In 1628, a Dutch East India flagship called Batavia belonging to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) set sail from the Netherlands, never to reach her destination. Eight months into the voyage, on 4 June 1629, the ship was wrecked on the Houtman Abrolhos, a small chain of islands off the coast of Western Australia.
What followed could be considered one of the most tragic, abhorrent, and nightmarish incidents in early modern maritime history, with what befell her surviving crew and passengers truly horrifying and tragic.
Here we explore what happened.
The shipwreck
Sailing from the Netherlands, Batavia was on her maiden voyage, heading for the VOC trading base at Batavia (modern-day Jakarta). The 650 tonne ship was carrying just under 350 soldiers, their families, VOC officials (including their wives and children), silver coins and sandstone bricks. The plan was for her to return with spices.
