Steven van der Hagen
Encyclopedia
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(VOC). He made three visits to the East Indies, spending six years in all there. He was appointed to the Raad van Indië. Van der Hagen protested against the harsh administration of the administrators, who wanted a monopoly on the clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
trade and were willing to fight against their Spanish, Portuguese, English or Asiatic trade competitors in order to get it. Laurens Reael
Laurens Reael
Dr. Laurens Reael was an employee of the VOC, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in 1616-1617 and an admiral of the Dutch navy from 1625-27.-Early life:...
and Steven van der Hagen wrote with disapproval on how the Heren XVII treated the interests and laws of the Maluku
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
population.
Both argued that the Company had no right to compel the natives of the Moluccas to sell their spices exclusively to the Dutch, unless the latter could supply them in return with adequate supplies of food and clothing at reasonable prices. They urged that is was better, in the long run, for the Dutch to content themselves with large sales and small profits rather than strive for a rigid and oppressive monopoly which aimed at small sales and big profits. Moreover, Laurens Reael
Laurens Reael
Dr. Laurens Reael was an employee of the VOC, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in 1616-1617 and an admiral of the Dutch navy from 1625-27.-Early life:...
and Van der Hagen, while prepared in the last extremity to use force against their English competitors in the Moluccas were reluctant to do so otherwise, for fear of unfavourable repercussions on Anglo-Dutch relations in Europe - a possibility that did not worry Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen was a officer of the Dutch East India Company in the early seventeenth century, holding two terms as its Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies....
. Finally they both considered that it might be unjust and unwise to exclude Asian traders, whether Chinese, Malay or Javanese, from the Moluccas by force.
Life
Steven van der Hagen was born around 1563 in AmersfoortAmersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
and was brought up by an aunt, his father's sister, after his parents fled to the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
due to the Dutch Revolt
Dutch Revolt
The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...
. Steven was given a good education which included Latin. When he was ten he went to visit his father Andries van der Hagen in Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, and together they went to Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
and Doornik to seek work for him. Steven began work at a silkworkers' shop on the market square, before returning to Ypres to receive further education from his uncle Willem van der Hagen.
Andalucia
At 12, Steven developed a great interest in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and (unbeknownst to his uncle) he traveled to Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
on foot to catch a ship there. A ship's captain heard that Steven was not a Fleming and asked him if he had run away from home. Once they got into conversation, Steven found out that five Antwerp merchants were traveling to Spain on this ship. Steven made a good impression on one of the merchants, who thought him wellbred, and offered (under conditions) to take him to Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
with him. For reasons of security, Steven did not use his surname so that nobody would connect him to his well-known uncle.
A few days later Steven was discovered by his cousin, who told him to go home, but Steven refused to give up his voyage because he had been beaten by his uncle. The ship left within a few days on the easterly wind. Steven was taken on by a shopkeeper in linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
in Sanlúcar
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Sanlúcar de Barrameda is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposite the Doñana National Park, 52 km from the provincial capital Cádiz and...
, who had a troublesome and difficult wife. Steven stayed for two years, until he spoke Spanish well. On a walk through Seville, he met one of the merchants who had brought him to Spain. Steven refused to re-enter his service and instead moved to Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera is a municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, situated midway between the sea and the mountains. , the city, the largest in the province, had 208,896 inhabitants; it is the fifth largest in Andalusia...
. On the way he stayed with a shepherd, who offered him goats' milk and cheese. In Jerez, Steven met Don Garcia d'Avila, who gave him accommodation in his palace. Steven watched bullfights in the market square and horse-mounted fights in the streets.
In 1578 Spain went to war with Barbary
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
- a number of Dutch boats fought for Spain, but their crews returned dangerously ill and when they were being given the sacrament
Eucharist (Catholic Church)
"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood."...
as part of their last rites
Last Rites
The Last Rites are the very last prayers and ministrations given to many Christians before death. The last rites go by various names and include different practices in different Christian traditions...
, so that they could be buried in holy ground, Steven acted as interpreter.
Steven met a ship's captain from Medemblik
Medemblik
Medemblik is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.- History :...
, many of whose crew had died of diarrhea
Diarrhea
Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...
, and joined the crew for the return journey to Holland. The ship took on a cargo of salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and set off in convoy. When Steven got back to Holland, he returned to Amersfoort and heard that his mother had died and his father had remarried.
With the money he inherited he travelled to Italy. In 1587 his ship was lost in Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
in the raid by Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
. He succeeded to get back to Hoorn and in 1589, he married Stephania van der Made in Amsterdam in a civil ceremony before the schepen
Schepen
A schepen is a Dutch word referring to a municipal civic office in Dutch-speaking countries. The term is still in use in Belgium, but it has been replaced by wethouder in the Netherlands. The closest English terms are alderman, member of the municipal executive, councillor and magistrate,...
en. Their church marriage took place a few months later in Utrecht.
At sea
- Merchant and pioneer of the so-called "Straatvaart" to Spain by Northern Netherlandish ship owners (1585–1593). He is also known as a ship's captain, who as early as 1587 (on behalf of his clients from HoornHoorn-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
) led a convoy of 120 last, 240 ton ships through the “straat” (straits). This made it possible not only to transport heavier wheat cargoes, but also longer goods, like ships' masts. - Merchant on two ships to the Gulf of GuineaGulf of GuineaThe Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....
(July 1597 - March 1598). - Admiral of three ships of the Compagnie van VerreCompagnie van VerreThe Compagnie van Verre was a forerunner of the Dutch East India Company.-History:It was set up in 1594 by nine citizens of Amsterdam, to break Portugal's monopoly on the pepper trade. To do this, it sent an expedition of three heavily-armed ships and a pinnace under the leadership of Cornelis de...
(1599–1601). In 1599 Van der Hagen landed on MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
- had he or other Dutchmen conquered it at this time, South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's history could have been very different. In 1600 the three fleets lying at anchor in BantamBantam (city)Bantam in Banten province near the western end of Java was a strategically important site and formerly a major trading city, with a secure harbor on the Sunda Strait through which all ocean-going traffic passed, at the mouth of Banten River that provided a navigable passage for light craft into...
decided to bargain and load pepper together. Steven van der Hagen sailed back to Ambon with 27 soldiers. The inlanders rather delt with him than the Portuguese. Van der Hagen was allowed to build a fortification. In 1603 Frederik de Houtman returned from Ambon IslandAmbon IslandAmbon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
on a ship captained by Steven van der Hagen, surrendering the fort there to the Portuguese.
In the service of VOC
At the end of 1603 Van der Hagen was chosen as the admiral of the VOC's first fleet. For two months his ships - despatched from Amsterdam, HoornHoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
and Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.Enkhuizen was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, just like Hoorn and Amsterdam, from where overseas trade with the East Indies was conducted. It received city rights in 1355...
- lay off the coast of England awaiting a favourable wind. Van der Hagen was sent to sea, with secret instructions only to be opened after leaving port. On reading the instructions he became angry, since the "Heren XVII" (the directors) ordered him to fight the Spanish and Portuguese.
Or was it his crew that became angry, because they had not taken service to fight?
After six months at sea, on 30 May 1604 they sighted Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. Then they hijacked a Portuguese ship laden with ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
. On 21 September the ships arrived in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
and one month later in Calicut, the city of the Zamorin
Saamoothiri
Zamorin is the title used by the Hindu Eradi Samanthan kshatriya rulers of the erstwhile late medieval feudal kingdom of Kozhikode located in the present day state of Kerala, India....
. On November 11 Van der Hagen reached a political agreement to trade at Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
and Ponnani
Ponnani
Ponnani/Ponani is an ancient port, a coastal town and a municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 9.32 km2. Ponnani taluk is the smallest Taluk in Malappuram district. This tiny, picturesque town is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west...
and promised the Zamorin help against the Portuguese. On the Indian coast were founded the Masulipatnam (1605) and Petapuli (1606) factory
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
, aimed especially at getting a hold on the huge trade in cotton, spices, precious stones, and pigments. After a few weeks he reached Pegu and sold its sovereign an emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
. The Dutch were fascinated by his wealth, but also by the crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s and white elephant
White elephant (pachyderm)
A white elephant is a rare kind of elephant, but not a distinct species. Although often depicted as snow white, their skin is normally a soft reddish-brown, turning a light pink when wet. They have fair eyelashes and toenails....
s in the kingdom. In December his ships arrived in Bantam
Bantam (city)
Bantam in Banten province near the western end of Java was a strategically important site and formerly a major trading city, with a secure harbor on the Sunda Strait through which all ocean-going traffic passed, at the mouth of Banten River that provided a navigable passage for light craft into...
, but sailed on to Ambon
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
. With the help of local population Van der Hagen captured the Portuguese fort on Ambon (25 February 1605) without any shot, the first territory captured by the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
in south-east Asia.
At the end of the year, one of the fastest sailing ships in Van der Hagen's fleet, the Duyfken
Duyfken
Duyfken was a small Dutch ship built in the Netherlands. She was a fast, lightly armed ship probably intended for shallow water, small valuable cargoes, bringing messages, sending provisions, or privateering...
, a yacht under the captain Willem Jansz, sailed to the south and discovered the north coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, which he thought to be connected to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. In the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
, named after Pieter de Carpentier
Pieter de Carpentier
Pieter de Carpentier was a Dutch, or Flemish, administrator of the Dutch East India Company, and who served as Governor-General there from 1623–1627...
they went ashore. In 1607 Van der Hagen sailed to Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, there he met with Cornelis Matelieff and ate a dodo
Dodo
The dodo was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about , living on fruit, and nesting on the ground....
, whose taste he noted was rather disgusting.
Back home he bought a house in Utrecht on the Oude Gracht. In 1614 he sailed to Malabar and Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
to fight the Moorish pirates there. He then left for the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
for negotiations, and in 1615 sailed to the Straits of Malacca. In 1616 admiral Van der Hagen defeated the Portuguese at the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
.
Because of his dissatisfaction with the governance of Adriaen Maertensz. Block, Van der Hagen convened an assembly there. Block was replaced and Van der Hagen (perhaps temporarily) took over command of Ambon
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
(June 1617). In 1618 he and his ship set off for Pulau Naira (or Banda-Neira), one of the Spice Islands
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
. At the end of the year he was appointed to the Raad van Indië (November 1614 - October 1619). Van der Hagen became the first councillor under the governor-generals Gerard Reynst
Gerard Reynst
Gerard Reynst was a Dutch merchant, father of a museum curator, and later the second Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies...
, Laurens Reael
Laurens Reael
Dr. Laurens Reael was an employee of the VOC, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in 1616-1617 and an admiral of the Dutch navy from 1625-27.-Early life:...
and Jan Pieterszoon Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen was a officer of the Dutch East India Company in the early seventeenth century, holding two terms as its Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies....
.
Van der Hagen was painted in 1619, possibly by Paulus Moreelse
Paulus Moreelse
Paulus Moreelse was a Dutch painter, mainly of portraits.-Life:Moreelse was born and died in Utrecht. He was a pupil of the Delft portrait painter Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt, who had himself been a pupil of Anthonie van Blocklandt. He took a study-trip to Italy, where he received many portrait...
. In 1620 Van der Hagen lived either in Slot Zuylen
Slot Zuylen
Slot Zuylen is a Dutch castle at the village of Oud-Zuilen just north of the city of Utrecht. It is located at the southern end of the Vechtstreek.-History:...
on the River Vecht
Vecht (Utrecht)
thumb|right|[[Satellite]] [[image]] of the surroundings of [[Utrecht |Utrecht]] showing river Vecht and the [[Amsterdam-Rhine Canal]] .220px|thumb|right|Location of river Vecht ....
or on Bleyesteyn. He was buried on 25 July 1624 in Utrecht, having died of the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
.
Sources
This article is a translation from the Dutch Wikipedia.- IJzerman, J.W. (1923) Cornelis Buijsero te Bantam. 1616-1618. Zijn brieven en journaal, met inleiding en bijlagen.
- Journael van de voyagie, gedaen met twaelf scheepen naar Oost-Indien, onder 't beleydt van den heer Steven van der Hagen, waer in verhaelt wordt het veroveren der Portugeesche forten op Amboyna en Tydoor. Mitsgaders de reyse van 't schip Delft, (mede onder des vloot behoorende) van Bantam naer de kuste van Choromandel en andere plaetsen. Hagen, Steven van der / gedr. by Gillis Joosten Saeghman / 1664.