On June 4 , 1629 , the Dutch East India Company ’s flagshipBataviawas lose off the coast of Western Australia . What unfolded was a tragic tarradiddle of mutiny and slaying that has capture the imaginations of historians and archaeologist . Now , the finding of a five - twelvemonth undertaking have spill new lighting on what became of theBataviaand her gang , both at ocean and on land .
The voyage of theBatavia
TheBataviawas on her initiatory ocean trip when tragedy befell her . One of a fleet of eight ship , the vessel departed the port of Texel inOctober 1628 , bind for the Dutch East Native American colony in modern - day Indonesia to contribute back spiciness for trading . An estimated 341 mass were aboard , mostly the ship ’s company with a few soldiers and individual travelers .
Over the course of the treacherous voyage , the remaining ship in the fleet were either lost or became separated , so theBataviaended up scotch the Indian Ocean alone . By this time , tension was brewing between the two most senior officers : Commander Francisco Pelsaert , head of the fleet , and theBatavia ’s captain Ariaen Jacobsz . With Pelsaert throttle to his cabin , unwell , Jacobsz had ample fourth dimension to confer with his friend and co - conspirator Jeronimus Cornelisz about a possible mutiny .
The details of the events lead up to the shipwreck are not all clear . It ’s been evoke that thebrutal assault of a womanwho was travel alone on the ship to riposte her husband in the colonies could have been plan as a room to provoke Pelsaert into punishing those need , thus kick off the mutiny . However , what we do know is that disaster struck before the allege mutiny could really get off the ground .
A replica showing how the 46-meter (150-foot) vessel might have looked.Image credit: ADZee viaWikimedia Commons(public domain)
The wreck of theBatavia
It was in the early 60 minutes of the cockcrow on June 4 that theBataviahit the Morning Reef , 60 kilometer ( 37 miles ) off the coast of Western Australia . It ’s an field that was particularly prostrate to shipwreck , due to the difficulty of navigating bydead reckoningin an years when it was impossible to accurately measure your longitude .
As Pelsaert record in his journal : “ I was lying in my bunk feeling sick and felt suddenly , with a rocky frightful movement , the bumping of the ship ’s rudder , and straightaway after that I felt the ship moderate up in her course of action against the rocks , so that I fell out of my nonsensicality [ … ] I said , ' Skipper , what have you done that through your rash carelessness you have range this noose round our necks ? ' "
Around100 peopledied as an prompt result of the collision . In many room , though , this was only the starting time .
An illustration of Beacon Island from a published book based on Pelsaert’s diaries.Image credit: State Library of New South Wales viaWikimedia Commons(CC BY-SA 3.0 AU)
Mutiny and massacre
Some of the bunch manage to expend a longboat to get to what ’s now bang as Beacon Island , one of the nearby Abrolhos Islands . Pelsaert and Jacobsz were among the survivors , and in the coming days , they purge the islands looking for any mansion of food for thought or water . incur none , they decided to go with a few sailors and the remaining ship ’s officers to the Australian mainland , setting off in the middle of the dark and abandoning the stay survivors .
A few day later on , Cornelisz – who had remained on the ship until the last possible minute – arrived on Beacon Island and placed himself in charge of the rudderless group , surrounding himself with those who had been sympathetic to the project mutiny .
What followed was something of a sovereignty of threat . Cornelisz take control of all rest weapons and boats , and break the survivors between two separate islands . Then , he ordered his men to consistently massacre them .
Burials uncovered on Beacon Island between 2015 and 2018.Image credit: Paterson et al, Historical Archaeology, 2023 (CC BY 4.0)
Some had their throats cut in the dead of night ; others were take away out to ocean and drowned . Women were raped , and some survivors were pull to turn on each other to spare their own life . Conflict break out between Cornelisz ’s men and a group who had been station to another island , where they had happened to incur urine and wallabies that they could kill and consume . The bloody struggle between the warring factions went on for months – until , one day , Pelsaert returned .
Having been unsuccessful in their hunt for water , Pelsaert and Jacobsz had undertake a remarkable ocean trip all the way to their original terminus in the Dutch East Indian Colony , and after many week the fleet commander had finally return with a rescue ship .
The mutineer under Cornelisz ’s command were captured and viciously torment , culminate in Cornelisz being hanged along with several accomplice . The remaining mutineer were finally take to the colonies where they were assay and executed , economise two who were marooned and left to their fate .
It ’s a fell remainder to a frightening story ; but as well - know as the tale became , particularly after Pelsaert ’s journals became the first - ever bestselling book to be set in Australia , there was limited archaeologic grounds to shed twinkle on what really became of the survivor of thewreckof theBatavia . A young subject area from the University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Museum has changed that .
Uncovering the past
The closing of over a decade of work , a five - twelvemonth excavation has unveil a number of gravesites and artefact on the Abrolhos Islands .
“ Through punctilious analysis , we ’ve discovered the remains of 12 dupe , interred in both single and mass Stephanie Graf , as well as evidence of a vehement struggle between subsister and a radical of mutineer , and leftover of a potential gallows site where justice was serve , ” say lead author Professor Alistair Paterson in astatement .
The finding go beyond analysis of the shipwreck of the ship itself , to allow veridical evidence of the behavior and practices of the survivor . “ The digging of human remains reveals insight into the intervention and burial drill of victims . Notably , centrally located graves on Beacon Island paint a picture a go burial ground , potentially representing victims from the former days observe the wreck , ” stay Professor Paterson .
“ Other islands within the neighbourhood , such as Long ( Seals ) Island and West Wallabi Island , provide grounds of makeshift weapon , the bearing of electric resistance faction , and structures associated with the survivors . ”
In a grim finding , the researcher also uncovered evidence of smoothing iron fastenings that they call back go to the gallows where the mutineers were finally executed .
More enquiry is in the work , including forensic analysis of the homo cadaver , but the results of this massive undertaking have added much to our noesis of what is surely one of the dark installment in the region ’s chronicle .
The study is bring out inHistorical Archaeology .
