Background
There is little biographical information about his early years. He presumably, was born in Derby.
There is little biographical information about his early years. He presumably, was born in Derby.
It is known that in 1575 he received a two-year loan from the company Worshipful Company of Leathersellers. In February 1583, together with the company he bought a ship Tiger and went on a voyage to the Middle East. From Aleppo, he reached the Euphrates and, having passed through the rivers all the Mesopotamia and having visited Baghdad and Basra, reached the Persian Gulf. In Ormuz he was arrested along with his companions by the Portuguese and in the autumn of the same year he was sent to the Portuguese port in India Goa. There, thanks to the intercession of the Jesuits, they eventually gained freedom. In April 1584, Fitch set out to travel the Mogul Empire, visiting many cities in India, including Allahabad and Benares, then went to Pegu, Burma and Shan, in 1588 reached Malacca. In the autumn of the same year, he set off on his return journey through Bengal, Goa, Ormuz, Basra, Aleppo, Tripoli and the Mediterranean, and when arriving in London on April 29, 1591, he found out that he had already been declared dead at home. He continued to work in Leathersellers, in 1608 he became a part of its management.
There is no evidence he ever married.