Summary
Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1563-1611) was a Dutch traveler and explorer who spent six years (1583-89) in Goa, an important trading center on the west coast of India that Portugal annexed in 1510 and was to occupy for the next 450 years.

Linschoten was employed as bookkeeper to the local archbishop. After returning to the Netherlands, he wrote two books containing valuable information about the people and geography of India. Translated into English and published in London in 1598, Linschoten's works helped to stimulate Dutch and English interest in trade with India and the East Indies.