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J.S.'s Reviews > Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny
Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny
by
by
I've read a number of books that deal with shipwrecks and the exploration of the seas, and with summer approaching I wanted something that would be a bit of fun and adventure (of the armchair variety). I'm not sure this was the best choice for that!
The story of the maiden voyage of the Dutch East Indies (VOC) ship Batavia as the Dutch were still beginning their exploitation of the spice trade. Although a mutiny was being planned by the ship's skipper Ariaen Jacobsz and Jeronimus Cornelisz, the 2nd highest ranking VOC company man, the ship ran aground on an unknown reef (Houtman's Abrolhos) and was rapidly destroyed. With most of the crew and passengers landed on a barren island, the skipper and the top company man Francisco Pelsaert (who outranked the ship's skipper) set off with a crew in a small boat to attempt to reach Java. In the meantime, Cornelisz spread the soldiers and sailors among the three nearest islands to better put into effect his mutinous plans, and thus began an orgy of killing and mayhem leaving about 120 men, women, and children murdered.
As I said, this is not a seafaring castaway yarn about survival on desert islands. It's not for the faint of heart or the squeamish, and may even be harder to read in some respects than In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. Nonetheless, it's a fascinating and well-told story of the tragedy of the Batavia and its survivors. Dash presents a lot of detail and information in an exceptionally readable manner. He tells us not only of the backgrounds of the principal characters (Cornelisz, Pelsaert, and Jacobsz) but many others - and yet it never feels like you're drowning in information. He also includes what became of each of the survivors, or at least what was known of them, and the latter efforts to locate the exact location of the shipwreck. And the "Notes" are often every bit as interesting and compelling as the story itself. Overall, a great read - just beware that the Batavia was a pretty sad story.
The story of the maiden voyage of the Dutch East Indies (VOC) ship Batavia as the Dutch were still beginning their exploitation of the spice trade. Although a mutiny was being planned by the ship's skipper Ariaen Jacobsz and Jeronimus Cornelisz, the 2nd highest ranking VOC company man, the ship ran aground on an unknown reef (Houtman's Abrolhos) and was rapidly destroyed. With most of the crew and passengers landed on a barren island, the skipper and the top company man Francisco Pelsaert (who outranked the ship's skipper) set off with a crew in a small boat to attempt to reach Java. In the meantime, Cornelisz spread the soldiers and sailors among the three nearest islands to better put into effect his mutinous plans, and thus began an orgy of killing and mayhem leaving about 120 men, women, and children murdered.
As I said, this is not a seafaring castaway yarn about survival on desert islands. It's not for the faint of heart or the squeamish, and may even be harder to read in some respects than In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. Nonetheless, it's a fascinating and well-told story of the tragedy of the Batavia and its survivors. Dash presents a lot of detail and information in an exceptionally readable manner. He tells us not only of the backgrounds of the principal characters (Cornelisz, Pelsaert, and Jacobsz) but many others - and yet it never feels like you're drowning in information. He also includes what became of each of the survivors, or at least what was known of them, and the latter efforts to locate the exact location of the shipwreck. And the "Notes" are often every bit as interesting and compelling as the story itself. Overall, a great read - just beware that the Batavia was a pretty sad story.
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Reading Progress
August 26, 2016
– Shelved
April 11, 2018
–
Started Reading
April 12, 2018
–
1.05%
"Surnames were still relatively uncommon... Most identified themselves using patronymics - Ariaen Jacobsz would have been the son of a man named Jacob. Because it was unwieldy to spell out the full patronymic, which in this case is Jacobszoon, [they] abbreviated written names by omitting the 'oon' of 'zoon' (son) and shortening 'dochter' (daughter) to 'dr.' When spoken, the name would have been pronounced in full."
page
4
April 18, 2018
–
21.26%
"Seamen viewed all sharks as man-eaters and... it was considered fine sport to torture a captured monster by gouging out its eyes and cutting off its fins. Then an empty barrel would be tied to the mutilated animal's tail... Unable to see or swim or dive, the wounded fish would thrash wildly in gouts of its own blood, endlessly circling... until it either died of exhaustion or was eaten by its fellow predators."
page
81
April 30, 2018
–
Finished Reading
