Crews and passengers on trading voyages round the world were often among the first to see new cultures and customs, and some of their observations have been preserved for the modern audience in autobiographies and adventure narratives. As well as describing the physical world, these narratives relate the beliefs and spiritual practices of indigenous peoples with a sense of wonder, naturally comparing what the authors witnessed to the only religion they had ever known – Christianity. These early studies are fascinating to read, and it is interesting to compare the observations written by ordinary seamen and adventurers with those written by missionaries and chaplains deliberately travelling to far-flung places to eliminate ‘heathenism’ and encourage the adoption of Christianity.