During the
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, normal routes from China westwards for British shipping were hampered by the
Dutch East Indies. The
Antelope had been returning from
Macau by the "Eastern Passage", a route designed to avoid the
south-west monsoon, but had strayed too far in the easterly direction. On the north coast of
New Guinea Wilson anchored in the vicinity of the
Schouten Islands. After some dialogue over two days with Papuan inhabitants who came out to the ship, in which Wilson used vocabulary collected by
Thomas Forrest at
Dory Harbour, Wilson felt the numbers he faced were threatening. He used small arms to deter them, and the crew of the
Antelope was attacked, an encounter in which the artist
Arthur William Devis was injured. The wreck on Ulong followed. Although Spain had claimed the islands previously, Wilson's crew made the first sustained contact, which was friendly. One of the crew of the
Antelope knew
Malay, allowing contact to be made with the
ibedul on Koror, whom Wilson treated as a local king, somewhat misapprehending his status, which was more like an elected official. While his men spent three months rebuilding the ship, Wilson entered an effective alliance with the
ibedul in conflicts with
Melekeok and others. One of the
Antelope's guns proved decisive, shipped in a boat and discharged with powder alone. ==Return to England==