This section contains 1,592 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) |
Born c. 1540,
North Holland
Died 1599,
Sumatra, Indonesia
Cornelis de Houtman’s trip to the East Indies is always called “The First Voyage” because it was the beginning of the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch empire in Indonesia. Little is known about Houtman’s early life except that he was a merchant from the Dutch province of North Holland. His father was a brewer from the famous cheese-making town of Gouda.
Sent to Lisbon
In the summer of 1592 Houtman went to Lisbon, Portugal, in the employ of his wealthy cousin Reynier Pauw. It has long been thought by some historians that he was sent to Lisbon specifically to serve as a commercial spy. According to this theory, his mission was to bring back maps and sailing instructions on the Portuguese route to the East Indies (modern Indonesia) in order...
This section contains 1,592 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) |