| Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny Contributor(s): Dash, Mike (Author) |
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ISBN: 0609807161 ISBN-13: 9780609807163 Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY) OUR PRICE: $15.30 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2003 Annotation: In 1628 the Dutch East India Company loaded the Batavia, the flagship of its fleet, with a king's ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java; the ship itself was a tangible symbol of the world's richest and most powerful monopoly. The company also sent along a new employee to guard its treasure. He was Jeronimus Corneliszoon, a disgraced and bankrupt man with great charisma and dangerously heretical ideas. With the help of a few disgruntled sailors, he hatched a plot to seize the ship and her riches. The mutiny might have succeeded, but in the dark morning hours of June 3, 1629, the Batavia smashed through a coral reef and ran aground on a small chain of islands near Australia. The captain and skipper escaped the wreck, and in a tiny lifeboat they set sail for Java--some 1,500 miles north--to summon help. More than 250 frightened survivors waded ashore, thankful to be alive. Unfortunately, Jeronimus and the mutineers had survived too, and the nightmare was only beginning. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Modern - 17th Century - History | Maritime History & Piracy - History | Australia & New Zealand - General |
| Dewey: 919.413 |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 5.1" W x 8" (0.95 lbs) 512 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 17th Century - Cultural Region - Australian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In 1628 the Dutch East India Company loaded the Batavia, the flagship of its fleet, with a king's ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java; the ship itself was a tangible symbol of the world's richest and most powerful monopoly. The company also sent along a new employee to guard its treasure. He was Jeronimus Corneliszoon, a disgraced and bankrupt man with great charisma and dangerously heretical ideas. With the help of a few disgruntled sailors, he hatched a plot to seize the ship and her riches. The mutiny might have succeeded, but in the dark morning hours of June 3, 1629, the Batavia smashed through a coral reef and ran aground on a small chain of islands near Australia. The captain and skipper escaped the wreck, and in a tiny lifeboat they set sail for Java--some 1,500 miles north--to summon help. More than 250 frightened survivors waded ashore, thankful to be alive. Unfortunately, Jeronimus and the mutineers had survived too, and the nightmare was only beginning. |