Appendices incl. observations on Australia and on Aborigines; p.436; About 1000 Bugis from Macassar collect trapang in northern Australia annually; p.442-446; Settlements at Melville Island, 1824 and Raffles Bay, 1827 - subsequent abondonment, clashes with Aborigines; Desirability of northern settlement; reasons against making Port Essington a penal establishment; p.454-456; Views of the Aborigines of the Wellington Valley, N.S.W., about the inland sea quoted from Dr. Henderson and W.H. Breton; similar views of Swan River Aborigines, information from Mr. Moore.

Walter Heathfield and his sister Emily are rescued from a sinking ship, along with their dying father, moments before the ship finally vanishes. After their relations refuse to pick them up, the ship's captain decides to take both children with him on a journey to the eastern seas. A tale of voyage and adventure among the islands of the Malay Archipelago.

The book charts in detail successive voyages by members of the Larkins family, who were leading owners of East India Company ships, showing what it was like to sail to and trade with India in this period. It provides a great deal of material on trade, warfare, developments in seamanship and navigation, the opening up of trade to China, and much more.

'In Stockwin's hands the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world' - Guardian With Bonaparte held to a stalemate in Europe, the race to empire is now resumed. Britain's ambitions turn to the Spice Islands, the Dutch East Indies, where Admiral Pellew has been sent to confront the enemy's vastly rich holdings in these tropical islands. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd joins reinforcements to snatch these for the British Crown. The two colonial masters of India and the East Indies face each other in mortal striving for the region - there can be only one victor to hold all the spoils. The colonial genius, Stamford Raffles, believes Britain should strike at the very centre of Dutch spice production, the Moluccas, rather than the fortresses one by one but is fiercely opposed. Kydd, allying himself to this cause, conspires to lead a tiny force to a triumphant conclusion - however the Dutch, stung by this loss, claim vengeance from the French. A battle for Java and an empire in the East stretches Kydd and Tyger's company to their very limits. ************* Praise for Julian Stockwin's Kydd series 'Paints a vivid picture of life aboard the mighty ship-of-the-line' Daily Express 'This heady adventure blends fact and fiction in rich, authoritative detail' Nautical Magazine 'Fans of fast-paced adventure will get their fill with this book' Historical Naval Society

First Published in 1966.This volume adds to maritime history with information on trade in the Eastern Seas from 1793 to 1813. It is a description of conditions not a narrative of events.