Five More Bodies Found on Batavia’s “Murder Island”

The story of the Dutch East Indiaman Batavia is as grim and tragic as it is fascinating. The Batavia was wrecked on her maiden voyage in 1629 when she ran aground on Beacon Island off Western Australia. Of the original 341 passengers and … Continue reading

Today in History – Hendrick Hamel, the Sparrow Hawk and the Hermit Kingdom

On August 15th, 1653, the Dutch East India Company ship, Sperwer (Sparrow Hawk), was shipwrecked on Jeju Island off the southern coast of Korea.  Thirty six of the sixty four crew survived. One of the survivors was the ship’s book keeper, Hendrick … Continue reading

On this day in History – the Birth of the Dutch East India Company

On March 20th, 1602 the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, the VOC, or in English, the United Dutch East India Company was established as a chartered company.   It would dominate European trade with Asia for almost 200 years. Dutch East India Company … Continue reading