Nicholas Downton
Nicholas Downton (1561–1615) was an English East India Company commander who took part in several early trading voyages to the East and fought the Portuguese on India’s western coast.
Downton was born in Bushley, Worcestershire, in early 1561, the son of John and Katherine Downton. In 1594, by order of the Earl of Cumberland, he commanded the Samson at the action of Faial, helping destroy the Portuguese carrack Las Cinco Chagas, though he was badly wounded in the fight.
By 1605 he had recovered and led a trading voyage aboard the Pilgrim to Cumaná and other Caribbean ports. The voyage carried tobacco, and records suggest the Pilgrim returned home via Virginia, with the Earl of Cumberland as a principal shareholder.
Early in 1610 Downton was named to command the EIC’s ship Peppercorn, joining Sir Henry Middleton on the Trade’s Increase for the Company’s sixth voyage to the Far East, with the Darling. After stopping at the Cape Verde Islands and Saldanha Bay, they reached Aden on 7 November. Middleton went on to Mocha, where he was treacherously attacked and captured on 28 November. A loss of the Turks’ ships followed, and Downton, who had come to Mocha to confer with Middleton, found himself temporarily in command of the expedition.
Downton spent the next eighteen months largely in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, trying to establish trade. He learned that pepper from Tecoa on Sumatra had been deceitfully packed—some bags contained paddy or rice, others had rotten pepper in new sacks. In late 1612 Middleton went to Bantam in the Peppercorn, while Downton followed in the Trade’s Increase. The Peppercorn struck a hidden rock and began leaking, so Downton refitted her at Tecoa and then, with Middleton, decided she could not go home until careened. Downton was chosen to take Peppercorn home, sailing on 4 February 1613 (Old Style).
The voyage home was difficult and deadly. Within days many crew members fell ill with sickness; Downton himself was dangerously ill. The ship reached Waterford on 13 September 1613 and the Downs a month later.
On 1 January 1614 a new ship, the New Year’s Gift, was launched for the company, and Downton was appointed to command her and to be general of the company’s ships in the East Indies. His four-ship fleet included the Hector (Arthur Spaight), the Hope (Matthew Molineux), and the Solomon (Hugh Bennet), with factors William Edwards, Nicholas Ensworth (or Emsworth), and Thomas Elkington aboard the ships.
The fleet sailed again on 7 March and stopped at Saldanha Bay on 15 June. After visiting Socotra, Downton and his men reached Surat on 15 October. The Portuguese, determined to resist, gathered a large fleet at Goa.
The conflict came in January 1614–15 at Swally (Sutherland Channel) near Surat. The English were sheltered in the channel and successfully defended against the Portuguese, who attacked the Hope and other vessels. The Portuguese eventually withdrew after heavy fighting. The Nawab of Surat visited Downton on 25 February, presenting him with his own sword; Downton replied with his sword and other gifts in a gesture of mutual respect, though he remained wary of internal rivalries within the company.
On 3 March Downton left Surat with his four ships, and the Portuguese fleet did not pursue. They continued toward Bantam, rounding Cape Comorin on 19 March and anchoring at Bantam Roads on 2 June. The return to the “stinking stew” of Bantam proved fatal for Downton, who died there on 6 August 1615. Elkington noted the death, and Downton was buried ashore at dawn with a volley fired to honor him. His son George had died earlier, on 3 February 1615 at Surat, while they were awaiting renewed Portuguese attacks.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:28 (CET).