Cornelis de Houtman

Cornelis de Houtman
Born	2 April 1565(1565-04-02) Gouda, Holland, Seventeen Provinces
Died	August 1599 Aceh Sultanate
Nationality	Dutch
Occupation	Explorer

Cornelis de Houtman (2 April 1565 – August 1599), brother of Frederick de Houtman, was a Dutch explorer who discovered a new sea route from Europe to Indonesia and managed to begin the Dutch spice trade. At the time, the Portuguese Empire held a monopoly on the spice trade, and the voyage was a symbolic victory for the Dutch, even though the voyage itself was a disaster.

The voyage

In 1592 Cornelis de Houtman was sent by Amsterdam merchants to Lisbon to discover as much information on the Spice Islands as he could. At the same time as he returned to Amsterdam, Jan Huygen van Linschoten returned from India. The merchants determined that Bantam (Banten) provided the best opportunity to buy spices. In 1594 the merchants founded the company 'compagnie van Verre' (meaning "the long-distance company"), and on April 2, 1595 four ships left Amsterdam: Amsterdam, Hollandia, Mauritius and Duyfken.

Monument for Cornelis and Frederick de Houtman in Gouda, Netherlands

The voyage was beset with trouble from the beginning. Scurvy broke out after only a few weeks due to insufficient provisions. Due to quarrels among the captains and traders, several were killed or imprisoned on board. At Madagascar, where a brief stop was planned, further complications led to many more deaths, and the ships remained there for six months on a deathwatch. (The Madagascan bay where they were anchored is now known as the "Dutch Cemetery".) On June 27, the ships finally arrived at Banten, a northwestern port in Java. Only around a hundred of the original 249 men had survived the voyage.

The local Portuguese traders introduced de Houtman to the Banten sultan, who promptly entered into an optimistic treaty with the Dutch, writing "We are well content to have a permanent league of alliance and friendship with His Highness the Prince Maurice of Nassau, of the Netherlands and with you, gentlemen." Unfortunately, de Houtman was undiplomatic and insulting to the sultan, and was turned away for "rude behaviour" without being able to buy any spices at all.

The ships then sailed east to Madura, but were attacked by pirates on the way. In Madura, they were received peacefully, but de Houtman ordered his men to brutally attack and rape the civilian population in revenge for the unrelated earlier piracy.^[1]

The ships then sailed for Bali, and met with the region's king. They finally managed to obtain a few pots of peppercorns on February 26, 1597. Portuguese ships prevented them from taking in water and supplies at St. Helena. Out of the 249 man crew, only 87 returned, too weak to moor their ships themselves.

On September 11, 1599, Cornelis de Houtman and his troops got confrontation with Aceh because of his rude temperament, and soon there were fierce battle with Aceh Navy which led by Aceh's woman admiral, Keumalahayati (Malahayati). In one battle, Malahayati successfully killed Cornelis de Houtman. And since that accident, Queen Elizabeth I from England decided to sent an emissary to Aceh Sultan for asking their permission to enter Malacca Strait.

Repercussions

Though the trip was a humanitarian disaster and financially probably just broke even, it was a symbolic victory. It may be regarded as the start of the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia. Within five years, sixty-five more Dutch ships had gone East to trade. Soon, the Dutch would fully take over the spice trade in and around the Indian Ocean.

See also

• Dutch East India Company
• History of Indonesia

Notes

1. ^ Winchester, Simon (2003). Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883. New York: HarperCollins. p. 17. ISBN 0-06-621285-5. "In retribution for the piracy he ordered a brief campaign of systematic rape and pillage off the coast of Madura." 

Persondata
Name	Houtman, Cornelis De
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 2, 1565
Place of birth	Gouda, Holland, Seventeen Provinces
Date of death	1599
Place of death	Aceh Sultanate