Cape Good Hope 1652-1702

103 - Luillier

Translated from his ‘Voyage ...’, Hague 1706. He sailed from L'Orient in March 1702 in an unnamed ship, with L'Etoile d'Orient and Saint Louis. ‘Baptism’ of neophytes on the Equator described.

We continued on our course with a favourable wind, and on May 17 we had soundings on the Banc des Aiguilles [Agulhas] at 10 o'clock in the morning: on May 18 we had similar soundings, in both cases at 90 fathoms. This bank is near the Cape de bonne Esperance on 36 degrees South: it may be 80 leagues in length or a little more. Codfish and various other fish may be taken on this shoal, and fish are found here called ‘Devils’. These ... are round in shape and have a horn on the head, some of them very long, and it is from this horn that they have their name, up to 300 leagues out to sea. [Apparently mispunctuated: read ‘... their name. Up to 300 leagues out to sea,’] birds are seen which are to be found only in these waters, which for this reason are called ‘Cape Birds’.

The Cape is a very difficult place to pass: sudden storms are common there because of the configuration of the sea which extends around this extreme point of land, and

[p. 475]

ships are so often lost there that when it is doubled a Te Deum is sung as an act of thanksgiving. It is a place occupied by the Dutch, who not only carry on the same trade as ourselves, but also, having almost all the spices in the Indies, make of the Cape their entrepôt, which is of great convenience to the ships which they send to the Indies. Pretty good wine is to be had there; and since this country is exactly the opposite of our hemisphere, the seasons there are just the reverse of ours.... The grape-harvest is in May. A good many of the products grown in Europe are also grown there, such as wheat, apricots, quinces and other similar fruits.

The people of this country, called Hotantos, are more like animals than men. They worship the sun, prostrating themselves when it rises [sic], and believe that they receive light and life only from it. Their food is in no way different from that of the animals. Since the country lies within the Temperate Zone it is cold in Winter; but to protect themselves against this they cover themselves with sheepskins, often half rotten and stinking. It is pitiful to see these poor folk, since after all they are human beings.... For a long time it was impossible to understand their language, and it is almost impossible for them to understand ours [sic], so that they can be made to understand what is wanted by signs only. The sheep are very large, and have long wool [sic], and a tail which weighs up to eight pounds: the meat is good, as also is that of the cattle, which are found in great numbers.

On the 20th of the same month we doubled the Cape ... two leagues from it is the Robin Island, whither the Dutch exile all those who are disaffected.

Next day, the 21st, we sang a Te Deum after the Mass, to thank God for His favour in preserving us from all the sudden storms and dangers usually met with by those who double this promontory....

His navigation is odd: like Lacombe of item 23, he says that they were off Cape Agulhas before doubling the Cape of Good Hope, somewhat improbably in an eastward passage.