The brutal events on Houtman Abrolhos following the wreck of the Batavia in 1629.

Abstract

The flagship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), the Batavia, was wrecked on the morning of the 4th of June 1629 on an isolated reef of the Houtman Abrolhos islands off the coast of Western Australia. The majority of crew and passengers (180-250, including 30 women and children) were able to reach an island which they called Batavia's Graveyard (now known as Beacon Island). After the commander, Francisco Pelsaert, sailed to Batavia for help, Jeronimus Cornelisz took control. Over the next several months his men raped and murdered at least 125 captive shipwrecked passengers and crew. Upon Pelsaert's return Cornelisz and the ringleaders were tried, had their hands severed, and were executed by hanging. Recent archeological excavations have revealed the nature of the attacks and provided scientific validation of some of the alleged incidents. The Batavia mutiny represents a particularly heinous mass murder in the annals of Australia's maritime history.