Recent Dutch-Language Publications

Bijdragen tot de taal- land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, vol. 178, pp. 141–157

Abstract

On its second journey to the Indies on January 9, 1740, the voc vessel Rooswijk shipwrecked on the notorious Goodwin Sands off the British coast.None of its crew of 237 survived.It is one of the more than two thousand documented cases of wreckage in these waters.Of the crew, until now only 24 have been identified.Rooswijk's remains were discovered in 2004 by private explorers.To prevent an uncontrolled and commercial exploitation, which would damage historical research, Dutch and British authorities introduced legislation which forbade unauthorized searches.The Dutch archeological underwater service started research on the Rooswijk in 2017.Until now, 3,000 objects have been found.This book by maritime archeologist Manders and archeologist/novelist Van der Haar concentrates on the Rooswijk, but intends to give a comprehensive account of voc shipping and maritime archeology.Both stories are romanticized, but as the authors contend, represent realistic possible scenarios.Thus the story of the ship is told through the experiences and observations of six fictive crew members.The archeological part, with a lot on the procedures and specific aspects of exploring the sea bottom are told by a first person narrator.There is no information on sources consulted, or the manner of approach of the book.It thus remains a readable novel with a lot of useful information, but with unaccounted sources.

Authors 1

1. Harry A. Poeze corresponding Aachen KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies The Netherlands Leiden KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

   Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

   Affiliation as printed

   KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies The Netherlands Leiden

   kitlv/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Leiden, The Netherlands