Colonizing the Colonizer
A Dutchman in Asia Portuguesa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20069969 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ivo Kamps (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Pages | 160-183 |
| Publication date | 2001-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Travel Knowledge (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan US (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/978-1-349-62233-7_19 |
| OpenAlex | W2505683702 |
| ISBN | 9781349622337 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 11 |
So read the opening lines of the travel narrative of one of the most notable of early modern Dutch travelers, Jan Huyghen van Linschoten. Born circa 1563 as the son of an innkeeper and his wife, and enthralled by the childhood "reading of Histories, and straunge adventures" (1),2 van Linschoten left his hometown of Enkhuizen in 1579 and embarked on a voyage of almost 13 years that took him, among other places, to Portugal, India, Terceira Island, and many places in between. Van Linschoten may have set out merely to feed his addiction "to see ... into strange Countries," but the impact of his travel writings on the course of Dutch exploration makes it clear that he satisfied the curiosity and economic appetites of many of his countrymen as well. Because, at a time when Dutch exploration to the East was still in its infancy, he drew his countrymen's attention to the Indonesian isle of Java, which eventually became a crucial part of an expansive Dutch colonial empire, he is credited as one of the "causes of the rapid rise of the Dutch power in the Indies."3 Charles McKew Parr, who lauds him as the Dutch Marco Polo, shows that van Linschoten's Reysgeschrift van de Navigatiën der Portugaloys ers in Oriënten (Pilot's Guide), a text that describes in detail various sea routes to the East (and that became part of the Itinerario), "had a direct effect upon the discoveries and conquests made by the Dutch, English and French navigators in the Far East."4 What is more, van Linschoten told his readers that the Portuguese were no longer the unassailable power everyone thought them to be. He described the poor discipline, horrendous conditions, and inexperience aboard Portuguese vessels. He described the dilapidated and undermanned state of Portuguese fortresses in the East, and he drew attention to the corruption and decadence that existed on all levels of government in Goa, the Portuguese capital of India.5 Such information surely contributed to the Dutch decision to compete with the Portuguese in the East, and hence added greatly to the reduction of Portuguese influence in that part of the world. That the Dutch commercial efforts in the East against the Portuguese were successful beyond anyone's wildest expectations is a matter of historical record.6KeywordsNative WomanDutch OriginalDutch ColonialColonial DiscoursePortuguese ColonizerThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves
Adventure · Ancient history · Art · Art history · Colonialism · Curiosity · Empire · Humanities · Indonesian · Literature · Narrative · Political science · Power (physics) · Wife · Asian Studies and History · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Philippine History and Culture · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2011 - 2018 (8) |
| Highly cited | No |