century, who as many Czechs after him started his voyage from Gdańsk (Danzig, PL). He was followed by range of diplomats, missionaires, travellers and scientists. Of course, there were some real sailors among them, like e.g. ship surgeon Jindřich Vávra from Brno, who took part of a round-the-world voyage of Austrian frigate Novara and later he sailed the world again aboard frigate Donau. Czechs also have their explorers. Julius Payer, a native of the town of Teplice, was a captain of Vizeadmiral Tegetthoff, the ship that discovered Franz Josef Land in 1873. That’s why you can find the names of Czech towns Teplice, Brno or Šanov in the Arctic.

One of the most interesting Czech seamen, especially for us, was Augustine Herrman. He and his brig La Grace are apparently the first ones, who wrote real Czech naval history.

Augustine Herrman
1605 – 1685, one of the first Czech emigrants to America, tradesman and politician

He left Bohemia with other exiles after the battle on White Mountain in 1620. Final defeat of Czech protestant army meant huge emigration wave to Poland and Dutch Seven Provincies where also young Herrman decided to go. The first mention of Herrman in America dates to 1633. In service of West India Company he negotiated with Indians about purchase of land near today´s Philadelphia. Since 1644 he lived in New Amsterdam (New York), being an owner of three comfortable houses. He gained high position, too. Mr. Herman become a member of Governor Peter Stuyvesant’s highest council, so called Council of the Nine, and started to trade with him. Smokers will be delighted, that he belonged to the initiators of tobacco trade, which he imported over the ocean to Europe. But big companies are named after big men, meant by political power. And power of the governor is bigger then power of a chairman, so we nowadays smoke Peter Stuyvesant, not Augustine Herman cigarettes! Besides he was active as a tradesman and privateer of the Caribbean. He also became famous as a brilliant cartographer. Around 1670 he made the first and superior map of Virginia and Maryland for Cecil Calvert, Lord of Baltimore. He added his portrait on the map calling himself proudly: "Augustine Herrman Bohemian". The map was so good, that even seventy years after its printing in 1673 it was rated as the best map of that area. As a benefit for such a precise work Herrman got a large piece of land, which he named – how else – “Bohemia Manor” and where he also built a big house. Furthermore, one of the first pictures of New York from the year 1650, discovered in 1992 by the workers of Austrian National Library in Vienna, is another excellent work of Augustine Herrman. He was undoubtly an exceptional person.
His naval life was connected particularly with his ship “La Grace”. She accompanied him on his trade or exploring voyages around Europe, America, islands of Caribbean or over the Atlantic. La Grace is said to be the best known privateer of the early American history. Every year she sailed to the Caribbean to attack Spanish ships with Governor’s permission. Her “day of glory” came with two Spanish barks fully loaded with sugar, tobacco and wine near the cost of Guatemala.