A New Account Of The East-Indies Being The Observations And Remarks Of Capt. Alexander Hamilton From The Year 1688-1723

Both the volumes of the book is an account of a travelogue of the author’s journey in the Indian sub-continent. He travelled between the years 1688 and 1723. He was engaged in the service of the East India Company before becoming a private trader. Written during his retirement, it is both an invaluable source of information on south-east Asia at the time and a lively travelogue of his adventurous seafaring life in the service of the East India Company. There is a lot of descriptive detail about the various parts of India and the various ways of living that he got to witness first hand from the court to the crowd. An engaging storyteller, he writes of encounters with pirates, the Portuguese, and of a poisoning in Malacca, as well as providing vivid descriptions of the countries he visited - from Africa to Japan via India, Sumatra and China - and their social customs, religions, trade and commerce. His characteristic maps and illustrations enhance this narrative. The book is illustrated with lively anecdotes, it provides a valuable insight into life on early modern Asia.