ABSTRACT
Speaking of failures in Anglo-Asian encounters, one suffers from a veritable embarrassment of riches, and indeed, the entire history of early English encounters with East Asia seems to be a story of repeated and impressive failure. Perhaps the earliest text in English about East Asia is the Travels of Sir John Mandeville from the 14th century, in which Mandeville claims that he had served the Chinese Emperor. Queen Elizabeth I, intent on catching up with the other trading nations of Europe, had sent a letter to the Emperor of China in 1596, requesting trade privileges. From 1600 to 1700, ambitions have spread: the Queen's hope—to deal with East Asia—has become a national hope, and tellingly, George Psalmanazar's hoax addresses not so much the monarch as the nation. On Formosa, Psalmanazar's Description suggests, the English could cut out the middlemen.
