Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1563-1611) was just 16 years old when he decided it was time to leave the parental nest in Enkhuizen, Holland. He wanted to travel, to sail the seven seas, to discover new lands. He went to Portugal and later to Asia, and rose to become an important merchant and explorer. He wrote down his travel experiences in Itinerario. Voyage ofte Schipvaert van Jan Huygen van Linschoten naer Oost ofte Portugaels Indien (Itinerary. Jan Huygen van Linschoten’s Voyage or Passage to East or Portuguese India). His book made it possible for his countrymen to ply the sea routes to Asia. For decades it was to remain the most important source of information on trade in Asia.

These web pages give access to the travel reports of Jan Huygen van Linschoten and other well-known explorers. You may leaf through the entire Itinerario, but also – from cover to cover – through the Reizen van Abel Janszoon Tasman en Franchoys Jacobszoon Visscher ter nadere ontdekking van het Zuidland (Abel Janszoon Tasman’s and Franchoys Jacobszoon Visscher’s travels to explore the Southern Hemisphere), Reizen van Willem Barents, Jacob van Heemskerck, Jan Cornelisz. Rijp en anderen naar het Noorden (Travels of Willem Barents, Jacob van Heemskerck, Jan Cornelisz. Rijp and others to the North) and many other travel books as well.