The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 03 — Text and Context

From Classical Allusion to Commercial Inventory

The volume's opening treatise is steeped in Renaissance humanism. The author, a Polish writer drawing on Muscovite chronicles, frames his subject by comparing it to the foundation myths of Greece and Rome. He notes that nations 'ascribe the same vnto such authors as liued among men in great honour' and warns against 'meere fables and fictions.' This is a historian self-consciously positioning his work against a backdrop of classical authority. The prose is periodic, with balanced clauses and a measured pace suited to scholarly argument.

Contrast this with the later letters from the Muscovy Company. Here the sentences become shorter, more direct, and packed with specific data: 'As for Masts, Tarre, Hempe, Feathers, or any such other like, they would not beare the charges.' The language is that of merchants calculating costs and risks. The shift in pace is abrupt—from the stately unfolding of dynastic origins to the urgent listing of commodities and prices. Hakluyt's arrangement forces the reader to adjust between these two registers, highlighting the range of English interests in the region.

The Voice of the Merchant: Specificity and Imperative

The commercial correspondence in this volume is remarkable for its level of detail. The company's instructions to its agents are not general exhortations but precise orders: 'send vs for proofe a quantity of such earth, hearbes, or what thing soeuer it be, that the Russes do die and colour any kinde of cloth.' The writer specifies the exact types of fur ('good marterns, miniuers, otherwise called Lettis and Mynkes'), the desired form of copper ('in plates or in round flat cakes'), and even the need for samples of cloth with 'the skantlings of them with part of the lists.'

The tone is imperative and managerial. The company appoints Henry Lane as an agent with 'like authoritie and power' as the existing factors, and it instructs the agents to oversee ten young apprentices, sending home any who are 'remisse, negligent, or otherwise misuse themselues.' The voice is that of a corporation seeking control over distant operations. This is not the language of exploration or wonder; it is the language of trade logistics, where every commodity is assessed for its vendibility and every measure must be compared to English standards.

Pace and Purpose: The Rhythm of Information

The volume's pacing is determined by the nature of the documents Hakluyt selected. The genealogical treatise moves slowly, with digressions into classical history and moral reflections on the vanity of national pride. Its sentences are long and complex, building a scholarly tone. In contrast, the company letters are brisk and utilitarian. They list items in rapid succession—'Masts, Tarre, Hempe, Feathers'—and shift from one commodity to the next without transition. The rhythm is that of a mind cataloguing possibilities.

This variation in pace serves a purpose. The slower, reflective passages establish a framework of legitimacy and historical depth, while the faster, commercial passages convey the urgency of trade. Hakluyt does not smooth over these differences; he lets them stand, allowing the reader to experience the multiple registers of English engagement with Russia. The result is a volume that feels less like a unified narrative and more like a mosaic of voices, each with its own tempo and concerns.

Readers approaching this volume should attend to the way Hakluyt juxtaposes genres. The genealogical treatise and the merchant letters are not merely different subjects; they represent different ways of knowing and valuing the world. One seeks to establish a nation's place in history through learned allusion; the other seeks to establish a market through precise observation. The volume's interest lies in the friction between these modes, and in the questions it raises about what kind of knowledge—humanist or commercial—was most useful to the English as they expanded their reach into northeastern Europe.