In this short statement , made by Mrs Croft in answer to Mrs Musgrove, JA provides us with much information, not only about the wonderful Mrs Croft ( my nomination for the JA character I'd most like to have lunch with) but about the work of the British Navy of the time:

"Pretty well, ma'am, in the fifteen years of my marriage; though many women have done more. I have crossed the Atlantic four times, and have been once to the East Indies and back again, and only once; besides being in different places about home: Cork, and Lisbon, and Gibraltar. But I never went beyond the Streights, and never was in the West Indies. We do not call Bermuda or Bahama, you know, the West Indies."

JA knew this world well: not only from the newspaper reports(her lettesr often repeat news printed in the Times, either on the day the newspaper was published or the following day) but also from the news her brothers could tell her by letter or in person.

Here is the map of the world dated 1812, which we have used for the Persuaison Gazetteer.

And here , from Brian Lavery's book Nelson's Navy is something to compare it with : a map showing British Overseas Naval Bases from 1793-1815:

You can see quite easily ,I think that in the main Mrs Cort has travelled around most of the important British naval bases,and JA has plotted her travels with some precision and much knowledge which she had so obviously gained from following the careers of her sailor brothers, Frank and Charles.

Let's take a look in more detail of the individual places Mrs Croft mentions to try and experience the details of some of the places she visited.

First, the East Indies;

As you can see from the Lavery map, Bombay and, more importantly Madras were the main stations for the British East India Company and had been since 1626.

Madras or Fort St George, a fort and town of the peninsula of Hindostan on the coast of Coromandel built in the reign of Charles II by the English East India Company under the superintendence of Sir William Langhorne. It is the principal settlement of the English on the East side of the peninsular and is a fortress of very great extent including within it a well built city.
See :A Compendious Geographical Dictionary by B P Capper (1813)

Perhaps we can speculate why the Crofts went to the East indies. They may have been on a similar mission to Francis Austen's while on board the St AlbansThey could have been on board ships providing safe passage for the Company's convoys, the Indiamen. In 1810 Frank Austen received formal thanks from the Admiralty and a reward of 1,000 guineas and some silver plate from the East India Company :

" for his sucess in convoying their ships to and from the far East : while lying at anchor in the river of Canton there had been quarrels between the English ssailors and the Chinese inhabitants and it was only by virtue of Frank's tact and firmness that the convoy had been able to leave China safely
Le Faye: Jane Austen : A Family Record page 184

Alternatively they might have been aboard a man-of-war joining a station in the East Indies .To quote again from Lavery's book:

The convoy system had been developed and refined by the navy,ever since the days of the French privateers. By the 1790s it was quite complex and sophisticated, for it had to cater for a merchant fleet trading all over the world and employing 16,000 ships....The East india convoys( long distance convys -JW) were among the most important. In this case organisation was not difficult as all the ships belonged to a single company.Bombay and China ships set off early in the year(from england -JW) as they had the longest distance to cover. About four ships left the Downs in January or February of a typical year. Ships for Bombay and St Helena sailed monthly for the rest of the year with six or nine in a typical convoy. Ship for China were escorted all the way but for convoys bound for India the naval escort sailed only as far as St Helena except when a man-of-war was being sent out to join the East India squadron.
As above, Page 305-6.

We don't know exactly where Mrs Corft was in the East Indies, and indeed she may have gone further east than Madras like Frank Austen. However I am going to give you details of Madras in the early 19th century just to give a taste of how different the East was to anything found in England.:

The houses are covered wiht a stucco called "chunam" which is in itself nearly as compact as the finest marble and as it wears so high a polish is equaly splendid with that elegant material. The houses consist of long colonnades with open porticoes and falt roofs having a very stately appearance; and the city contains many handsome and spacious streets. But the inner apartments of the houses are not so highly decorated presenting to the eye only white walls which however from the marble like appearance of the stucco give a freshness grateful in so hot a country. Ceilings are very uncommon in the rooms. Indeed it is impossible to find any that will resist the ravages of that destructive insect, the white ant. These animals are chiefly formidable from the immensity of their numbers which are such as to destroy in one night's time, a ceiling of any dimensions It is the wood work which serves as the basis of the ceilings such as the laths beams etc that these insects attack.....
See: Capper as above

Here is a picture of the naval hopsital at Madras which gives some idea of the type of buildings being described:

The strangeness felt by any Englishman or woman of visiting this city at this time may be discerned from this passage , below, again from Capper. I think its important to note that these new scenes would be almost incomprehensible in the main to many people in England who at the time would travel no further than the next village or if they were lucky the nearest market town :

The appraoch to Madras from the sea offers to the eye an appearance similar to what we may concieve of a Grecian city in the age of Alexander. The clear blue cloudless sky , the polished white buildings, the bright sandy beach and the dark green sea present a combination totally new to the eye of an Englishman who accustomed to the sight of rolling masses of clouds floating in a damp atmosphere cannot but contemplate the differnces with delight; and the eye being thus gratified the mind assumes a gay and tranquil habit analogous to the pleasing objects with which it is surrounded. Some time before the ship arrives at her anchoring ground, she is hailed by the boats of the country filled with people of business who come to crowds on board. This is the moment which an European feels the great distinction between Asia and his own country. The rustling of fine linen and the general hub of unusual conversation presents to his mind for a moment the idea of an assembly of females. When he ascends upon the deck he is struck by the long muslin dresses and black faces adorned with very large gold earrings and white turbans. ...

Some of Frank Austen's letters have been preserved and published in the book Jane Austen and her Sailor Brothers (1906) by J H Hubback and Edith C Hubback.

If Mrs Croft did venture further east than Madras, this may have been her impression of the Far East too. Here are his thoughts on Penang :

"This harbour is formed by Prince of Wales Island (better known by the native name of Pulo Penang, signifying in the Malay language 'Betel-nut Island') and the opposite coast of the Malay Peninsula, from which at the nearest part it is distant about two miles. The approach to it is from the northward, and is neither difficult nor dangerous.

"Wood is in the greatest abundance, the whole coast of the Malay Peninsula in the vicinity of this harbour being a forest, in which any quantity may be had for the trouble of cutting. Ships of war do not, however, usually procure it in that way, from the danger of introducing sickness amongst their crews by the exposure to the sun, which would be unavoidable. It may be purchased on the island at a reasonable price. Water is plentiful, and it has been generally considered of an excellent quality, and to keep well at sea.

"Buffalo beef may be procured here in any quantity. The meat is generally very coarse, lean, and ill-flavoured. Sheep are rarely to be procured, and never but at a very high price. It should seem to be an animal which the Malays have not got, as all those on the island are imported from Bengal, at a great expense, by individuals for their consumption. Fish is neither plentiful nor particularly good in kind; fruit and vegetables are abundant and excellent. They are of those species usually met with in tropical climates, with some peculiar to the eastern parts of India.

"The fortifications are by no means considerable, consisting in a square fort, situated on the extremity of the point which separates the outer from the inner harbour. It is probably quite sufficient to intimidate the Malays, or repel any attack they could make were they so disposed, but I should think it would be far from difficult for two or three ships of war to destroy it in a short time. The whole of the works are in a very dilapidated state. It is obviously incapable of affording any protection to the greater part of the town, as an enemy might land to the northward and destroy most of the buildings, or lay the inhabitants under contribution, without being exposed to a single gun from the fort. To the shipping in the harbour, indeed, it could give some protection, and that probably was the principal consideration in selecting the spot which it occupies. There was formerly a work called (from its shape, I presume) the Frying-pan Battery, but it is now in a state of ruin, a great part of it having fallen in. The sea appears to be gradually washing away the soil from under its foundations.

"The military force usually kept on the island consists in a battalion of Sepoys about 600 strong, and a company of European artillery. I did not understand that there was any militia or means of increasing the effective force in case of an attack or other emergency. The public wharf is built of wood, is of considerable breadth, and, being roofed over for its whole length, seems well adapted for sheltering goods of all sorts, in landing or shipping off, from the effects of the weather, and especially from the sun, which is generally very powerful there. The sides being open admit a free draught and circulation of air, so that it is perhaps, during the middle of the day, the coolest place in the town, and as such is resorted to by the Europeans, who make it a kind of Mall or lounging-place.

"Shortly after this island was settled by the English, the trade became considerable, and bid fair to increase, as it was found a very convenient situation for ships to touch at on their voyage between India and China, or any of the islands in the Eastern seas, having many local advantages over Malacca, which had previously been used for that purpose.

"It was also considered favourable for the cultivation of pepper, large plantations of which were made and throve exceedingly. In consequence of the war, however, which has so long desolated Europe, and in its progress gradually shut nearly every port on that continent against British ships and trade, the market for pepper grown here has been much straitened, and is now chiefly confined to China. The pepper plantations having in consequence thereof been found very unprofitable concerns, and in many instances I believe heavy losses, are now much reduced in number and extent; nor, so far as I could learn, has any other species of cultivation been introduced to occupy the soil and give employment to the labour and capital which have been so diverted.

"Many spots, which had been cleared and produced crops, are now neglected, and, as the progress of vegetation here is exceedingly rapid and luxuriant, are verging fast to their original wild, forest-like state.

"Within the last two or three years attempts have been made by a few gentlemen to introduce the culture of the nutmeg, clove and cinnamon; several plants have been procured which are in a thriving state, and it is generally thought that the soil and situation will suit them; but no return can possibly be obtained for the first five or six years, which must effectually prevent any but persons of large capitals embarking in such a concern.

"Many parts of the island would do very well for the growth of rice, but it has been the policy of the Government to discourage that species of husbandry as much as possible, from an idea that it would render the settlement unhealthy; and as that grain can always be procured in any quantity, and at a very cheap rate, from the Malay coast, the measure of obstructing its cultivation on the island seems to have been a prudent one.

"Timber fit for naval purposes may be procured at several places in the neighbourhood, particularly Pegu and Rangoon on the coast of Aracan, and Siacca on the north-east coast of Sumatra. There are several species of it, most, if not all, of which are considered very durable, particularly the teak. Poon and other spars fit for masts and yards may also be had from many parts of the Malay coast at very moderate prices, some of which are of a sufficient size to make a mainmast for a seventy-four-gun ship of a single tree. The wood is considerably heavier than fir, but being also much stronger, masts and yards made of it will admit of being reduced in diameter, and nearly, if not quite, equal to the difference in weight. Ships of considerable burden have at different times been built here; the last and largest was a thirty-six-gun frigate built at the expense of the East India Company, and launched in August 1809.

"It was in contemplation a few years back to construct docks here, and the little island of Jerajah was pointed out as a proper situation.

"Gates for the docks were sent out from England, and a steam-engine for working pumps, as the fall of water would not be sufficient to empty the docks; but nothing has yet been done, and the idea seems to have been given up.

"Having the means of docking ships here would on many occasions be productive of very great convenience as well to the public service as to private individuals. For want thereof any ship requiring to be docked must now go to Bengal, or, if a large one, to Bombay, at a great loss of time and increased expense, especially if trading to China or into the Eastern Seas, in which case it certainly would occasion the loss of the season altogether.

"The population of the island is said to be about 50,000 souls, but I should think it considerably over-rated at that statement. It is composed of various nations, Malays, Chinese, Cochin-Chinese, Siamese, Birmans, Bengalees, Malabars, Chulians, and most of the nations and castes of India, with a few Europeans, which last fill situations under the Government, or are engaged in mercantile concerns. The languages are as various as the nations, few of them speaking any other than that of their own country. It is a singular fact that more than thirty, totally distinct from each other, are spoken in the Bazar. The Government, appointed by the East India Directors, is entirely independent of the Presidencies. The present Governor is a military man, having the local rank on the islands of Colonel in the Company's army, and is Commander-in-Chief of all the troops there.

"As the civil code is in many instances suited to the peculiar customs and usages of the different nations composing the population, who are in general fond of litigation, the office of Chief Judge is a very arduous and fatiguing one."
As above pages 212-8

On to nearer to home...Cork, in Ireland .

You can see from this page from the Persuasion Gazetteer that Cork was an important place for victualling ships prior to them making a voyage across the Atlantic and it was also near the base of the Irish Squadron in Bantry Bay,Cork :

This is the chief port of merchants in the kingdom; and there is, perhaps, more beef, tallow and butter shipped off here, than in all the other ports of Ireland put together. Hence there is a great resort of ships to this port, particularly of those bound from Great Britain to Jamaica, Barbadoes and all the Caribeen islands, which put in here to victual and complete their lading.

So Mrs Croft may have known Cork because of possible stops to victual a ship before it set off from Cork to cross the Atlantic. But she also may have accompanied the Admiral on convoy duty accompanying merchant ships form Ireland. Again look at this passage from Lavery's book which tells of the importance of ports like Cork for their roles in the "standing convoys:

Water transport was far cheaper and more efficient than land transport in the days before the railways and a large proportion of British Trade was along the coast. The most notable example of this was the Newcastle coal trae though there were many other local commoditiies which were carried around the country by sea. In addition trade with Ireland took up a lage amount of shipping. All this was protected by the navy by means of regular coastal convoys known initially as "Standing Convoys". Major ports such as Exeter,St Ives , Swansea Plymouth, Bristol , Dartmouth, Yarmouth, Falmouth and Leith each had a small vessell-gunboat or armed vessel- permanently attached. ...A service operated from the Downs via St Helens , Portland, Torbay Plymouth and Falmouth to Cork Waterford and Dublin in Ireland.
As above, Pages 305-6.

Lisbon in Portugal was not a British possession: so what business had our navy and Mrs Croft there? Portugal was in fact an important British ally- our oldest in truth since the signing of the Treaty of Windsor in 1326. Lisbon as you can see from the Gazetteer entry, has a good natural harbour and in 1808 it became the base for Wellington's army then fighting the Peninsular War. It was sporadically attacked by the French but was always held by the British. In 1796 the British Fleet evacuated from the Mediterranean and all the stores and provisions which had been in service on the station on the island of Corsica were moved to Lisbon,along with all the accompanying officers and artisans from the dockyard there.

To Gibraltar.

Hopefully you can see from this map of the Meditterranen that Gibraltar has a very strategic position- the Straights being the opening point of the Med into the Atlantic. No wonder then that two of the major naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars were fouht within two hundred miles of it ( St Vincent and Trafalgar-a battle that involved the participation of Admiral Croft ).

And you can also see why it was important for Mrs Croft to mention that she had not been beyond the Steights: that is she had not entered further into the Meditteranean with her hubasdand. You can see from Lavery's map of naval bases that Mrs Croft could have gone as far as Alexandria, but she didnt, probably because of the time frame JA had concocted for this novel.

On this point it is also interesting to note that Bermuda was operating as a full naval station only from 1809 when a dockyard was built there. So Mrs Croft may have been travelling across the Atlantic till relatively recently in terms of the time frame of the novel.

Strategically Bermuda was very important for it was

...well sited for watching the coasts of North America and had occasionally been used by fleets before it was decided to build a dockyard there in 1809. Convict labour was used for the neavy work and by1814 the yard had a store keeper,master attandant, master shipwright and forty-seven manual workers. According to Captain Benton,Bermuda was "admirably calculated either for an advanced post or a port of equipment in time of war to guard our West India trade from the enterprises of the enemy's cruisers and particularly those of America. Here our naval arsenal is now established"
Lavery,as above, Page 239

And so to almost our final destination, the Bahamas .

JA knew of the role of islands because her brother Charles was stationed thereon service and also married there: