A passage to China: Colin Campbell's diary of the first Swedish East India Company expedition Canton, 1732 33

The departure from Gothenburg on 7 March 1732 of the Fredericus Rex Sueciae, the first vessel manned and armed by the newly established Swedish East India Company, represented the start of an enterprise that was ultimately to send more than 130 ships to the Far East, establishing for the first time regular relations between Sweden and China. In charge on board, and acting also as Minister Plenipotentiary of the King of Sweden to the Chinese Emperor, was the first supercargo Colin Campbell, a Scotsman by birth but by now a naturalized Swede and one of the three directors of the new Company, in fact the only one who had any previous experience of trading with the Far East, having formerly been in the service of other East India companies. This volume contains the unabridged and fully indexed text of Campbell's diary with an extensive introduction and copious explanatory footnotes. We have here a detailed and vivid account of the adversities of the eventful voyage, according to Campbell largely caused by the incompetent and sottish Swedish captain. In addition, the diary provides invaluable information on commercial transactions in Canton, including prices and availability of teas, silks, and porcelain. Among Campbell's many interesting observations is that of a hitherto unknown comet, which has now been officially recognized and registered.