A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before

A merchant captain sets out on a world-spanning voyage that is as much a commercial gamble as a feat of exploration, aiming to trace a route never sailed before and to imagine new colonial and trading possibilities, even a new East India Company in Flanders. He insists that the real value of such a journey lies not in the mere fact of circumnavigation, but in the vivid incidents, encounters, and observations gathered along the way, and he promises a far more lively account than the dry sea narratives he criticizes. What follows is a practical, dangerous, and often profitable expedition, marked by courteous negotiations, careful leadership, and a shrewd eye for trade. A remarkable pearl haul brings sudden wealth, and the captain shares the rewards to keep morale strong. But the voyage also drives the ships into bitter southern cold, ice, and peril before they turn back toward South America and onward through a vast route that stretches past Cape Horn, Panama, the South Pacific, and home to England. Along the way, a tense midnight chase underscores the hard realities of pursuit at sea, where endurance and resolve decide survival. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.