An aerial photograph of the ocean, showing the location of the shipwreck Batavia.

Batavia’s history, 1628-1963

Published

6 September 2022

Last Updated

5 December 2022

On 29 October 1628, Batavia departed from Texel in the Netherlands on its first voyage for the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC)—the Honourable Dutch East India Company. Sailing as part of a larger fleet, Batavia was transporting 341 people, money, and merchandise to Batavia, the Dutch colonial capital in the East Indies (modern-day Jakarta, Indonesia).

Watercolour of Batavia, 1986.
Credit: Ross Shardlow

Batavia was commanded by one of the VOC’s most experienced merchants, Commander Francisco Pelsaert and skippered by Ariaen Jacobsz. The men had little respect for one another; on a previous voyage together, Pelsaert had formally reprimanded Jacobsz after an incident of drunkenness and insubordination.

In April 1629, Jacobsz once again defied orders during their eight-day stopover at the Cape of Good Hope. He took a ship’s boat without permission and went on a drunken spree, visiting other vessels in the fleet and neglecting his duties.

As they sailed towards the East Indies, tensions increased and Jacobsz expressed his anger and vengefulness to Jeronimous Cornelisz—the undermerchant and second most senior VOC official. Cornelisz encouraged the skipper to freely speak his mind and together they cultivated a plan for mutiny. They recruited a small group of accomplices in order to seize the ship and its valuables, which included 12 chests of silver coins, Pelsaert’s consignment of silver wares, and antiquities such as the ‘great jewel of Gaspar Boudaen’.

Less than a month after leaving the Cape of Good Hope, Pelsaert became unwell. While Pelsaert was confined to his cabin, Jacobsz took advantage of a storm to separate Batavia from the rest of the fleet and create an opportunity to test Pelsaert’s authority. On 14 May, Cornelisz and Jacobsz directed their men to violently assault Lucretia van der Mijlen, a wealthy noblewoman travelling to join her husband in Batavia. Lucretia was chosen by Jacobsz because she had previously rejected his advances and she often dined with the Commander. They hoped that if Pelsaert was unable to identify the perpetrators, he would punish the crew as a group, and it would feed dissension amongst more of the men. However, Pelsaert suspected he was being provoked, and thwarted their plans by taking no action.

Shipwreck

Batavia’s voyage should have been a routine journey for a VOC retourschip (returning ship), which were built to make annual voyages between the Netherlands and East Indies. However, in the early hours of 4 June 1629, Batavia struck a reef in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands at full speed.

North Island, Wallabi Group, Easter Group and Pelsaert Group located off the coast of Western Australia.

Map of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.
The archipelago lies between 60 and 80km off the mid-west coast of Western Australia.

The crew attempted to dislodge Batavia from the reef, but after several failed attempts, they focused their efforts to getting people off the ship. Under difficult sea conditions, the crew began to ferry people from Batavia to the nearby islands using the ship’s boats. Most survivors were landed on a small sand and coral island (Batavia’s Graveyard, now known as Beacon Island) and about 40 or so people, including Pelsaert and Jacobsz made a temporary camp on a smaller island, which would later be known as Traitors Island.

About 70 people remained on Batavia in the days following the wreck. Some would have been unable to swim and were scared of drowning. Others took the opportunity to freely drink and loot the abandoned ship. Eventually, it was no longer safe to remain on Batavia and people were forced to swim or float on wreckage to the nearest islands. Among them was Cornelisz, who was reportedly the last to leave the ship.

Drawings of the Batavia shipwreck and survivors.

The survivors were ferried to nearby islands and the search for water began.
Credit: Ongeluckige voyagie, van't schip Batavia, nae de Oost-Indien, 1647 | Source: State Library of Western Australia, b1660729_2

Beacon Island and Traitors Island had no fresh water and little food. The survivors had only limited provisions, which were salvaged from the ship or had floated ashore as the wreck broke up. Pelsaert, Jacobsz, and 46 others took Batavia’s only undamaged boat to search the area for fresh water. Unsuccessful, they made the decision to head for Batavia to seek aid.

Factors contributing to the wreck

Navigation

Batavia was following the Brouwer Route from the Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies. The route had been mandated by the VOC in 1617 because of the economic benefits afforded by a shorter journey time. The journey from the Netherlands to the East Indies could now be achieved in under six months, compared to previously used routes that could stretch the journey out to over a year. Skippers were instructed to first sail south until they were between the latitudes of 35° and 40° south, to take advantage of the belt of prevailing westerly winds (known today as the ‘Roaring Forties’). They then sailed east for about 6,000 kms, before steering a north-north-east course to safely reach the East Indies.

With no reliable way to measure longitude (position east or west of the prime meridian), navigators relied on visual observation of landmarks and unreliable measurements of time, distance and speed. Following the Brouwer Route, it was inevitable that some skippers would miscalculate how far east they had travelled, increasing the risk of encountering the Australian mainland and its offshore islands and shoals. The VOC were aware of the risks presented by navigational inaccuracy and warned skippers to be vigilant for hazards when sailing this route.

A skipper’s negligence

As the journey progressed, Jacobsz became increasing negligent in carrying out his duties. He had developed an obsessive infatuation with Lucretia and, after departing the Cape of Good Hope, he was fixated on his plans with Cornelisz to overthrow Pelsaert and take control. When the assault on Lucretia failed to incite a widespread mutiny, further actions were being planned as the ship neared its destination. Mutineers had reportedly been sleeping with swords in their bunks in readiness for another attempt to seize the ship.

Jacobsz was responsible for the ship’s journey, including navigation and the welfare of all the crew, passengers and cargo. His negligence was evident in his failure to safely chart Batavia’s course. Through lack of skill or inattentiveness, he miscalculated Batavia’s position, believing them to still be 600 miles from land. On the night of the wreck, as head of the watch, Jacobsz dismissed an observation of a white gleam from breaking surf, believing it to be reflected moonlight—bringing Batavia’s journey to a catastrophic end.

After the wreck

After Pelsaert and Jacobsz’s departure, chaos descended. Little is known of the day-to-day existence of the stranded community on Beacon Island. With no clear leader, Cornelisz asserted his authority and assumed leadership. Aware that the mutiny plot had been leaked and that there was not enough food and water for the number of survivors, Cornelisz was determined to consolidate his power and ensure his own survival.

Initially, murders were conducted at night or in secrecy, and the bodies were often buried on Beacon Island. Between July and August, Cornelisz set about reducing any opposition through a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy, resulting in the assault and murder of over 100 people.

People fighting and killing one another on a small island surrounded by ocean.

The mutineers began to murder survivors on 3 July 1629.
Credit: Ongeluckige voyagie, van't schip Batavia, nae de Oost-Indien, 1647 | Source: State Library of Western Australia, b1660729_3

One of the groups sent to another island by Cornelisz in late June, under the pretence of searching for water and food had been successful. A small group of survivors, under the leadership of soldier Wiebbe Hayes, were surviving thanks to the fresh water and food they had discovered. These survivors resisted the mutineers and eventually captured Cornelisz.

Having successfully sailed to Batavia in the longboat, Pelsaert returned to the islands aboard Sardam in mid-September. Once there, he set about investigating the crimes committed by the mutineers and salvaging valuables from the wreck. The mutineers were tried by Pelsaert and Sardam’s ship’s council—Cornelisz and six other mutineers were executed on Long Island; two others were marooned on the coast of modern-day Australia; and more still were taken to Batavia for further punishment. Pelsaert recorded the findings from the trial and decisions made by the ship’s council in the journals he started after Batavia was wrecked.

Key locations in the Wallabi Group relating to Batavia.

Discovery, 1963

During the 1950s, West Australian author, Henrietta Drake-Brockman and Dutch migrant, Evert ‘Dirk’ Drok were translating and studying Pelsaert’s journals and other Dutch documents related to Batavia. Drake-Brockman concluded the Batavia wreck site would be found in the Wallabi Group. In 1960, skeletal remains and historical artefacts, including a trumpet garland dated 1628, were found by rock lobster fishers on Beacon Island—giving support to her theory.

Line drawing of wide end of a trumpet, which is decorative.

Drawing of the trumpet garland and details of the inscription (made by Conrat Droschel 1628).
Credit: WA Museum, BAT456

In 1963, rock lobster fisher, Dave Johnson came across the Batavia wreck site on Morning Reef. He reported it to Max Cramer, who dived on the site with Graham Cramer and Greg Allen. Later that year, a salvage expedition led by Hugh Edwards recovered four cannon, two astrolabes, coins and ceramic material. Following the discovery of the wreck site, there was exploratory digging on Beacon Island, which uncovered more artefacts with positive associations with Batavia survivors.

Diver with sandstone blocks on the first expedition to the Batavia wreck site, 1963.
Creator: Merve Brown | Source: WA Museum, BT/H/21

Learn more about Batavia

Find more information about Batavia (1629) here.

Departments

Maritime Heritage

Keywords

Batavia