Leendert Hasenbosch

Leendert Hasenbosch, (c.1695–probably end of 1725) was a Dutchman, an employee of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) who was set ashore as a castaway on uninhabited Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, as a punishment for sodomy. He wrote a diary until his death.

Early life

Leendert Hasenbosch was probably born in The Hague (Holland, United Provinces) in 1695. When he was about fourteen years old, his father, his two elder sisters and his younger sister - his mother was already dead by that time - seem to have moved to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia).

In the end of 1713 Leendert Hasenbosch became a soldier at the VOC and went aboard a ship to Batavia. From 1715 to 1720 he was a soldier in Cochin (a Dutch possession at the time) in India. In 1720 he returned to Batavia and was promoted to corporal, later to military writer (a sort of minor bookkeeper). In the end of 1724 he went aboard a VOC-ship as the bookkeeper (an officer) of that ship. After the ship had made its compulsory stop at Cape Town, he was sentenced for sodomy on 17 April 1725. On 5 May 1725 he was set ashore on Ascension Island.

Cast away life

Remarkably enough, Hasenbosch wrote a diary. He started with a tent, an amount of water for about a month, some seeds, instruments, bibles or prayer books, clothing and writing materials. He made long walks over the barren island to search for water. However, he could find very little water and started drinking the blood of the green turtles and seabirds (probably only species of boobies) that he managed to kill, as well as his own urine. He probably died in a terrible condition after about six months.

Ascension Island does have two sources of fresh water: a strong water spring in the high interior of the island (in what is now called Breakneck Valley), and a much smaller water source named Dampier's Drip. One of these two water sources allowed some sixty men from "HMS Roebuck" to survive a shipwreck on Ascension for two months starting in February 1701. [ see Duff Hart-Davis, "Ascension, the story of a South Atlantic island".]

The legend

In January 1726 British sailors discovered the castaway's tent and things, including the diary in Dutch. As Hasenbosch had never written down his own name, the British concluded that "some Dutchman" was set ashore here as a punishment for sodomy. They did not find a skeleton but they were pretty sure that the man had died of thirst. The diary was brought to Britain.

In 1728 the diary was first published under the title "An Authentick Relation". The quality of the translation is uncertain since the original diary has been lost. Apart from entries about desperate searches for water and firewood, a few entries mention the man's act of sodomy. A few entries can be interpreted as reflections of a guilty conscience, including the apparitions of demons and former friends and acquaintances.

In 1730 a fake version was published under the title "The Just Vengeance of Heaven Exemplify'd". This version contains many extra homophobic passages as well as many extra demons harassing the castaway. The publisher also wrote that the castaway's skeleton would have been found alongside the diary.

In 1976 the American author Peter Agnos published "The Queer Dutchman", an extension and embellishment of the version of 1730. Moreover, Peter Agnos fabricated 18th century personalities (the castaway, his partner in his act of sodomy, his captain, etc.) and even 18th century Dutch documents.

Many authors about sodomy, Ascension Island or castaway-stories read either the version of 1730 or the version of 1976 and decided to include parts in their own publications, not realising they were quoting from a fake story.

In 2002 a Dutch book "Een Hollandse Robinson Crusoë" was published, written by the Dutch historian Michiel Koolbergen (1953-2002) after he had done many years of research in Dutch and British archives; sadly, Koolbergen was already dead at the moment of publication. This book was the first publication mentioning the identity of the castaway. This book was probably also the first publication mentioning all three printed versions of the diary (of 1728, 1730 and 1976).

In 2006 the full story was - with the support of Koolbergen's family and publisher - published by Alex Ritsema, with the book "A Dutch Castaway on Ascension Island in 1725".

References

*Michiel Koolbergen, "Een Hollandse Robinson Crusoë", ISBN 90-74622-23-2 , 2002
*Alex Ritsema, "A Dutch Castaway on Ascension Island in 1725" ISBN 978-1-4116-9832-1 , 2006