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Christopher Borough or Christopher Burrough (
fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
1579 – 1587), son of
Steven Borough Steven Borough (25 September 1525 – 12 July 1584) was an English navigator and an early Arctic explorer. He was master of the first English ship to reach the White Sea in 1553 and open trade with Russia on behalf of the Muscovy Company. He becam ...
, was an English adventurer, navigator and translator and the chronicler of one of the most interesting journeys into
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...
recorded in the pages of
Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America'' (1582) and ''The Pri ...
. He was fluent in Russian.


Biography

As part of the
Muscovy Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint s ...
, he left
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is th ...
on 19 June 1579. The fleet, having arrived at St. Nicholas in the
White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...
on 22 July, descended the Northern Dwina to
Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as a major transport hub of ...
. Proceeding thence overland to the left bank of the
Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...
, they once more reshipped in three barks at Yaroslaw on 14 September, terminating the first portion of their voyage down the Volga at
Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of ...
on 16 October 1579, where they wintered. Borough and his party, leaving Arthur Edwards, the chief agent, in charge at Astrakhan, embarked on 1 May 1580 on board an English-built bark for Persia. After having cleared the intricate navigation of the mouths of the Volga, but not without damage and loss, they made for
Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is ...
or some convenient port near it. Owing, however, to adverse winds, they were carried as far south as the Apsheron Peninsula, where they anchored off Bildh (Biala). Here they were entertained by the captain or governor of Baku, who directed them to make once more for Derbent, the chief emporium for traffic in those parts. Here they traded for silk and other goods from 22 June to 3 October. Borough's descriptions of Derbent and the neighbourhood of the ancient city of the fire-worshippers, Baku, are most interesting, as showing, on the one hand, the growth of the Turkish power, and, on the other, the decadence of the Persian power on the then little-known shores of the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad s ...
. Borough's thorough nautical training, received at the hands of both his father and uncle, is shown in the series of carefully made observations for latitude which are to be found in his narrative, and which are probably the earliest made with any degree of accuracy for these parts. After plying on and off the coast between Derbent and Baku to pick up stragglers, including two Spaniards who had fled from the Goletta near
Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...
, Borough's party returned to Astrakhan after many perils at sea on 4 December 1580, where they once more wintered. On the return of the open weather in April 1581, the traders to Persia set out on their homeward journey, and arrived at Rose Island, near St. Nicholas, on 16 July. The ship (''William and John''), laden with proceeds of the Persian voyage, shortly afterwards sailed for England, and arrived in the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...
on 25 September 1581. Borough's account of this journey was entitled ''Aduertisements and reports of the 6th voyage into the parts of Persia and Media for the Company of Merchants for the discouerie of new trades, in the yeares 1579, 80, and 81, gathered out of sundrie letters written by Christopher Burrough, servant to the saide companie, and sent to his uncle, Master William Burrough''. From another series of observations for latitude appended to the advertisements, made between July and November 1581, it would appear that Borough did not return to England with the fleet in that year, but found employment in visiting the English houses between
Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other re ...
and Astrakhan, where many of the observations were made. In November 1587, Borough addressed a letter to the governors of the Muscovy Company upon their affairs in Russia; this document, probably on account of its great length, has not yet received the attention it deserves. Among other things, it seems to expose in the strongest possible way the devious policy of Sir
Jerome Horsey Sir Jerome Horsey (c. 1550 – 1626), of Great Kimble, Buckinghamshire, was an English explorer, diplomat and politician in the 16th and 17th centuries. He spent much time in Russia over the course of seventeen years, first arriving in 1573 a ...
and his harsh treatment of J. Peacock and other agents sent out by the company in 1585. In this letter is a discussion of the decay and improvement of the Russia trade.


References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Borough, Christopher English explorers English translators English chroniclers Explorers of Asia 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century translators People of the Muscovy Company