The Indian Ocean - Michael Pearson [146]
Problems with discipline no doubt increased as the quality of the crews and passengers declined. On VOC ships in the eighteenth century many on board were German beggars and paupers. On the Portuguese naus many of the troops on board had come straight from jail, dressed in rags, and suffering from syphilis and other diseases.
There was frequent overcrowding on the naus, a vast array of people travelling in extreme discomfort. But the elite, even if their cabins in the superstructure in the stern were narrow, with ceilings only four feet high, were still much better off than the rest of the passengers. In a previous chapter we found Ibn Battuta travelling in some style, complete with concubines and servants (see pages 111–12). Earlier in this chapter we saw the Abbé Carré in his voyage from Surat to Hurmuz travelling with very wealthy Persian merchants and their harems (see pages 182–3). So also Carletti, who as a wealthy merchant set off from Goa for Portugal in 1601. He had with him three servants, respectively a Japanese, a Korean and a Mozambique Negro. He had his own bedroom, and took one hundred hens with him to provide food along the way.68
Indeed food was the area where the social divisions were most obvious. On Portuguese ships the elite carried livestock on board for themselves: chickens, sheep and even cows. They also had dried fruits, almonds, preserves, wine, oil, sugared candies and cheeses. So also on VOC ships. William Hickey travelled in one and sat at the captain's table and gorged himself. For breakfast there was 'coffee, tea, as good rolls as were ever baked on shore, and what was more extraordinary, admirable fresh butter, toast, eggs, ham, sausages, smoked beef rasped, and lastly an immense cheese.' All this was washed down with small beer and gin. The midday meal was much more substantial, and included fresh vegetables and fruit. Snacks between meals were also provided.69 The common folk, on the other hand, relied on what was provided, and it was very bad. Biscuit could be a year old when it was loaded, the dried fish was inedible and often had to be thrown out, the wine was rough, undrinkable stuff, and water was in very short supply.70
We can close this chapter with two accounts from the seventeenth century of life on board a Portuguese, and an Indian, ship. The first is based on Jesuit accounts. The fathers travelled in very cramped conditions, 'no more no less than sardines in a barrel.' Their cabin was so full of supplies and so small that they 'could neither stand nor sit; to enter [the cabin] it was necessary to drag one's body over barrels and crates, as snakes enter their holes.' The Jesuits, an enthusiastic and rigid new Order, were under a very strict regime, much more so presumably than the others on board. They were told not to spend time in their cabins, as these were unhealthy: rather they should walk around on deck. Clothes and cabins were to be washed frequently, and sheets changed at least every eight days. The food they took on board was very well chosen: water and wine to drink; cured meats, both hams and sausages, chicken, biscuits, dried fruits including figs and raisins, beans, cured olives, cheese, nuts and sweets like marmalade. This abundance meant that common passengers often begged food from the fathers. As is to be expected, they had an important religious role too. When the ship was in danger, or it was the feast day of the saint after whom the ship was named, they led processions around the decks. Apart from this they administered the sacraments and provided general spiritual counsel.71
Our Indian example is derived from an exemplary reconstruction by Professor A. Jan Qaisar, based on an important Persian text which describes a voyage to undertake the hajj. Some of the advice that the author, Qazvini, provides is very elementary. For example, the intending passengers should check the boat, and rely on omens too as to whether they will go on it or not.