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Bird's eye view of Batavia at the time of the massacre of the Chinese

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Bird's eye view of Batavia at the time of the massacre of the Chinese

Anoniem / Anonymous

Bird's eye view of part of the city of Batavia where there is fighting while houses stand in flames in the foreground at the time of the massacre of the Chinese in 1740.

In the foreground a number of houses with neck gables topped by a reclining moon, stand in flames. To the right in the foreground several men are busy priming cannon aimed at the biggest house in the row, the home of the Chinese captain. In the street running in front of these houses a crowd of people in European and Eastern dress fight pitched battles with pistols, knives and clubs. Many bodies float in the canal flanking the street and in the streets nearby where there is also fighting the canals are also littered with floating corpses. To the right is a big building marked with the letter A; the Batavia city hall. Here horsemen and troops stand at the ready. In the background the fields and farms outside the city are depicted.

Below the picture the massacre is described in a poem.

In the background Rotterdam point is visible.

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