Batavia, a Dutch East Indiaman, sank in 1629 on its maiden voyage to the Indies in the Houtman Abrolhos Archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. The ship gained notoriety for the mutiny and horrific massacre that engulfed the survivors after the wreck, but the vessel itself was lost for centuries. The remains of the ship were discovered in 1963, and excavated between 1971 and 1980 by a team of archaeologists from the Western Australian Museum. The surviving hull timbers, raised from the seabed by archaeologists, represent approximately 3.5 percent of the original hull. They include part of the transom and aft port quarter of the ship. To date, Batavia represents the only excavated remains of an early seventeenth–century Dutch East Indiaman that have been raised and conserved in a way that permits detailed study. This is of great significance as there are no lines drawings or construction plans for any Dutch ships from this period. The study and comparison of the Batavia hull timbers with those of other Dutch shipwrecks and historic documentation contributes to the understanding of Dutch shipbuilding techniques at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries.

The constant mutability of cultures as they meet and mix provides an ongoing laboratory in which to explore human dynamics. In this dissertation, I analyze the process and results of one indigenous-colonial encounter in Dutch Indonesia, using archaeological evidence from Banten, Java that illuminates interactions between Bantenese elites and Dutch East India Company (VOC) soldiers in the 17th to early 19th century. Banten, a global trade center and the focal point of Dutch expansion in Asia, had a cosmopolitan and multinational society of long standing, already apparent when the Dutch arrived in 1596. My research shows that a kind of "reverse" colonialism occurred here. Bantenese cultural influences penetrated more deeply into Dutch culture than the other way around, so that colonial Dutch culture took on a new, hybridized identity. Utensils and vessels necessary for preparing and serving meals from excavations in the indigenous Sultan's Surosowan Palace, its surrounding Fort Diamond manned by VOC soldiers, and the Dutch headquarters at Fort Speelwijk provide the evidence. Petrographic and archaeological study indicate that the Dutch used locally produced Bantenese-style cooking vessels and lids, rather than import European tripod pots to accommodate their traditional open-fire cooking. Local Bantenese continued to use cooking stoves without tripod vessels, maintaining their culinary habits. VOC archives revealed a change in Dutch staple food from bread to rice. Hired male cooks and local women who prepared home meals (as wives and concubines) acted as cultural conduits, while vibrant local manufacturing and trade made local goods readily available. Thus Dutch cooking became hybridized with locally available vessels and ingredients. The Banten results differed from the Dutch Cape Colony in South Africa but were similar to the Dejima trading post in Japan where the Dutch relied on local products. I conclude that proximity and daily interactions with the host society were crucial for shaping Dutch responses to the new environments and creating hybrid culture, instead of replicating their homeland. This study places Banten on the global map of cross-cultural interactions and colonial discourse; I hope to stimulate other researchers to test my hypotheses and build on these interpretations. / 2016-12-31T00:00:00Z

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis aims to explore Indian forced migration to the Cape Colony from 1658 to 1834. The forgotten diaspora‘ of its title refers to the first Indians who had come to the shores of South Africa, long before the arrival—between 1860 and 1911—of the indentured Indians. This diaspora has been forgotten, partially because these migrants came as slaves. The author uses data extracted from the newly transcribed Master of the Orphan Chamber (MOOC) series and slave transfers which are housed in the Western Cape Provincial Archives and Records Service (WCARS). The Cape colonial data is considered among the best in the world. Earlier historians such as Victor de Kock, Anna Böeseken, Frank Bradlow and Margaret Cairns, have made us aware of their existence primarily through Transportenkennis and Schepenkennis (transport and shipping information) documents in the Deeds Registry. Not nearly enough, however, is known about these Indian slaves, especially about those who arrived between 1731 and 1834. These lacunae include the number of arrivals; their sex ratios; ages and origins; and the circumstances under which they came. This thesis aims to construct a census of Indian slaves brought to the Cape from 1658 to 1834—along the lines of Philip Curtin's aggregated census of the Trans- Atlantic slave trade, but based on individual case level data coded directly from primary sources. This is the first time the size of the creole population born at the Cape will be established.

The play Batavia re-tells the story of a Dutch East India Company ship, wrecked off the West Australian coast in 1628. In writing Batavia, I consider issues of ethics and pragmatics in deciding how best to use or adapt historical sources--choices often between historical accuracy and effectiveness on stage. The playscript illustrates choices made. The exegesis examines the literature surrounding these considerations, and looks at other writers' comments and approaches to the problem. It suggests a pragmatics of playwrighting is well grounded in philosophy and is a more fruitful approach than the traditional 'ethical' approach.

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