The Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or VOC for short) was one of the largest and most profitable companies ever to exist. In 1628, the company built a stunning new flagship, the Batavia. Led by the Upper Merchant Francisco Pelsaert, the Under Merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz, and its Schipper Ariaen Jacobz, the ship left The Netherlands with its fleet in October of 1628 on a voyage to the settlement of Batavia (modern day Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies.
In this episode we will discuss the backgrounds of the VOC, Pelsaert, Jacobsz, Cornelisz, and Lucretia van der Miljen, or “Creesje Jans.” As the ship begins its voyage it encounters a violent storm, damaged ships, terrible boredom, scurvy, and discontent. Thoughts of mutiny are growing and relationships deteriorate on board.
Dr. Howard Gray (B.Sc., Dip.Ed., Ph.D.) joins me as my guest. Dr. Gray is one of the world’s foremost experts about the story of the Batavia, the Houtman Abrolhos archipelago, and Western Australian history. He is the chair of the Batavia Coast Maritime Heritage Association, Reviews Editor for the Australian Association for Maritime History, frequent guest lecturer, researcher, and educational tour guide. Dr. Gray has also authored several books, including the novel Lucretia’s Batavia Diary, and the non-fiction Spice at Any Price.
You can find Dr. Gray’s books at Westralian Books.
 A depiction of Jeronimus Cornelisz, seemingly plotting his misdeeds. |  17th Century drawing of Francisco Pelsaert |
Sources
- Dash, Mike. Batavia’s Graveyard. Crown, 2003.
- Pelsaert, Francisco. The Batavia Journal of Francois Pelsaert, 1630. Edited and Translated by Marit Van Huystee, 1994. Report—”Department of Maritime Archaeology”, Western Australian Maritime Museum No. 136.
- https://www.sea.museum/2016/06/04/barbarism-and-brutality-surviving-the-batavia-shipwreck
- https://dutchreview.com/culture/history/how-rich-was-the-dutch-east-india-company/
- https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/historical-strangeness/tag/Batavi%E2%80%98a+Captain+Ariaen+Jacobsz.
- https://historyandimagination.com/tag/ariaen-jacobsz/
- https://historycollection.com/shipwreck-batavia-tale-mutiny-murder/2/
- https://alk3r.wordpress.com/tag/ariaen-jacobsz/
- https://www.awe.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/national/batavia
- https://www.newsweek.com/human-remains-mysterious-and-brutal-island-massacre-400-years-ago-discovered-712018
- http://www.vochistory.org.au/batavia.html
- https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Eighty_Years%27_War
- https://www.duyfken.com/dutch-mariners/1611-new-trade-route/
- https://museum.wa.gov.au/exhibitions/voyages/about/houtman.html
- https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/wreck-of-the-batavia