Ralph Fitch (died 1611) was a gentleman merchant of London and one of the earliest English travellers and traders to visit Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, India and Southeast Asia. Merchants function as professionals who deal with Trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves in order to produce Profit. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country
In February 1583 he embarked in the Tyger for Tripoli and Aleppo in Syria, together with merchants John Newbery and John Eldred, a jeweller named William Leedes and a painter, James Story, all financed by the Levant Company. Tripolis ( Arabic: طرابلس Ṭarābulus - also طرابلس الغرب Ṭarā-bu-lus al-Gharb Libyan vernacular: For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية In English trading history the Levant Company, or Turkey Company, was a Chartered company formed in 1581 after London merchants petitioned Queen From Aleppo they reached the Euphrates, descended the river from Bir to Fallujah, crossed southern Mesopotamia to Baghdad, and dropped down the Tigris to Basra (May to July 1583). For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת For other meanings see Fallujah (disambiguation. Fallujah (الفلوجة sometimes transliterated Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Basra ( BGN: AlBasrah also called Basorah Abillah and Uruk or IRAQ The name that British colony has adopted for Basra Here Eldred stayed behind to trade, while Fitch and the others sailed down the Persian Gulf to Ormuz, where they were promptly arrested as spies (at Venetian instigation, as they believed) and sent prisoners to the Portuguese viceroy at Goa (September to October). The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Ohrmuzd, Hormuz, and Ohrmazd; Portuguese Ormuz) was a 10th to 17th century kingdom located Goa ( Konkani: गोंय /ɡɔ̃j/ is India 's smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population.
Through the sureties procured by two Jesuits (one being Thomas Stevens, formerly of New College, Oxford, the first Englishman known to have reached India by the Cape route in 1579), Fitch and his friends regained their liberty. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Thomas Stevens or Thomas Stephens may refer to Thomas Stevens (monk (c Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Story chose to join the Jesuits, and the others managed to escape from Goa (April 1584). The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Goa ( Konkani: गोंय /ɡɔ̃j/ is India 's smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population. They travelled through the heart of India to the court of the Great Mogul Akbar, then probably at Agra. Akbar redirects here For other uses see Akbar (disambiguation Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar ( Jalāl ud-Dīn Muhammad Akbar Agra ( pronounced) (आगरा آگرا is a city on the banks of the Yamuna River in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Leedes became an employee of the Great Mogul, and in September 1585 Newbery decided to begin his return journey overland via Lahore. ( lahor is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. He disappeared, presumably being robbed and murdered, in the Punjab.
Fitch continued on, descending the Jumna and the Ganges, to visit Benares, Patna, Kuch Behar, Hugh, Chittagong, etc. For the goddess of the river who is sometimes called Yamuna see Yami The Yamuna (Sanskrit यमुना The Ganges (ˈgænʤiːz also Ganga, Devanāgarī: hi गंगा in most Indian languages) is the major river in the Indian subcontinent Varanasi ( Sanskrit: वाराणसी Vārāṇasī, pronunciation) also commonly known as Benares ( or Banaras (बनारस Paṭnā ( Hindi: पटना is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited Cooch Behar (Bengali: কোচবিহার Rajbongshi/Kamatapuri: কোচবিহার is a district of the state of West Bengal, India, as well as Chittagong ( Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম Chôţţogram) is Bangladesh 's main Seaport and its second-largest city (1585-1586). He then pushed on by sea to Pegu and Burma. Bago, formerly Pegu, is a city and the capital of Bago Division in Burma (or Myanmar Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Here he visited the Rangoon region, ascended the Irrawaddy some distance, acquired a remarkable acquaintance with inland Pegu, and even penetrated to the Siamese Shan states and the Northern Thai kingdom of Lanna (December 1586 and January 1587). Yangon (also known as Rangoon) is the largest city and a former capital of Burma. Shan State is an administrative division of Myanmar (Burma, which takes its name from the Shan people, one of several ethnic groups that inhabit the area The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj
Early in 1588 he visited Malacca. In the autumn of this year he began his homeward travels, first to Bengal; then round the Indian coast, touching at Cochin and Goa, to Ormuz; next up the Persian Gulf to Basra and up the Tigris to Mosul (Nineveh); finally via Tirfa, Bir on the Euphrates, Aleppo and Tripoli, to the Mediterranean. Etymology and ethnology The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern For the village in Azerbaijan see Mosul Azerbaijan. Mosul (الموصل Al Mūṣul, Kurdish: Mosul/Ninawa, Musul Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) He arrived in London on April 29, 1591. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. His experience was greatly valued by the founders of the East India Company, who consulted him on Indian affairs. The Honourable East India Company ( HEIC) referred to most commonly as the East India Company, also historically and colloquially as John Company, or
Contents |
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
Impact and legacy
- Fitch's journey is referred to indirectly by William Shakespeare in Act 1, Scene 3 of Macbeth, where the first witch cackles about a sailor's wife: 'Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master of the Tyger. William Shakespeare ( baptised Macbeth is among the best-known of William Shakespeare 's plays, and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written some time between For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. '
- Mahabandoola Park in Rangoon was formerly named Fitche Square in his honor. Mahabandoola Park or Mahabandoola Garden is a Public botanical area in downtown Yangon, in Burma. Yangon (also known as Rangoon) is the largest city and a former capital of Burma.
Works
- Aanmerklyke Reys van Ralph Fitch, Koopman te Londen, Gedaan van Anno 1583 tot 1591. Na Ormus, Goa, Cambaya, Bacola, Chonderi, Pegu, Jamahay in Siam, en weer na Pegu: van daar na Malacca, Ceylon, Cochin, en de geheele Kust van Oost-Indien. Nu aldereerst uyt het Engelsch vertaald. Met schoone Figueren, en een volkomen Register. Leyden, Van der Aa, 1706 (Dutch)
Literature
- John Horton Ryley: Ralph Fitch: England's pioneer to India and Burma ; His companions and contemporaries with his remarkable narrative told in his own words. London, 1899
- Michael Edwardes: Ralph Fitch – Elizabethan In The Indies. London, England Faber and Faber 1972
- Cecil Tragen: Elizabethan Venture. London H. F. & G Witherby Ltd. 1953
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic