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A VOYAGE TO ARABIA FELIX
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A VOYAGE TO ARABIA FELIX

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  1715 saw the first publication of "Voyage de l\\\'Arabie Heureuse" by Jean de La Roque. Such was the interest aroused by this book that English translations appeared in 1726, 1732 and 1742. This new edition (a facsimile of the second and best English edition of 1732) is therefore the first to appear in the last 260 years.

The book describes two voyages made by merchants from the French port of St Malo in 1708-1710 and 1711-1713. Their destination was Mocha on the Red Sea coast of Yemen and their objective was to purchase coffee, for which there was a growing demand throughout Europe. At this time Yemen was independent and enjoying economic importance as the main supplier of coffee. The description of the first voyage is both concise and poignant. In addition to the usual hazards of ocean travel, this was a time when the intense economic competition between the European powers often resulted in battle. Their difficulties did not end on reaching their destination. In Mocha it was necessary to establish relations with both local and Banian (Indian) traders. During the second voyage to Mocha the French Captain was asked to provide a doctor for the King of Yemen in his capital Muab, in the Yemen highlands. One of the ship\\\'s surgeons, M. Barbier, was escorted to Muab and attended to the King. The descriptions provided by Barbier are of significance, especially because, rather than focussing on geographical details, his attention was drawn to the social customs of the day.

The account of these two voyages was compiled by Jean de La Roque from letters and meetings with those who had taken a leading part. La Roque was particularly interested in the natural and social history of coffee. His two chapters covering these two subjects are of fundamental interest to all concerned with the history of coffee. The English editor of the book added an account of Sir Henry Middleton\\\'s forced journey to Sana\\\'a in 1612. This provides a contrasting picture of local etiquette to that acquired one hundred years later by the French during their voluntary visit.

The French merchants\\\' voyages heralded a new era in the exploration of Arabia and the information contained in this book was used by Niebuhr in his ensuing exploration of Yemen. The market for Yemeni coffee persisted for some years and, therefore, added to this new edition of La Roque is a description of the trade in Mocha and Bait al-Faqih by a French trader at the end of the eighteenth century: a translation of "New Travels in Arabia Felix; Or, notes on trade in the Red Sea and some remarks on the customs, habits, laws, armies, public revenues and population of Yemen in Arabia Felix, compiled there, in 1788, by M. Cloupet of the ÃŽle-de-France".



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