Such, then, is the kind of life which had to be endured on board these vessels, depicted as we have shown by men of entirely different interests and tastes—the captain, the midshipman and the passenger. But if these voyages were unpleasant and even risky, it is to them and the determination of those on board that the wealth of the East India Company was due, and the fortunes of so many private individuals as well. Ocean travel in those days was not pleasure, but a long-drawn-out martyrdom, except for a very few and in exceptional weather. To-day, even the worst-appointed liner would seem luxurious to the voyager of the eighteenth century, although more comfortable deep-sea ships were not to be found than those which flew the naval pennant of the Honourable East India Company.
We have seen something of the lives of the officers and men in the Company’s ships at sea: we desire now to learn more of their conditions of employment—what was their uniform, what were their rates of pay, privileges, pensions according to their different ranks, the kind of accommodation for the passengers, the nature of their cargoes, and so on. In other words, we are to endeavour to fill in those details of the picture already roughly sketched.
Dating back from the time of the first East India Company, the commanders were always sworn into the service. So likewise were the first four officers. Before being allowed to proceed to his duty on board, an officer had to sign a contract for performing the voyage, and a petition for his “private trade” outwards. As the latter was so very lucrative to him, it may be well to give details. Particulars had to be sent in this petition to the Committee of Shipping of the East India Company, giving the dead-weight of the articles they proposed to take out to the East. These consisted of almost anything, from wines to carriages. This “private” trade allowed to the commanders and officers of the East India ships, allowing them to participate in the Company’s exclusive monopoly, did not permit woollen goods and warlike stores, but otherwise the ship’s officers could reap a fine income by taking out English goods and bringing back Eastern products which would be sure of a market at home.