Batavias Graveyard, Mike Dash
Batavias Graveyard, Mike Dash
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Batavia's Graveyard
The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny

Author: Mike Dash

Narrator: Guy Bethell

Unabridged: 12 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/29/2016


Synopsis

It was the autumn of 1628, and the Batavia, the Dutch East India Company's flagship, was loaded with a king's ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java. The Batavia was the pride of the Company's fleet, a tangible symbol of the world's richest and most powerful commercial monopoly. She set sail with great fanfare, but the Batavia and her gold would never reach Java, for the Company had also sent along a new employee, Jeronimus Corneliszoon, a bankrupt and disgraced man who possessed disarming charisma and dangerously heretical ideas.

With the help of a few disgruntled sailors, Jeronimus soon sparked a mutiny that seemed certain to succeed—but for one unplanned event: In the dark morning hours of June 3, the Batavia smashed through a coral reef and ran aground on a small chain of islands near Australia. The commander of the ship and the skipper evaded the mutineers by escaping in a tiny lifeboat and setting a course for Java to summon help. Nearly all of the passengers survived the wreck and found themselves trapped on a bleak coral island without water, food, or shelter. Leaderless, unarmed, and unaware of Jeronimus's treachery, they were at the mercy of the mutineers.

About Mike Dash

Mike Dash is a historian with an MA from Cambridge University and a PhD from the University of London. A former professional journalist with articles in numerous national newspapers and magazines, Dash is the author of seven books, including Satan's Circus, Thug, Batavia's Graveyard, and Tulipomania. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.


Reviews

Goodreads review by 'Aussie Rick' on February 24, 2013

Batavia's Graveyard what a name for a book! I could not resist picking this book up as soon as I saw it and I am so happy that I did. It was one of the best historical tales I have read for some time. Being an Australian I knew something of the Batavia but not the full story. In fact I had examined......more

Goodreads review by Nancy on June 12, 2009

read 2/04/2004 If you are planning on reading this, let me give you a heads up. What's between the covers of this book is NOT for the squeamish...I thought the story of the wreck of the Essex was bad but this takes the cake. Batavia's Graveyard was the name given to a small island off the western coas......more

Goodreads review by Colin on January 11, 2022

Geez. If you didn't know this story was real, you'd think it was a book!......more

Goodreads review by Brendan on February 04, 2024

Holy hell this escalates quickly! Seriously, this book (and Joan Druett’s Island of the Lost) made me fall in love with reading history again. What you have here is one of the craziest stories you have never heard before. I honestly googled as soon as it was done to check that it actually happened. Th......more