Clove (ship)

The Clove was an East Indiaman vessel best known as the first British trade ship to make port in Japan. Captained by John Saris, it landed at Hirado, near Nagasaki, on 11 June 1613.

First voyage (1611-14)
The Clove and two other ships set sail from the Downs on 18 April 1611, reaching Madagascar on 3 September 1611, Yemen in March 1612, Ceylon on 27 September 1612, Bantam on 24 October 1612, and Tidore on 11 March 1613, and finally passing Nagasaki on 10 June before arriving at Hirado on 11 June.

Saris opened a trading post and factory in Hirado, which he passed on to his colleague Richard Cocks when he left Japan in December that same year. Cocks would manage the post for roughly ten years before he was recalled by the British East India Company on charges of misconduct; he died of illness shortly after leaving Japan.

The Clove set sail from Hirado on 5 December 1613 and reached Bantam on 3 January 1614. Thereafter it sailed on 1 February and returned to Plymouth on 27 September, bringing Saris and his crew back to England after a voyage of more than three years.

Second voyage (1615-17)
Under the command of Master James Foster, who had previously sailed to Japan with Saris, the Clove sailed from Gravesend to Bantam, the Cocos Keeling Islands, and Saint Helena. It returned to the Downs on 20 June 1617.

Third voyage (1618-21)
Under the command of Master Richard Hunt, the Clove sailed from the Downs to Bantam, Batavia, and Jambi.

Fate
The ship was marked as laid up and rotten in 1623.