The first Englishman on record to have voyaged directly to India was Thomas Stephens. Early travellers to India from England and mainland Europe were largely merchants seeking a share in India’s lucrative commodities, such as spices, dyes and textiles. Stephens, however, was there not for commodities but for Christ. A Jesuit missionary who travelled to India aboard a Portuguese ship, his aim was to spread his faith among the Indians in the Portuguese settlement of Goa.

Stephens arrived in India on 24 October 1579. Much must have struck the traveller, as he disembarked in this new land so far from home. It was the monsoon season, and the humid climes alone would have been sufficient to make him unwell as it did so many Europeans upon their first arrival. Interestingly, however, one of the chief Indian experiences to truly amaze him was a seemingly innocuous object: the coconut.

Two letters written by Stephens survives to this day. One, dated 10 November 1579 and written in English, is addressed to his father in England. The other, dated 24 October 1583 and written in Latin, is addressed to his brother in Paris. In both missives, Stephens describes the coconut and its many uses. To his father, he marvels at the greenery of his new Indian surroundings: ‘I have not seene tree here, whose like I have seene in Europe’. He then particularly remarks on palm trees, that bear ‘a fruit called cocoa [coconut]’ the water of which he terms, ‘wine of the palm tree’. Four years later, his letter to his brother reveals that the allure of the palm tree and its fruit had only grown in the mind of the missionary. Stephens goes into exacting detail, clearly amazed at the many uses of this singular tree and its refreshing fruit,

It gives oil, liquor, toddy, syrup, sugar and vinegar. Coir-rope is also made from it to tie with, and its branches are used to protect huts from rain…The shell furnishes the blacksmith with charcoal. Those that live near the sea not only load their boats with the tree, but also utilise it for making ropes and sails. You will find hardly any piece of writing except on its leaves.

A few years later, English merchant traveller, Ralph Fitch (d. 1611), would also visit India and go on to write about the many uses of the palm tree he too witnessed there:

The tree is called the palmer, which is the profitablest tree in the worlde. It doth alwayes beare fruit, and doth yeeld wine, oyle, sugar, vinegar, cords, coles; of the leaves are made thatch for the houses, sayle for the shippes, mats to sit or lie on; of the branches they make their houses, and brooms to sweepe; of the tree wood for shippes.

The incredibly resourceful palm tree was clearly something to be admired, and successive Englishmen in Mughal India could not help but be amazed. But perhaps the most fascinating reality is that many of these uses, related here by these enthralled travellers over four centuries ago, continue to this day in many parts of modern-day South Asia. Apart from the uses of its refreshing drink and fruit, the palm tree remains an exceptional – and environmentally friendly – resource. Coconut husks continue in use, often in furnishings such as mattress fillings, as well as rope manufacturing. The leaves of the palm tree are used to manufacture brooms and brushes as well as thatched roofs. The spherical coconut itself is used to fashion everything from ladles and bowls to buttons and jewellery. What Stephens and Fitch found fascinating in the late sixteenth century remains a rich source of learning for us today in a world where our impact on the environment is a considerable concern. These letters and memoirs are then not just records of the first English voyagers’ experiences in India, but a reminder that early modern Indian practices remain relevant and prevalent to this day. Perhaps we too can draw from the example.

Title Image: from a 15th-century edition of Dioscorides’s Tractatus De Herbis; accessed here