6. Java

Cover of 'Dialogues in the English and Malaiane Languages'

When you think about it, it must have been very hard for English sailors and traders from the East Indies to work together. They spoke different languages and had different religions and arts too. In Bantam on Java, most people spoke Malayan. Some English traders were able to use the phrasebook pictured here to translate.

How do you think the very first European traders managed to talk with the Javanese people, before this phrasebook was written?