Simon de Cordes

The five ships of the Dutch trading fleet were bristling with weaponry; many suspected their real mission was plunder and pillage.[1]
Straat Magellaan (1606) by Jodocus Hondius

Simon de Cordes (born around 1559 – died 11 November 1599) was a Dutch merchant and explorer who after the death of Admiral Jacques Mahu, became leader of an expedition with the goal to achieve the Indies,[2] which was replaced for Chile, Peru and other kingdoms (in New Spain: Nueva Galicia; Captaincy General of Guatemala ; Nueva Vizcaya; New Kingdom of León and Santa Fe de Nuevo México).[3][4] The fleet's original mission was to sail along the west coast of South America, where they would sell their cargo for silver, gold or pearls and to head for Japan only if the first mission failed. In that case, they were supposed to obtain silver in Japan and to buy spices in the Moluccas, before heading back to Europe around Cape of Good Hope.[5] Their goal was to sail through the Strait of Magellan to get to their destiny, which scared many sailors because of the harsh weather conditions. The first major expedition around South America was organized by a voorcompagnie, the Magelhaen Company. It organized two fleets of five and four ships with 750 sailors and soldiers to "devaluate the Spanish".[6] It resulted in utter disaster, 80% of the men died during the journey and the investors made no profit. No full account of the voyage is in existence, but details can be gathered from an unofficial journal kept by Potgieter, a surgeon, letters from William Adams (pilot) and from the facts gleaned by Oliver Van Noort's squadron.[7]

  1. ^ Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan By Giles Milton
  2. ^ DE REIS VAN MAHU EN DE CORDES DOOR DE STRAAT VAN MAGALHAES NAAR ZUID-AMERIKA EN JAPAN 1598—1600., p. 105-113
  3. ^ Amsterdam City Archives, NA 5057-93, f. 89-92, not. J.F. Bruijningh; transcription R. Koopman, Zaandam
  4. ^ DE REIS VAN MAHU EN DE CORDES DOOR DE STRAAT VAN MAGALHAES NAAR ZUID-AMERIKA EN JAPAN 1598—1600., p. 124
  5. ^ Hendrik Doeff, Recollections of Japan, orig. Herinneringen uit Japan, 1833.
  6. ^ DE REIS VAN MAHU EN DE CORDES DOOR DE STRAAT VAN MAGALHAES NAAR ZUID-AMERIKA EN JAPAN 1598—1600, p. 23-24
  7. ^ Cambridge Geographical Series By Bertram-Hughes Farmer, p. 51