Robert Knox (sailor)
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Robert Knox (8 February 1641 – 19 June 1720) was an English sea captain in the service of the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
. He was the son of another sea captain, also named Robert Knox.


Life

Born at
Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
in London, the young Knox spent most of his childhood in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
and was taught by James Fleetwood, later the
Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...
. He joined his father's crew on the ship ''Anne'' for his first voyage to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in 1655, at the age of 14, before returning to England in 1657. That year,
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
issued a charter granting the East India Company a monopoly of the Eastern trade, requiring the elder Knox and his crew to join the service of the Company. The two Knoxes sailed for
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
in January 1658. They suffered the loss of the ship's mast in a storm on 19 November 1659, forcing them to put ashore on
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, now
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. The ship was impounded and sixteen of the crew, including the Knoxes, were taken captive by the troops of the ruler of
Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...
, Rajasinghe II. The elder Knox had inadvertently angered the king by not observing the expected formalities and had the misfortune to do so during a period of conflict between the king and the Dutch East India Company. Although the crew was forbidden from leaving the kingdom, they were treated fairly leniently; the younger Knox was able to establish himself as a farmer, moneylender and pedlar. Both men suffered severely from
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
and the elder Knox died in February 1661 after a long illness. Robert Knox eventually escaped with one companion, Stephen Rutland, after nineteen years of captivity. The two men were able to reach Arippu, a Dutch fort on the north-west coast of the island. The Dutch treated Knox generously and transported him to Batavia (now
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
) in the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
, from where he was able to return home on an English vessel, the ''Caesar''. He arrived back in London in September 1680. During the voyage Knox wrote the manuscript of '' An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon'', an account of his experiences on Ceylon, which was published in 1681. Recently, this book has been translated into the
Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; Sinhala: , , ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. It is also the first ...
as "Knox Dutu Lakdiva" by Premachandra Alwis. The book was accompanied by engravings showing the inhabitants, their customs and agricultural techniques. It attracted widespread interest at the time and made Knox internationally famous, influencing
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...
's ''
Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...
'' as well as sparking a friendship with
Robert Hooke Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath who was active as a physicist ("natural philosopher"), astronomer, geologist, meteorologist, and architect. He is credited as one of the first scientists to investigate living ...
of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
. It is one of the earliest and most detailed European accounts of life on Ceylon and is today seen as an invaluable record of the island in the 17th century. Knox became a close friend and collaborator of Robert Hooke, for whom he frequently brought back gifts from his travels. In return, Hooke took Knox to the local coffeehouses for chocolate and tobacco, then considered luxuries. On one occasion, Knox presented Hooke with samples of "a strange intoxicating herb like hemp" which he dubbed "Indian hemp" or "Bangue"; it is better known today as ''
Cannabis indica ''Cannabis indica'' is an annual plant species in the family Cannabaceae indigenous to the Hindu Kush mountains of Southern Asia. The plant produces large amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), with total cann ...
'', a plant which was unknown at the time in Europe. Hooke gave an address to the Society in December 1689 in which he provided what was the first detailed description of cannabis in English, commending its possible curative properties and noting that Knox "has so often experimented it himself, that there is no Cause of Fear, tho' possibly there may be of Laughter." Knox also described termites, bees and ants in Ceylon. Knox was present when Hooke died on 3 March 1703 after a long illness and took on the responsibility of arranging his friend's burial.Cooper, Michael. ''A More Beautiful City: Robert Hooke and the Rebuilding of London After the Great Fire'', p. 71. Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2005. Knox continued to work for the East India Company for thirteen years after his return from the East, captaining the ship ''Tonqueen Merchant'' for four further voyages to the East. He enjoyed only mixed success and quarrelled with the company, which eventually dismissed him in 1694. Four years later he set himself up on his own trading vessel, the ''Mary'', but the venture was not a success. He returned permanently to England in 1701 and spent his retirement writing about Ceylon and his life. He died, prosperous but unmarried, at St Peter le Poer in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
in June 1720 and was buried at St Mary's Church, Wimbledon.


References


Book of the Month – ''An historical relation of the Island of Ceylon'' – March 2004
King's College London. * * Harry Williams (1964), ''With Robert Knox in Ceylon'', Frederick Muller Limited. * I. B. Watson, 'Knox, Robert (1641–1720)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2005


External links





* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Robert (sailor) 1641 births 1720 deaths 17th-century English non-fiction writers 17th-century English sailors 17th-century English explorers Writers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Sailors from London English explorers of the Pacific Sri Lankan people of English descent British East India Company people Burials at St Mary's Church, Wimbledon