Ralph Fitch facts for kids

Ralph Fitch (born 1550, died 1611) was an English merchant from London. He was one of the very first British explorers and traders to visit faraway places like Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, India, Burma, and Malacca (which is now in Malaysia). He traveled for many years, from 1583 to 1591. When he returned to England in 1591, he became a very important advisor for the English East India Company, sharing what he had learned about these distant lands.

Ralph Fitch's Amazing Journeys

Starting the Adventure

Ralph Fitch was likely born in Derby, England. We first hear about him in 1575 when he received a loan from a group called the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers. This shows he was already involved in trade.

In February 1583, Ralph Fitch began a huge journey. He sailed on a ship called the Tyger to Tripoli in Syria. He traveled with other merchants, John Newberry and John Eldred, a jeweler named William Leedes, and a painter named James Story. Their trip was paid for by the Levant Company. This was part of England's efforts to start trading directly with places in the Indian Ocean and the Far East.

Across Deserts and Rivers

From Tripoli, they traveled to Aleppo. Then they reached the Euphrates River. They went down the river from Bir to Fallujah. After that, they crossed a large area of land in southern Mesopotamia to reach Baghdad. Finally, they went down the Tigris River to Basra. This part of their journey happened between May and July 1583.

In Basra, John Eldred stayed behind to trade. But Fitch and the others continued their journey. They sailed down the Persian Gulf to a Portuguese fort and trading post called Ormuz.

Captured and Escaping

When they arrived in Ormuz, the Portuguese quickly arrested them. They were accused of being spies! Fitch and his friends believed the Venetians had told on them. The Venetians were upset because Portugal had taken over much of the trade in the Indian Ocean.

Fitch and his friends were sent as prisoners to the Portuguese viceroy in Portuguese Goa and Damaon (India). This happened between September and October 1583. Luckily, two Jesuit priests helped them. One of them was Thomas Stevens, who was the first Englishman known to have reached India by sailing around Africa. Thanks to these priests, Fitch and his friends were set free.

James Story decided to stay with the Jesuits. But Ralph Fitch and the others managed to escape from Goa in April 1584.

Deep into India

After escaping, they traveled through the heart of India. They went to the court of the Great Mogul emperor Akbar, who was probably in Agra at the time. The jeweler, William Leedes, found a good job working for Akbar.

Ralph Fitch, however, kept exploring. He started the next part of his journey from Agra to Allahabad. He joined a group of "one hundred and fourscore boates" (180 boats) that were carrying salt, opium, and other goods down the Yamuna River. He reached Allahabad around November 1585. At that time, Emperor Akbar's great fort in Allahabad was almost finished.

In September 1585, John Newberry decided to go back home by land through Lahore. Sadly, he disappeared in the Punjab region and was likely robbed and killed.

Exploring Southeast Asia

Fitch continued his travels, going down the Jumna and Ganges rivers. He visited many important cities like Benares, Patna, and Chittagong between 1585 and 1586. He was very impressed by the fine Indian muslin cloth he saw.

Next, he traveled by sea to Pegu and Burma. He explored the Rangoon area and went some distance up the Irrawaddy River. He learned a lot about the inland areas of Pegu and even reached the Tai people in the Shan states and the Tai kingdom of Lanna in late 1586 and early 1587.

In early 1588, he visited Portuguese Malacca, which was another strong Portuguese fort and a gateway to the Far East. However, the security was too tight, and he couldn't get a ship to go further into the China Sea.

The Long Journey Home

In the autumn of 1588, Ralph Fitch began his trip back home. First, he went to Bengal. Then he sailed around the Indian coast, stopping at Portuguese Cochin and Goa, before reaching Ormuz. From there, he went up the Persian Gulf to Basra and then up the Tigris River to Mosul (near ancient Nineveh). Finally, he traveled through Tirfa and Bir on the Euphrates.

He was appointed as the Levant Company's Consul in Aleppo and Tripoli, which meant he was in charge of their trade in those areas. He finally arrived back in London on April 29, 1591. This was eight years after he had left! No one had heard from him during that time, so his family and friends had thought he was dead after seven years, and his will had even been read.

Ralph Fitch continued his work with the Leathersellers' Company. He became a Liveryman in 1599, a Warden in 1607, and joined the company's Court of Assistants in 1608. His amazing experiences were very helpful to the people who started the English East India Company. One of them, Sir James Lancaster, often asked him for advice about India.

Ralph Fitch was truly one of the most remarkable English adventurers of his time. He never married, and when he died in 1611, he left most of his money to his eight nieces and two nephews.

Ralph Fitch's Legacy

Ralph Fitch's journey was so famous that even William Shakespeare mentioned it! In his play Macbeth (around 1606), the First Witch talks about a sailor's wife, saying: "Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master of the Tyger." This is a direct reference to Ralph Fitch's ship and his journey.

Books About Ralph Fitch

• Aanmerklyke Reys van Ralph Fitch, Koopman te Londen, Gedaan van Anno 1583 tot 1591, (1706), Leyden, Van der Aa [1]
• Ralph Fitch, England's Pioneer To India And Burma: His Companions And Contemporaries, (1899), John Horton Ryley, ISBN: 978-1104443993

See Also

• Chronology of European exploration of Asia
• John Mildenhall