A VOYAGE TO SURATT, IN THE YEAR, 1689

To which is added an Appendix containing

I. The History of a late Revolution in the Kingdom of Golconda.

II. A description of the Kingdoms of Arracan and Pegu.

III. An Account of the Coins of the Kingdoms of India, PersiaGolconda, &c.

IV. Observations concerning Silkworms.

 By J. Ovington, M.A., Chaplain to His Majesty.

First Edition: (xiv), 606 pages including the appendix, half title page, 2 folding engraved plates (one neatly repaired) and a folding letterpress table - A Collection of Coyns…., contemporary sprinkled calf with a later rebacking with a red leather title label, some wear at the edges and corners, bookplates on both front endpapers, contents clean and crisp, a very good copy.

Mendelssohn (S.) South African Bibliography, volume 2, pages 131/3, 'Eighty-six pages are devoted to an account of the African Islands, which contains many interesting details, but the description of the Cape only extends to thirty-two pages. Ovington, who arrived at the Cape on May 16, 1692(3), appears to have been charmed with the appearance of the country, and observes, "Nor did I ever know any that had been in this Paradise of the world who denied it the character of one of the loveliest regions they had ever seen." He remarks on "the indefatigable Diligence and Industry of the Dutch," and states, "they are a People remarkable for Improvements, for their Commendable Pains and Care wherever they Inhabit." The writer gives an interesting account of the colonists, and of Governor Simon Van Der Stel, but he soon found out that the "Cape Paradise" had its drawbacks, and he mentions that amongst the hardships of the settlers, "the Sale of their Goods to the Governor, and at his price . . . presses hard upon the Tenants, and keeps them under, by running the chief Profits of what they possess into the Company's hands. . . . Some upon this account quit the place. ... A tame submission is the only remedy for these Impositions, from which there is no appeal of relief, which is apt to embitter the Lives of the People, nor can any be very happy who are subject to the Tyranny of a Government that is under no restraint."'

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ovington) ‘John Ovington (1653–1731) was an English priest known for his travel narrative A Voyage to Surat in the Year 1689, which described his journey to Surat and his experiences there as an East India Company chaplain. Ovington travelled to India on the Benjamin, disembarking for a few days in Bombay before settling in Surat where he was to live for two and a half years. His travel memories, translated into French by Niceron in 1725 under the title of  "Voyages made to Surate & other places in Asia & Africa",  depict Bombay as a city of debauchery populated by prostitutes and drunkards. From his stay in Surat, Ovington describes the Mughal influence, the religious and cultural particularities of the Hindus and the Parses, and finally speculates on the status of the fakir, a Muslim hermit. Ovington describes the tea ceremony and praises the drink's consumption, a stance that earned him criticism from Alexander Hamilton. But the most interesting aspect of Ovington's travels is still his description of the organization and procedures of the English manufacture in Surat. Of all the travel accounts of this period, those of Ovington are, according to Riddick, the most interesting and the most witty.’