Java – Henri Chatelain, 1720

JAVA, WITH THE ACCOUNT OF HOW THE DUTCH TOOK BATAVIA

“Carte de l’Ile de Java”, copper engraving by Henri Abraham Châtelain, published in Amsterdam in 1720 as part of the Atlas Historique. Coloured by a later hand. Size (incl. text): 38 x 87 cm.

The map shows the island of Java, both its western and eastern parts, “newly compiled from the most accurate sources.” Dutch trading posts are marked with flags. The accompanying text describes the island and recounts the remarkable way in which the Dutch “established themselves” in the city of Batavia. As follows:

The island of Java is about 210 miles long from east to west, 40 miles from north to south, and has a circumference of 460 miles. The climate is not excessively hot, although it lies between the 6th and 9th degrees of southern latitude.

The soil is fertile and yields large quantities of indigo, considered the best in the world. Most of it is collected in the region of Bantam. The island also produces rice, sugar, and benzoin resin. There are forests, rivers, springs, and mines of gold, silver, and copper, as well as some diamonds, rubies, and emeralds — though only in small quantities.

The island is plagued by snakes and mosquitoes. It was formerly divided into nine or ten kingdoms; today there are only two rulers: the emperor (Pakubuwono I) and the Dutch, as the king of Bantam is under the control of the Company. After having traded for several years in the Indies and grown wealthy from their spoils and commerce, the Dutch judged that they could not firmly establish their operations in these parts without a place of refuge — somewhere to repair their ships and rest from the hardships of the sea.

They set their sights on Java and chose the location where the English had built a small trading post for their commercial convenience, near the town of Jacatra.

There is a stretch of coast there where ships can safely anchor year-round, at the mouth of a river that allows large sloops to sail half a mile inland. The water is so pure that it does not spoil during long sea voyages — a quality it shares with that of the Ganges and the Thames.

Having decided to settle on Java, the Dutch began building a trading lodge in the town of Jacatra around the year 1617. Their commerce quickly flourished to such an extent that the islanders became highly jealous. The following year, the Dutch were attacked — incited by the English, who even provided support to the local forces.

The Dutch, exposed in open ground, constructed a barricade using large bales of merchandise, which they reinforced with the cannons from their ships. In this way, they managed to repel the enemy attacks and set about improving their defences. They built a tower on a dike near the Antsioll river, bringing in large quantities of stone and lime by ship. Once this tower was equipped with cannons, they were able to withstand repeated assaults by the emperor (Sultan Agung of Mataram), who sought to destroy it. After defeating these attacks, they dispatched ships to nearby islands to gather more stone, with which they built the four bastions of Fort Batavia — which still stand today.

As the Dutch fortified their position, the sultan feared that if he allowed them to complete their stronghold, he would never be able to dislodge them. He assembled a large army and many small boats to cross a swamp in the area, and moved to attack the fort, which by then was already well established. The assault was fierce and met with equal resistance. A second attack followed, no less intense than the first.

One of the enemy commanders, disaffected with the sultan, sought refuge in the Dutch fort and informed them of the strength and plans of their opponents. He also gave them one particularly effective piece of advice: to collect their own excrement and hurl it at the attackers during the assault. Since the enemy were all Muslims, their religion required them to undergo six days of ritual purification if they were defiled by such “Christian filth.”

The strategy worked precisely as intended: the Javanese, confronted with this substance which they feared even more than gunpowder, dropped their storming ladders in panic and fled. The Dutch pursued and easily drove them off.

The Dutch general (Jan Pieterszoon Coen), however, ventured too far in pursuit of the enemy and was ambushed on his return by a group of Javanese, who showed no mercy to his small force. Most of those struck by their poisoned arrows died immediately. The general was taken prisoner and brought before the sultan, who offered to release him if he would surrender the fort. Otherwise, he would be a slave for life, along with his captured companions.

The general, a man of cunning, assured the sultan he was ready to hand over the fort with all those defending it. He was led to the walls and shouted in Malay — so the sultan could understand — that he would surrender. But then he explained to the sultan that the Dutch would obey him more readily if he repeated the order in their native tongue — at which point he spoke in Dutch instead, not to surrender but to encourage resistance.

This inspired the defenders, who fought back so effectively that the sultan was forced to retreat. He took the general with him and had him confined in a narrow prison. But the general found a way to escape and returned to Batavia, where he was received with great joy.

On either side of the map, the main cities are listed:

• Batavia, formerly Jacatra. The capital is of medium size, but beautiful, clean, wealthy, densely populated, and built in the modern style. It is the trading hub of the Dutch East India Company and well-fortified with a strong citadel and four bastions. The population is diverse, but dominated by the Dutch, who hold power. There are also Chinese, Moors, Malays, and others, all of whom pay a head tax in order to trade freely. The Supreme Council of the Indies is based in Batavia, overseeing all other trading posts and handling the Company’s affairs in the region.
• Ceribon, 30 miles east of Batavia on the north coast, lies on a small river and is bounded to the south by high mountains.
• Tegal, on the north coast, 40 miles from Batavia. Three or four miles inland is a bitumen hill that ignites from time to time.
• Semarang, 10 miles from Japara.
• Japara, formerly the capital of the entire island and the seat of the emperor (Sultan Agung of Mataram). Alarmed by the Dutch establishment in Batavia, the ruler relocated to Mataram, believing himself safer there. A few years ago, the sultan ceded this place to the Dutch, along with the city of Ceribon, in gratitude for their support against his two brothers who contested the throne.
• Bambang, 7 miles east of Japara.
• Passuruan, about 50 miles from Japara.
• Palambuam or Balambouang, on the east coast, near the mouth of a river of the same name, two miles inland.
• Mataram, on the south coast, now the seat of the sultan.
• Issebongon, toward the western tip of the island.
• Palimbam, on the west coast, with a good and busy harbour.
• Bantam, capital of the kingdom of the same name, now under Dutch control. The Dutch have built a fort there. The king is a vassal of the Company, who allows him to remain in power for political reasons only.

Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684–1743) was a Huguenot pastor of Parisian origin. He lived successively in Paris, St. Martins, London (ca. 1710), The Hague (ca. 1721), and Amsterdam (ca. 1728). Chatelain is best known as a Dutch cartographer, particularly for his contribution to the seven-volume Atlas Historique, published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720.

The Atlas Historique was innovative for its time: it combined fine engraving and illustration with scholarly treatises on geography, history, ethnology, heraldry, and cosmography. Some scholars believe that the atlas was not compiled by Henri Chatelain alone, as is often assumed, but rather was a family project involving his father Zacharie and his brother — also named Zacharie.

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