3 Review(s)

Little is known of Captain Alexander Hamilton. First published in 1727, this book is both an invaluable source of information on South-East Asia at the time and a lively travelogue of Hamilton's adventurous sea­faring life in the service of the East India Company and independently between 1688 and 1723. He writes of encounters with pirates, the Portuguese, and of a poisoning in Malacca, and vivid descriptions of the countries he visited – from Africa to Japan, east coast of India, Sumatra, Java, Thailand, Cambodia and China – and their social customs, religions, trade and commerce. His maps and illustrations enhance the?value?of?his?narrative.