The real life shipwreck of the Batavia has been the basis of two recent Australian books; one Kirsty Eagar's Saltwater Vampires, an addition to the ever increasing volumes in the vampire novel genre; the other an historical work by Peter Fitzsimons, titled simply Batavia. While well referenced and researched, Fitzsimons' work is better described as an imaginative work of non-fiction and reads more like a novel. The author goes beyond the bare facts (enthralling though they are) to enter the minds of the participants in what became one of the most brutal episodes in Australia's history.
A journalist by profession with the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun Herald but also a noted sportsman who represented Australia in rugby union, Fitzsimons has written a number of acclaimed non-fiction works. His special interests have been biographies of some of Australia's greatest sporting heroes including Steve Waugh, John Eales and Les Darcy and books on Australia's war experiences including books on the siege of Tobruk and Kokoda. On the inside flap of the dust cover for the hardcover book, he is described as, "Australia's best-selling non-fiction writer in 2001, 2004 and 2006."
Background To The Batavia Wreck:
The Batavia was on its maiden voyage at the time it came to its demise in 1629, foundering on the reefs of the Abrolhos Islands off the coast of Western Australia. As part of a Dutch fleet, it was on its way to the Dutch East Indies and the capital of the Dutch territories, Batavia (now known as Jakarta). During the early 1600s the Dutch nation was the world's greatest superpower and at the height of its wealth and influence. Much of its power came from its exclusive access to spices which were allowed to grow in a few selected islands of the Moluccas, now part of modern Indonesia.
In a world before refrigeration, when people were often forced to eat tainted food, spices were vital to make suspect food edible. The huge demand as well as the difficulty in obtaining spices made them horrendously expensive and the Dutch maintained their hold on the spice monopoly with brute military strength.
The quickest way to get spices to Europe was by sea, still a lengthy process but intrepid Dutch sailors had been able to reduce sailing times by pioneering a new and daring route. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope, they found that if, instead of following the coast of Africa, they struck out directly eastwards they would be favoured by powerful prevailing westerly winds which became known as the Roaring 40s.
After reaching a predetermined longitude, they would be able to turn northwards to their intended destination, cutting months off the sailing time. The problem with this was that sailors of the time had no accurate way of measuring longitude. While calculating latitude by measuring the angle of celestial bodies from the horizon was relatively easy, longitude could only be roughly determined by keeping a record of the estimated speed that the ship had been making. This meant many Dutch ships overshot their mark. If they were unlucky they foundered on the coast of Western Australia. The lucky ones brought back news on the Great South Land and gradually increased the store of European knowledge on this unmapped continent.
Mutiny On The Batavia:
The Batavia was already in trouble before it came to grief on the Abrolhos' reef. Tensions between senior figures on the ship had resulted in a mutiny plot and the mutineers, in the first part of their plan, had already been able to separate the Batavia from the rest of the fleet it was leading.
Two principal characters dominate the story. One was the commander of the fleet, Francisco Pelsaert, appointed by the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) to lead the expedition and the other, Jeronimus Cornelisz, an employee of the VOC who was fleeing Holland as a result of scandal.
After the shipwreck, Pelsaert and a group of survivors sailed off in the long-boat, initially to find water on nearby islands and then to seek a rescue from Batavia when no water could be found. The rest of the survivors were left at the mercy of Jeronimus who established himself as the leader on the islands because of his position within the company. With a core group of the mutineers he began a reign of terror which included mass murder. It began with the culling of the sick and weak who were considered a burden on the limited supplies available and then extended as the mutineers became obsessed with a lust for blood.
Those who engaged in the murders were compelled to sign an oath of brotherhood while others were pressured into murder if they wanted to avoid their own violent deaths. Female survivors were forced to provide sexual services to the mutineers.
Fitzsimons Uses Imagination To Bring Story To Life:
Fitzsimons goes into graphic detail in describing the horrific atrocities committed on the Abrolhos, the heroic voyage to Batavia of Pelsaert and his return just in time to prevent a further massacre of a group of survivors who stood up against Jeronimus. He brings to life the hardships of life at the time on board ship and the brutal punishments that were finally handed out to the mutineers. Finally he tantalises us with the story of two mutineers who were marooned on the coast of Western Australia with evidence indicating they may have made contact and a new life with the native inhabitants.
In the preface to his book, Fitzsimons says, "I want to accurately 'convey the unprecedented drama of the Batavia wreck' (Mike Dash, Batavia's Graveyard) by making it read like a novel, while not limiting myself to only the few precise details of the story that have survived the four centuries." While he has used his imagination to flesh out the details of the adventure, it has been based on meticulous research and fits with the accepted knowledge of the period. He has succeeded in producing a riveting account of one of the most sensational chapters in the records of Australian history.
Sources:
- Peter Fitzsimons, Batavia, William Heinemann, Australia, 2011.
- Mike Dash, Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic who led History's Bloodiest Mutiny, Weidenfeld and Nicollson, London, 2002.
Stuart McCulloch - From the idyllic location of a national park in Tasmania Stuart McCulloch writes about his interests of sport, movies and history and ...
