The Troublesome Voyage of Captain Edward Fenton 1582-1583: Narratives and Documents

1959

Journals G161 H2 Ser.2 no.113

Cambridge: Published for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press

Keen to establish a trading base in the Far East, a syndicate was formed under the Earl of Leicester, who eventually gave Captain Edward Fenton (d.1603) command of a voyage destined for Cathay (China). Fenton’s expedition was a complete disaster, never getting past Brazil. Off the African coast he became delusional, wanting to seize St Helena and make himself ‘King’; he failed miserably in trade negotiations with the Portuguese at São Vicente (Cape Verde); and he faced serious quarrels with men on board. Here is a page from the Hakluyt Society version of his journal of this abortive expedition and a map of São Vicente (c.1570).