Descriptio Hydrographica… Eygentliche Ansfuhrliche….

Right hand side sheet of Theodor de Bry&#8217s two sheet map from part III of the German edition of Petits Voyages , showing the outbound and return routes of the first Dutch voyage to the East Indies under the command of Cornelius de Houtman and Pieter Dircksz. Terra Australis Incognita is shown with the names Beach, Maleteur and Lucach as derived from the scribed accounts of Marco Polo&#8217s travels. After gaining their independence from Spain, the Dutch found all Iberian ports closed to them and facing financial ruin, they sought alternative sources of supply for trade goods from the East. These events coincided with the publication of Jan Huygen van Linschoten&#8217s Reysgeschrift van der Navigatien der Portugaloysers in Orienten in 1595, the first publication to include the secret Portuguese navigational information required to sail from Europe to the East Indies. Within a year of Linschoten&#8217s publication, the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies left the Netherlands under the command of Frederick de Houtman, taking the route recommended by Linschoten via the the southern Cape of Africa, across the Indian Ocean and through the Sunda Strait. After almost fifteen months at sea, they reached the important Javanese port of Bantam, where they stayed for almost four and half months. Despite the presence of the Portuguese in the port, Houtman was able to purchase spices and concluded a trade contract with the sovereign. He then continued the voyage along Java&#8217s north coast before setting sail for the Netherlands in January 1597. Although the commercial results of Houtman&#8217s voyage were disappointing for the owners, it was significant for confirming the exact location of the Moluccas and the sea route via the Cape, and Sunda Strait. In the five years succeeding Houtman&#8217s voyage, some sixty heavily-armed ships made their way between Europe and the East. Before long, the thirst for the potential wealth that could be gained there led to fighting between individual Dutch merchants. In order to resolve the situation, the competing companies were amalgamated into the newly formed Dutch East India Company (VOC) and granted a charter by the States-General in 1602 for a period of twenty-one years, effectively giving the company a monopoly of this lucrative trade. From de Bry&#8217s Petits Voyages . References: Clancy p.70, ill. map 5.15, Clancy (R) p.74, ill.pp.70-71, Parry pp.87-92, ill.pl.4.6, Quirino p.99, Richardson 71, Schilder (K) p.16.