List of Sea Captains - Lacking Articles

Lacking Articles

• Robert Barclay (sailor), (1785–1833), UK.
• Tim Caufield (1958- ) Numerous inland lake steam and passenger excursion vessels. USA
• Wilfred Dowman, Cutty Sark
• Kelly Faulkner, (1958–), American Royal Hawaiian Catamaran
• Manuel F. Gomes (1898–1906), Portuguese
• Tota Ishimaru (1881–1942), Japanese
• Takakzu Kinashi (1902–1944), Japanese
• Joe Niepsuj (1890–1963), Japan
• J. Angus Waters, Bluenose
• Captain John Drudge (17??-1842) 'The Pearl' Captured and killed the pirate Nicholas Brown 1726.
• Rajandra 1, is the Pioneer In Sailing : In 1007 AD Rajaraja in an inscription in south Mysore, mentions his victory over 1200 ancient islands (Maldive Islands). It was during his reign that trade in the East intensified in countries in the Bay of Bengal, Sumatra. Malaya etc. The expansion of the trade in the East was carried out by his son Rajendra 1,who had taken many ancient islands. These lands taken over had colonies of Tamil soldiers stationed for protection of their trade. An important source of pepper was the ' pepper island' (Pulau Lada ),of Langkawi where the Cholas capitalised in the trade of spices.
• Tamils or the first sailors beforthe west: The Tamils and their Trade Exploits

Far from the distant past, long before the sea-route was discovered by the western mariner, the carriage of goods for trade between East and West was by long hazardous desert and mountain routes which is popularly referred to as the 'Silk Route'.

The Silk Route - First Century AD

This overland journey entailed confrontation with roaming bandits who were adept in the art of ambushing the passage of caravans specially through Central Asia. Although there was an element of risk the caravans moved freight with armed escorts. As a result of this, the cost of merchandise began to rise no sooner it reached its destination.

Long before the 'Silk Route' was used, the enterprising Dravidian merchants were sailing around the Indian coast and to the Persian Gulf as early as 3500 BC. The Dravidians of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa had their harbour in the bay of Cambay and disposed of their merchandise in Mesopotamia. The merchandise in turn was carried in caravans overland to the port of Tyre and thence to Egypt. After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, the port of Alexandria became the entrepot of the ancient western world. It was in the Gulf of Aden that the Egyptian, Greek, Arab, Indian etc., met to exchange their merchandise.

According to Srinivasa Iyengar he states that,

' Indian teak was found in the ruins of Ur (Mugheir), which was the capital of Sumeria in 4000 BC and the SINDHU or muslin is mentioned in an ancient Babylonian list of clothing. The occurrence of ' s' in the word proves that this muslin did not go to Mesopotamia via Persia, for then 's' would have become 'h' in Persian months, as the name of this country, derived from the name of the river Sind, became Hind. I therefore conclude that muslin went direct by sea from the Tamil coast to the Persian coast and the Babylonian word Sindhu for muslin is not derived the river (as supposed so), but from the old Dravidian word, SINDI, which is still found in Tulu and Canares, and means a piece of cloth' and is represented by the Tamil word SINDU, a flag'. (ZHT,pp 39 & 39).

There is some evidence that the trade of south India extended to Egypt in the 3rd millennium BC. W.H. Schoff says, thousands of years before the emergence of the Greeks from savagery Egypt and the nations of Ancient India came into being, and a commercial system was developed for the interchange of products within those limits, having its centre of exchange near the head of the Persian Gulf. The people of that region, the various Arab tribes and more specially those ancestors of the Phoenicians, the mysterious Red Men, were active carriers or intermediaries.