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Cornelis de Houtman

Type Figure Region Netherlands Time 1565–1599 Also known as Cornelis de Houtman、Cornelius de Houtman、Kornelis de Houtman、豪特曼

Cornelis de Houtman (1565–1599) was a Dutch navigator who in 1595 led four ships of the Compagnie van Verre on the first Dutch voyage to the East Ind…

Timeline

  1. 1565–1595Gouda · South HollandFrom Gouda, he and his brother Frederick worked for an Amsterdam merchant group. Sent to Lisbon in 1592 to verify East Indies routes and charts, he was briefly detained by the Portuguese for stealing navigational intelligence; released, he returned to the Netherlands, providing firsthand knowledge for preparing a fleet to sail directly to Asia.
  2. 1595–1597Bantam · JavaOn April 2, 1595 he sailed from Texel with the Mauritius, Holland, Amsterdam, and Duyfken, following Linschoten's sailing directions via the Cape of Good Hope and Madagascar, arriving at Bantam, Java, in June 1596. Scurvy, mutiny, and conflict reduced about 249 men to only 87 survivors; commercial returns were slight, but it proved the Dutch could reach the spice sources directly.
  3. 1598–1599Aceh · SumatraHe sailed east again with his brother Frederick in 1598. On September 11, 1599 he was killed in a conflict with the local sultan in Aceh, Sumatra, and Frederick was imprisoned for several years. Though his first voyage was costly, it prompted dozens of Dutch ships to follow within a few years, paving the way for the founding of the Dutch East India Company in 1602.

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