Posted by Terence McManus on October 07, 1997 at 03:37:06:
In Reply to: Re: The Hundredth Port; What country does Misee lee open in? posted by Peter on October 06, 1997 at 08:15:28:
After seeing the original mails I dug out my copy of Missee Lee and a Times Atlas to see if I could come up with any more clues.
I agree with Peter that Formosa is ruled out and, in the same context,so is Indonesia (they speak of "The Dutch Islands" as a place they that might have visited after the 100th Port).
A further clue is Captain Flint's statement that it will take about four days to reach Swatow. Assuming that they could make about 120 miles a day this would place the 100th Port between four and five hundred miles from Swatow.
This also seems to rule out Formosa as being too close.
The Island of Luzon in the Northern Philippines is in this radius and seems to offer a reasonable fit with other clues:
-the harbour master could be Anglo-Spanish or have come from a Spanish family that traditionally employed English governesses,
-the mix of nationalities Chinese, Malay, Japanese, would be found in any seaport in the South China Sea,
- the harbour master and the coolies say "So Long", is this an Americanism picked up during thirty years of US administration?,
- leaving from the north of Luzon they would have to pass numerous small outlying Islands before reaching the open sea.
I have the impression that Missee Lee is set during the Northern Summer (May/June) since:
- in the picture "Navigation" the Sun is almost dead overhead and it is reasonable to assume they are near the lattitude of Swatow (say 20 degrees north),
- they are wearing tropical kit (in winter it's quite cold in these latitudes!),
- the "Dragon Festival" could be Tuen Ng which falls in May or June,
- the wind comes from the south east which suggests the summer monsoon.
Now, high summer is the Typhoon season in the South China Sea, either there is no wind or much too much. To add to this, when they reached Swatow it would be very hot and humid.
Why didn't Captain Flint wait until the Autumn when sailing these seas would be more pleasant? In the meantime they could have visited British Borneo which is known as "the lands below the wind" since Typhoons rairly if ever blow there. Did they have some reason for wanting to be in Singapore by a given time?