Captain Lancaster said they were, whereupon the Sultan’s courtiers sang a psalm as a blessing before asking the English mariners to reply in kind. They did, and in this happy atmosphere set sail for new lands. (58 / 60 words)
