Laurence Aldersey (1546–1597/8) was an English explorer who made two journeys to the Levant, the accounts of which, ‘set downe by himself,’ are preserved in ''Principall Navigations'' by

Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America'' (1582) and ''The Pri ...

. He was born at Aldersey Hall in

Spurstow Spurstow is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which is located 6½ miles to the north west of Nantwich. The parish also includes the settlement of Spurstow Sketh ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, the sixth child of Thomas Aldersey (died 1557) and his wife, Cecilia née Garnet ( fl. 1513–94). His father served as both sheriff and mayor of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. He is not known to have married. He was related to

Thomas Aldersey Thomas Aldersey (1521/22 – December 1598; also AldersayLake 1983, pp. 81–86 or Aldersaye) was an English merchant, haberdasher, member of Parliament and philanthropist. A contemporary description placed him among the "wisest and best merch ...

(1521/2–98), a London merchant and member of parliament.

First journey

Aldersey set out on his first journey on 1 April 1581, traveling overland through Holland and Germany to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, where he embarked on board a vessel bound for

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. From there he sailed in a small bark and landed at Joppa (

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

), finally reaching

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, the goal of his journey on 12 August. After a visit of ten days to the Holy City and its environs, he returned by the way he came, passing through

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, and finishing his journey to and from Jerusalem in the space of nine months and five days.

Second journey

His second journey was made by sea. Embarking at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in the ship ''Hercules,'' of London, 21 February 1586, he sailed through the Straits and first touched at the Goletta of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

; from there he sailed to Zante and to Patras in the

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...

. There, he and his company were received with honour by the ''cadi'' of the town, as they had on board the ''Hercules'' twenty Turks, ‘redeemed by Sir

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...

in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, at which the ''cadi'' marvailed much at the Queenes Maiestie of England being a woman of such power and renown.’ From there he sailed to various islands in the Grecian Archipelago, and after a second visit to Cyprus he landed at Tripolis, in Syria, whence he took a small passage boat and finally reached Alexandria on 28 July. The only Englishman to receive him there was Thomas Rickman, master of the ship ''Tyger'' of London, who worthily performed the duties of a guide to the place. After visiting all the objects of interest in or near

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

during a visit of fourteen days, he made his way to Argiers (Algiers); leaving this place on 7 January, he landed at Dartmouth on 1 February, and seven days later ‘came to London, with humble thanks to Almightie God for his safe arrival.’ Considering the period at which they were written, Aldersey's observations on men and cities are exceedingly curious and interesting; as, for instance, those upon

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

, and Alexandria. His remarks upon the

Doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

and the Jews of Venice are worthy of the attention of the student of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. Aldersey describes himself as a merchant of London.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldersey, Laurence English explorers English orientalists 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown English expatriates in the Ottoman Empire British expatriate academics People from Cheshire 1546 births