Musicians and performers on early English voyages played during pivotal introductions with kings, dignitaries, and merchants. These occasions helped establish peaceful relations and trade negotiations, both long-term (in anticipation of future voyages) and short-term (buying and selling immediately). Musicians’ roles may not seem important, since they were not high-ranking officers who negotiated terms, yet they had an important role as diplomatic agents. Presented by their commander as part of formal greetings and exchanging gifts, shipboard players gave elaborate performances to show good will and keep the representatives of their host kingdom in high spirits. These performances were given as “kind entertainment.” Although the phrase refers to many diversions in English voyaging documents, kind entertainment also includes acts of diplomacy such as showing goods and wares, offering ship tours, having in-depth discussions (on politics, religion, economy, and culture), victualling for the journey, and most notably, giving elaborate performances.

This chapter will focus on diplomatic encounters in Asia and Africa during four English voyages: the circumnavigations of Drake (1577–1580) and Cavendish (1586–1588), followed by the East India Company's third voyage (1607–1610), and lastly, the EIC's trade factory in Japan (1613–1623). I discuss not only musical performances but also different forms of play-acting as they are described in Java, Sierra Leone, and Hirado, respectively. The Englishmen who performed for royalty included naval musicians, civilian performers, professional players, and amateur sailors and laymen. Generally, these performers were prepared to impress their hosts, but they were sometimes tasked to give impromptu performances with little rehearsal time.