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Batavia

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 214 ratings · 62 reviews

The Shipwreck of the Batavia combines in just the one tale the birth of the world's first corporation, the brutality of colonisation, the battle of good vs evil, the derring-do of sea-faring adventure, mutiny, ship-wreck, love, lust, blood-lust, petty fascist dictatorship, criminality, a reign of terror, murders most foul, sexual slavery, natural nobility, survival, retrib...more The Shipwreck of the Batavia combines in just the one tale the birth of the world's first corporation, the brutality of colonisation, the battle of good vs evil, the derring-do of sea-faring adventure, mutiny, ship-wreck, love, lust, blood-lust, petty fascist dictatorship, criminality, a reign of terror, murders most foul, sexual slavery, natural nobility, survival, retribution, rescue, first contact with native peoples and so much more. Described by author Peter FitzSimons as "a true Adults Only version of Lord of the Flies, meeting Nightmare on Elm Street," the story is set in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a mutinous plot that is just about to break into the open when, just off the coast of Western Australia, it strikes an unseen reef in the middle of the night. While Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert decides to take the long-boat across 2000 miles of open sea for help, his second-in-command Jeronimus Cornelisz takes over, quickly deciding that 250 people on a small island is unwieldy for the small number of supplies they have. Quietly, he puts forward a plan to 40 odd mutineers how they could save themselves, kill most of the rest and spare only a half-dozen or so women, including his personal fancy, Lucretia Jansz - one of the noted beauties of Holland - to service their sexual needs. A reign of terror begins, countered only by a previously anonymous soldier Wiebbe Hayes, who begins to gather to him those are prepared to do what it takes to survive . . . hoping against hope that the Commandeur will soon be coming back to them with the rescue yacht. It all happened, long ago, and it is for a very good reason that Peter FitzSimons has long maintained that this is "far and away the greatest story in Australia's history, if not the world's." FitzSimons unique writing style has made him the country's best-selling non-fiction writer over the last ten years, and he is perfect man to make this bloody, chilling, stunning tale come alive.(less)

Paperback, 512 pages

Published October 1st 2012 by Random House Australia (first published February 28th 2011)

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Jan 30, 2013 Averil rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have been morbidly fascinated by the Batavia for some time now - and ravenous for books on its macabre history! When I first learned Peter FitzSimons had a weighty "creative non-fiction" tome coming out on the Batavia, I didn't know whether to groan or cheer. Having just finished reading it, I still don't.

On the one hand - it is so clearly a labour of Batavia-love, with years of research and immersion going into the making of this explicitly detailed account of the ill-fated Batavia's mutinou...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Hazel Key rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did NOT enjoy reading this book. Still, it had me up til 2am like a slave one night trying to find out how, when and where Jeronimus get’s his come-uppance! And he does.
Well, what a sorry saga! Even allowing for the brutality that was so commonplace in the 17th Century, and for the tendency events have for expanding in the imagination as they age, the evil described was difficult to grasp. I found myself visualising a trip to those islands and wondering whether there’d be evidence, in some fo...more I did NOT enjoy reading this book. Still, it had me up til 2am like a slave one night trying to find out how, when and where Jeronimus get’s his come-uppance! And he does.
Well, what a sorry saga! Even allowing for the brutality that was so commonplace in the 17th Century, and for the tendency events have for expanding in the imagination as they age, the evil described was difficult to grasp. I found myself visualising a trip to those islands and wondering whether there’d be evidence, in some form, of the bloodshed and depravity - surely you can’t wipe away such evil in the space of a few hundred years? I mused.

Makes me shiver.

Yet the narrative was disappointing for me, its style inconsistent and jerky. When I was absorbed I found myself suddenly thrown with unsettling regularity by some inappropriate irony or sarcasm from the author. The bloodshed was certainly gruesome, but in the end repetitive. To document each and every murder (and there were many) seemed not only unnecessary but almost indulgent! So I skipped ahead, wanting to discover how J and the others get caught and are punished, although there was little satisfaction in that when it did finally happen I’m relieved for the sake of my own humanity, to say.

Yet the events of the story are ‘true’ (if there is such a thing) and very real for me and I was certainly confronted by the darker side of the human condition. But the author Peter Fitzsimons is caught, in my view, in the narrow vacuum between report and story and wavers there, brushing against the edges of each and robbing the story of its potential to flow. Still, I don’t regret reading it, for its insight into how life was and how fragile is a society whose fabric is made of fear, desperation and greed.

I read something recently in a New Age journal about a ‘consciousness’ emerging in humanity which emanates from the ‘higher self’, and I began to feel that, yes, despite relentless war, starvation and tragedy, we have evolved, because beside it I see plenty of examples of compassion, generosity and pure love.

But maybe that’s just the naivety of someone insulated from reality by the limited bounds of my daily life?(less)

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Jun 27, 2011 Anthony Eaton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm something of a Batavia buff. As a young bloke I spent a good chunk of my life sailing to and from the Abrolhos islands, off the coast of Western Australia, as part of my work on a Sail Training Vessel. Aside from being one of the most startlingly beautiful places on the planet, the Abrolhos islands are also home to one of the most bloody and violent episodes in Australian history - the wreck of the Dutch East Indiaman 'Batavia' on the Wallaby group of Islands during the 1500's, and the massa...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Sean Kennedy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had to laugh when early on in this book FitzSimons states that not many Australians know about the story of the Batavia. It happened in WA, of course the other states don't care about it! However, West Australian school children rarely go throughout their education without learning of the most famous shipwreck of the west coast and most likely going on an excursion to the Maritime Museum in Fremantle to see the pieces of the boat on display (along with some of the skeletons of the victims).

It'...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Karen Beath rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book would be fine if it was fiction - but, despite the fact that Fitzsimons admits to dramatising the truth right at the start, it is still listed as non-fiction. I get it - Fitzsimons is trying to make the story interesting for a wide audience, however, lets put it this way:

shipwreck + mutiny + rebellion = it doesn't get any more interesting than that.

One thing I like about non-fiction is that I get to try to imagine what was going through the minds of the people involved in these events....more

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Feb 27, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great book! The story is phenomenal - I'm surprised it hasn't been made into a film, it's incredibly dramatic. This is therefore a serious page turner - everyone I know who's read it has done so in a couple days. Fitzsimmons does a great job of giving the story of the shipwreck context - he doesn't just start at the wreck, but spends time giving you the political climate and explaining more about the history of the Dutch East India Company. There are really classic elements to the whole tale of...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Helen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have been to visit what remains of the Batavia a number of times in the Fremantle museum and always knew it was something of a horror story in our local history.

Peter Fitsimons, however, manages to weave an incredible tale of corporate greed, sea faring adventure, genocide, repression, mutiny, sexual repression and all out bloody murder of innocents shipwrecked in his tale of the Batavia's cursed voyage.

This book is not for the faint hearted, if anything it is a study in the power a charisma...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Dave rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I bought this book on the way to Bali, I spent 3 days in Abud up in the mountains at a place called the royal Pitmahar a beautiful tranquil place, in the back ground you could hear the traditional music and chanting all night,amongst the rice paddies and tropical back ground, the hand carved huts we stayed in, could have been back in the time of BATAVIA (Java) not that far from were we were, It all added to the ambiance of the book and I for the first time felt as if each time I picked the book...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Toni rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I didn’t know about this part of Australian history but I adore history and have enjoyed Peter FitzSimmons other books so was keen to read this one. I was horrified but not surprised to read of this event. The Batavia was a Dutch ship which was shipwrecked off the coast of Western Australia in the 1600’s. Of the approximately 200 that survived the shipwreck, mutineers murdered over 100 of them to keep food, water and other resources for themselves. I thought the author did a fantastic job of cre...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Saija rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a book that shows the horrors of the fallen nature of human beings. It's non fiction, which makes it scary. It is a book that once i started reading I didn't want to put down, kind of like a horrible car crash. The story is horrible, but I liked the style of writing and how the author didn't dwell in all the gory details although he did describe (and bring to life unfortunately) how people would feel when they are dying of thirst etc. I didn't know anything about this part of the world...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Kumara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I never heard of The Batavia before I picked this book up by chance. It reads like a adult version of Lord of the Flies with the difference of this being non fiction. It is a fascinating story of the Batavia and the surviors after she sinks after hitting a reef of the coast of Australia. The brutality in this book would be hard to belive or take in fiction let alone fact. This is by no means a easy read as the level of violence is pretty shocking but as a study of human nature dealing in a situa...more

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May 18, 2013 Joy Merritt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Impressed with the research and how it felt quite real- how he brought through history and taught about the times and ways of the world and other countries while making it feel like a novel or story. But it was soooo hard to read. Too many characters and the names were so similar - obviously nothing could be done about that, but I had to push my way through the whole book and almost relieved when finished. I'm not sure if I'd commit to reading another if his books, although the premise interests...more

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Jul 08, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I lived in Freemantle for about 12 months. During my time there, I must have visited the Western Australian Maritime Museum on at least six occasions. I loved it. Probably the highlight for me was the remnants and stories of the macabre aftermath of the 17th Century ship wreck of the Dutch East Indies Ship, the Batavia off the north coast of West Aussie. The book, ‘Batavia’, is FitzSimons’ interpretation of those macabre months after the wreck.

I loved this book. From what I remembered from my v...more I lived in Freemantle for about 12 months. During my time there, I must have visited the Western Australian Maritime Museum on at least six occasions. I loved it. Probably the highlight for me was the remnants and stories of the macabre aftermath of the 17th Century ship wreck of the Dutch East Indies Ship, the Batavia off the north coast of West Aussie. The book, ‘Batavia’, is FitzSimons’ interpretation of those macabre months after the wreck.

I loved this book. From what I remembered from my visits and reading at the Museum, FitzSimons’ remains faithful to the historic data of the events that took place; certainly, it is well referenced and has had a great deal of research invested in it. Beyond that though, FitzSimons’ gives the book panache as he writes it as though he is telling us the story in his lounge room, next to the open fire, with enough good Scotch to share with all of us who care to listen. Having listened to FitzSimons’ commentary and him being interviewed on a number of occasions, his voice comes through loud and clear; and this is a bloke who doesn’t mind a chat. In Dec last year, 2011, he was the interviewee of a world breaking 24 hour radio interview. However, that very ‘storytelling’ nature of this book will, I imagine, irritate the ‘pure’ historians as FitzSimons breathes life into the history.

Given the distinct FitzSimons’ voice to the book, I am not sure it is for everybody. I can see that his voice can be irritating to many, but (and to use a quip he used in the book) ‘not this little black duck’. To further put readers off, it is not a book for the light hearted. This event is one of the many instances in history where men have demonstrated the depth of depravity to which we are capable and the giddying, corrosive nature that power secretes in us. Beware! This is a real life Lord of the Flies!

Lastly, and for no other reason than I am a Rugby tragic, FitzSimons’ played for the Wallabies! That has to give him creditability? Doesn’t it Warrick?
(less)

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Jan 03, 2012 Lorenzio Phillibuster Fireworks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Say what you will about Peter FitzSimons as a person, he knows how to tell a good story. It took me a while to really get into the stride of this book, but once I did I was hooked.

FitzSimons expertly retells the story of the Batavia and all who sailed on it with all the theatrics of the narrator of horror stories around the campfire, or the most dedicated of actors upon the stage. Hereinlies the brilliance and the failing of this book. Undertstandably, and as Peter FitzSimons makes every effort...more Say what you will about Peter FitzSimons as a person, he knows how to tell a good story. It took me a while to really get into the stride of this book, but once I did I was hooked.

FitzSimons expertly retells the story of the Batavia and all who sailed on it with all the theatrics of the narrator of horror stories around the campfire, or the most dedicated of actors upon the stage. Hereinlies the brilliance and the failing of this book. Undertstandably, and as Peter FitzSimons makes every effort to acknowledge before he begins his recount; most of the original documentation of the events of 1629 is no longer available. His narration of the events then, is fictionalised based on the evidence available and the best attempts possible to understand the workings and motives of all the major players.

The result is a very readable account of what happened and how and it is very easy to understand exactly how and why the orginal intended mutiny was developed, and how chaos errupted after the ship hit the coral reefs. By the end of the book I felt that I was inside the heads of all of the people involved, I could have eve BEEN them. I felt the desperation, the fear, the terror and the lust for control and more power experienced by the mutineers.

However it took me a long time to reach this point. For a long time I struggled with the format - the non fiction book written like a Mi=ddle Ages Matthew Reilly best seller. In fact the book still feels that way for me. It took until atleast halfway through the book for me to stop saying "But WHY have you included this detail when you don't know it is true and it doesn't REALLY need to be fictionalised in order to explain the events." Case in point: In Chapter Two: Cry Mutiny! on page 81, FitzSimons describes Jeronimus enters Jacobsz quarters to discover him in bed with his mistress Zwaantje and then leaves. This particular paragraph serves no purpose to the rest of the narration and there is no certainty that the event took place or was documented by any of the three involved.

In the end it was the gripping narration that had me so eagerly turning the pages and for the most part I really enjoyed the read. But until very near the end, I treated all the people as characters - they were not real people for me until justice was at hand. It is mostly the Epilogue that really convinced me that this did actually happen in some way - that Jeronimus did order the murder of most of the survivors of the wreck slowly over a period of nearly three months before rescue was at hand. That the atrocities and bravery exhibited by such a small percentage of the population did happen, and so close to home. That people managed to survive for months off small amounts of water and food, through madness and the knowledge that any chance of survival let alone rescue was slim and whether such feats could still be achieved today.

ETA: Some interesting facts:

The first European structure to be built on the territory of Australia was a set of gallows to hang the mutineers.

Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom, two men Pelsaert decided not to hang, but did not want to bring back to Batavia were given a small supply of food and water and sent on a raft towards the coast of Australia. While there is no documentation to detail what happened to these two men, there is an Indigenous tribe in the northern part of Western Australia with Dutch words in their dialect, European features and the second highest incidence of extra fingers and toes - the highest is the Mennonites who are of Dutch origins.

Despite only being 6 metres below sea level, the wreck of the Batavia was not discovered until 1963. (less)

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Dec 28, 2012 Mrz9876 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction-history

I'm not a big fan of FitzSimons' rather creative writing style (e.g. trying to guess what was going through a person's head at any particular moment nearly four hundred years ago), but he is very up-front and honest about what he has dramatized and the sources he has used, and why he takes such an approach. In the end, he achieves his goal, bringing this incredible story to life in an entertaining manner. It's a fabulous story, even if (or perhaps because) it's patched together with a bit of hea...more

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May 06, 2012 Patrick J. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, non-fiction

Batavia by Peter Fitzsimons is amazing. It also brought to light the fact that Europeans came to Australia before the First Fleet Landing in 1788. Though dramatised, it is still hard to believe the utter evil that occurred during this disaster on the shores of Western Australia. It's not a spoiler when I say that voyage of Batavia didn't end well. Every Australian should read this book. I can't wait to read more by this incredible author and story-teller.

5 STARS.

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Nov 16, 2011 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's hard to believe how insane, disgusting and impressive the events after the Batavia shipwreck were. Imagine if before the Titanic hit the iceberg there had been a mutiny plot and afterwards the crew went on a killing spree slaughtering men, women and children and turning the most attractive of the ladies on board into sexual slaves (the ones they found unattractive were killed) and then things get really interesting!

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Jan 22, 2012 Maggie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-for-challenges, aussie-authors, real-people-history, favourites, historical

Brilliantly told story of the 'Batavia', a Dutch ship which travelled via Australia's western coast line towards the Spice Islands in 1629. On her maiden voyage she hit a coral reef and gradually sank, however most of the passengers and crew survived, eeking out a terrible existence on the coral reefs and surrounding inhospitable islands. So life was pretty tough for these people. And that was before the murders took place.

This is true story and Peter FitzSimons has written a wonderful book out...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fitzsimons is no academic historian but he is a great yarn spinner. I really enjoyed this book and I think Fitzsimons aim to write a readable and entertaining account has been very successful. Enough so that any 'creativity' as he calls it can be easily forgiven. Fitzsimons' speaking style and very Australian sense of humour comes through clearly in this book and and it would be a great book to listen to for those who enjoy audio books.

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Jan 25, 2013 Ruth Bingham rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After enjoying Peter Fitzsimmons other books Kokoda & Mawson I was interested in Batavia. He does a lot of research & gives a lot of background for his books which I like. I have been to Western Australia to the Museum in Freemantle and was intrigued by the story of the shipwreck. Incredible events took place, hard to believe it is a true story.

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Mar 10, 2012 Lia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-while-in-surabaya-2012

Being Dutch, living in Surabaya and counting Australians among my new friends, who incidentally have started me on an exploration of Australian authors, I was absolutely enthralled by this book. What an amazing reconstruction of a bonechilling story.

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Dec 07, 2011 Kenno82 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This truly is an amazing story. FitzSimons does it justice, however I was often left wondering what was fact and what was fiction. The author is quite open in saying that he has taken license to stray from the historical record to entertain his readers... and this is achieved.

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Feb 04, 2013 Shelley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of the best books I've ever read. Gripping! I couldn't put it down. This will surely be made into a major motion picture and it will be an epic blockbuster on the order of Braveheart and the Titanic.

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May 28, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A very good history regarding a story I knew nothing about. Apparently well known in Australia but even all these years after it happened it is still a very disturbing story. Very highly recommended.

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Dec 02, 2011 Alethea rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A very detailed recounting of the story of the Batavia, its sinking off the WA coast and the horrors the survivors encountered at the hands of the ship's mutineers. There were a few times when the use of Dutch words with their English translation in the same sentence, rather than as a footnote, interrupted the flow of the prose which was distracting. Also distracting was the use of third person and then first person diologue and most especially the use of modern phrases.

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Dec 24, 2012 Frumenty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A very satisfying book. I don't remember where I have read this tale before, but I thought before I started the book that I would find myself a bit impatient with its retelling. Not so.

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Nov 26, 2012 Brigette rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Definitely an interesting subject matter, but his writing sometimes annoyed me as I felt he was putting thoughts / speech into the characters' that he couldn't possibly have known. Prefer the writing style of In the Heart of the Sea where Philbrick would say "it is likely that...".

Still, a very interesting topic and one I've wanted to read about for ages.

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Aug 08, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A rollicking yarn which combines the fascinating story of the Dutch East India company with mutineers, murder and mayhem - all true history and just off the coast of Australia.

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Mar 15, 2012 William rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great book. Very well written by peter FitzSimons and tells a story about one of Australia's least known massacres. Chilling story about what really happened. Highly recommend.

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Nov 03, 2012 Adam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An amazing historical story that shouls be as well known to Aussie's as the Ned Kelly story. Full of tradegy, blood shed, heros and villians. Loved it!

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About Peter FitzSimons

Peter FitzSimons is one of Australia’s most prominent and successful media and publishing identities. His busy professional life involves co-hosting the breakfast program on Sydney's Radio 2UE, writing weekly columns for the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun Herald newspapers, appearing on Foxtel's Back Page television show and, when time permits, authoring best-selling books. A correspondent for Lond...more

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