Willem Lodewijcksz "First Ship Voyage of the Dutch to the East Indies", Amsterdam, Joost Hartgers, 1650.

Enter the Dutch

The dreams and labours of Petrus Plancius and Jan Huyghen van Linschoten culminated in the Dutch First Fleet to the Indies taking place from 1595 to 1597. It was instrumental in the opening up of the Indonesian spice trade to the merchants that would soon form the United Dutch East India Company (VOC). This famous pioneering voyage, commanded by Cornelis de Houtman, would abruptly end the Portuguese Empire ́s trade monopoly for the East and it would dramatically change the Indian Ocean theatre, notably the balance of power and the rules of trade. Right from this first voyage onward, the Dutch were going to dominate the East Indies and its trade for more than 350 years.

Already in 1598, shortly after the return of the first fleet, the Amsterdam publisher Cornelis Claesz published an acclaimed account of the first voyage, written by Willem Lodewijcksz, an officer on the fleet. The journal was an instant success that sold in many editions and was translated in several languages.

Here in the final edition issued in 1650 by Joost Hartgers of this important journal of Cornelis de Houtman's voyage, the first Dutch fleet to the East Indies of 1595-97, illustrated with newly engraved illustrations of the geography, people and natural history of primarily Java and Bali, set within the text, each within an ornamental side border.

Ioost Hartgers, Amsterdam, in later paper binding, 20.5 x 16 cm, incl. eight in text plates (complete). Woodcut print of two ships on title page.

An excellent, well-margined copy.

Asia in the Making of Europe

According to Lach, this travel journal ‘provided European readers with the most detailed descriptions of Java to date and with the first continuous description of Bali in any language’. In 1598, the year after the return, Lodewyckszoon's account of the voyage instigated 'a flurry of activity among Dutch entrepreneurs' and no fewer than 25 ships set out from two provinces of Holland to the East Indies. Within a period of 18 months, the Dutch had established three trading posts in the Indies which became the foundation of their future control of the Moluccan spice trade and provided a foothold from which to launch further voyages eastward.

This first Dutch venture to the East Indies was instigated by Plancius and by Linschoten's Itinerario. Following their advice, the route took them across the Indian Ocean to the Sunda Straits. He stopped at Sumatra, engaged in trading in Bantam, and made further stops on the northern coast of Java. Lach emphasizes the importance of Lodewijcksz as the 'first eyewitness account of growing pepper and of coconut palms, along with descriptions of the people and other sights on the west coast of Sumatra'. The material on Java is very important, with elaborate ethnographical descriptions: there is an account of the institution of polygamy, a detailed description of a Javan wedding, music, dance, the writing system, language etc. The chapters on Bali present the first account and the first images and the first map of the island.

Lodewyckszoon's accurate coastline profiles were employed by later Dutch fleets, and the plates are among the earliest visual impressions formed by Europeans of this part of the world (Lach reproduces no less than a dozen). Some of the more interesting depict the merchants in Bantam (Peguan, Persian, Arab and Chinese), a Chinese temple (actually Hindu, the original religion which then still had presence on Java), the King of Bali in his ox-drawn chariot, a Javanese gamelan orchestra and a depiction of Javanese court dances (probably Gambang or Bedhaya).

The work appeared the same year in Dutch and French from the same publisher and went through a number of later editions.

(Lach)

Tiele, Memoire Bibliographique sur les Journaux des Navigateurs Neerlandais, p127.

Lach, Asia in the Making of Europe, III, 1.438-9 & III, 3. 1222-34.

Lodewijcksz journal as a first

The Lodewijcksz journal is a first in many ways.
- first Dutch fleet to the Indies
- first printed ship's journal/log of a voyage of discovery
- first images of the Duyfken
- first ethnographic images of daily life in the Indian Ocean, Java, Sumatra, Bali
- first nautical profiles of the coasts of these areas
- first maps and views of Bantam
- first maps and views of Bali
- first printed images of the coins used in the area for trade

The voyage is of seminal importance to the exploration and the cartography of the region.

Transcription and translation of the title page

Eerste SCHIP-VAERT Der Hollanders naer OOST-INDIEN,

Met vier Schepen onder 't beleyt van Cornelis Houtman van Alckmaer, uyt Texel 't zeylgegaen, Anno 1595.

Waer in verhaelt werdt al wat haer sonderlinghs onder wegen bejegent is / als oock de Constitutien, Religien, Zeden en Huysh-houdingen der Volckeren / met den Aerd / Vruchtbaerheydt, Koopmansschappen en andere vreemdigheden der Landen / Die sy beseylt hebben. Seer vermaeckelijck om lesen.

't AMSTERDAM, Voor Ioost Hartgers, Boeck-verkooper op den Dam / in de Boeck-winckel, bezijden het Stadt-huys 1650.

First VOYAGE Of the Dutch to EAST INDIA,

With four ships under the command of Cornelis Houtman from Alkmaar, sailed from Texel in the year 1595.

Wherein is described everything remarkable that happened to them along the way; including the Constitutions, Religions, Customs, and Household management of the Peoples; with the Nature, Fertility, Trade goods and other strangenesses of the Countries, Which they encountered. Very enjoyable to read.

IN AMSTERDAM, For Ioost Hartgers, Book-seller at the Dam / in the Bookstore, beside the City Hall 1650.

Willem Lodewijcksz was a Dutch naval officer and author, known for his detailed account of the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies from 1595 to 1597. This pioneering voyage, led by Cornelis de Houtman, marked the beginning of Dutch involvement in the spice trade and the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

Lodewijcksz's journal, titled D'eerste boeck: Journal ofte beschrijvinghe van de reyse gedaen by de Hollandtsche schepen, provides a comprehensive narrative of the expedition. It offers insights into the challenges faced during the journey, interactions with local populations, and observations of the regions visited. His work is considered one of the earliest and most valuable Dutch accounts of Southeast Asia.

While specific personal details about Lodewijcksz are scarce, his contributions as a chronicler have been instrumental in understanding early Dutch maritime exploration and the subsequent expansion into the East Indies.

We do know from his own journal and from other sources that he was well educated in navigation and in commerce, and that he was fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

He was important enough to take part in the ship's councils during the expedition, and was part of commercial and navigational decisions.

Possibly worried about repercussions for spreading secret information, the journal's author is named only as "G.M.A.W.L.", which was only centuries later deciphered as G(uillaume) M(..) A(lias) W(illem) L(odewycksz).

Interestingly, he was added to the fleet at the very last minute, on the day it was sailing, after it had already spent 10 days of waiting for favourable winds at Texel roadstead. He was added by the Amsterdam faction venture capitalist investors of the fleet, as an "Adelborst", a gentleman officer. These were the well educated young sons of successful citizens brave enough to risk their lives for a steep career in commerce and navigation.

As IJzerman notes:

On the final day of the ships' stay, Saturday, April 1, 1595, so to speak, at the very last moment, Lodewycksz came aboard the Amsterdam. He was accompanied by "some" of the shipowners (who exactly?) and had traveled from Amsterdam to Texel on Wednesday, March 29. The ships had already been anchored there since March 21, while some cadets, including Van der Does, had also traveled overland to Texel on Easter Sunday, March 26.

At the very last moment, Lodewycksz was extraordinarily appointed to the ship bearing the name of the departing Amsterdam. As evidenced by his entire First Book, he acted as a "mediator" between the factions that were noticeable from the very beginning: those on the Mauritius, the Prince's ship, led by Cornelis de Houtman as the senior merchant, and those on the Hollandia, the States' ship, where Houtman's fierce rival Gerrit van Boninghen served as merchant.

Lodewycksz was able to participate in the entire voyage and, in the end, omitting or glossing over all disputes, was able to write the official account of the First Expedition on behalf of the Amsterdam shipowners.