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Fruit in Sailor's Accounts During the Golden Age of Piracy, Page 7

Fruit Found In A Single Sailor's Account, Continued

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Seagrape

Called by Sailors: Bread-fruit, Melory Fruit

Appears: 2 Times, in 1 Unique Ship Journey by William Dampier.¹

Locations Found: Guam & Great Nicobar Island, India

Of the sailor's accounts, under study, breadfruit is only found in William Dampier's text when he was sailing on the buccaneer ship Cygnet in the late 1680s. He mentions (and describes) it twice, once in 1686 and later in 1688, thinking it to be two different fruits. He describes it what he found at Guam thus: "The Fruit grows on the boughs like Apples: it is as big as a Pennyloaf, when Wheat is at five Shillings the Bushel. It is of a round shape, and hath a thick tough rind. When the Fruit is ripe, it is yellow and soft and the taste is sweet and pleasant."² His report of the Indian melory fruit (actually a variety of breadfruit³) expands on this description. "It is shaped like a Pear, and hath a pretty tough smooth Rind, or a light green Colour. The inside of the Fruit is in Substance much like an Apple; but full of small Strings, as big as a brown Thread."⁴

Photo: Daniel di Palma - Seagrapes (Coccoloba uvifera) The most unusual instance of a grape (well, almost) comes from William Dampier's description of the buccaneer Cygnet, which was at Côn Sơn Island, Vietnam in 1687. He describes something he calle a 'Grape-tree'. "The Fruit grows in Clusters, all about the Body of the Tree, like the Jack, Durian, and Cacao Fruits. There are of them both red and white. They are much like such Grapes as grow on our Vines, both in shape and colour; and they are of a very pleasant winy taste."⁶ John Masefield, who edited a version of Dampier's book, identifies this as "a shrub of the genus Coccolobo."⁷ Seagrapes, or Coccoloba uvifera, are found in Vietnam, and it is almost certain this which Dampier is talking about. Like red grapes, the fruit starts out green and turns purple when ripe. "Though not true grapes, these fruits are edible and the taste is often compared to muscadine grapes."⁸ So this particular entry refers to something that is not really a grape, although it has been counted here rather than create a unique entry.

¹ William Dampier, A New Voyage Round the World, 1699, p. 296 & 478; ² Dampier, 1699, p. 296-7; ³ Dampier, Dampier's Voyages, Vol. 1, John Masfield, ed., p. 475; ⁴ Dampier, 1699, p. 478;⁶ Dampier, 1699, p. 392; ⁷ Dampier, Dampier's Voyages, Vol. 1, John Masefield, ed., p. 475; ⁸ Seagrape, University of Florida website, gathered 3/16/22;

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Lychee

Called by Sailors: Lucumo

Appears: 2 Times, in 2 Unique Ship Journeys.¹

In Author: Amedee-Francois Frezier

Type of Ship: Merchant

Locations Found in Sailor's Accounts: Coquimbo & Hiloe, Chile

Lychees only appear in one sailor's account, which suggests it was either not popular with the many sailors who visited and wrote about the East Indies or was not widely found. Alexander Hamilton only includes them in a list and he calls them 'letchs'; the Malaysian word for lychee is 'laici', which is similar to Hamiton's word. Still, it is possible that he may not even be talking about a lychee. However, since they do grow in Malaysia, this is the author's best guess given that he prefaces his description with "The Hills [in 'Trangaro'] are low, and covered with evergreen Trees, that Accommodate the Inhabitants with Variety of delicious Fruits"². Lychees are indeed the fruit of an evergreen tree.

^1,2 Alexander Hamilton, A New Account of the East Indies, 1746, p. 438-9; ² John Gerard, The Herball or General Historie of Plantes, 2nd ed, 1636, p. 914; ³ Juan Gonzales de Mendoza, The history of the great and mighty kingdom of China and the situation thereof, 1853, p. 14; ⁴ Michal Piotr Boym, Flora Sinesis, 1656, interpreted by the author, not paginated;

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