Inhabitants of Banda in warrior dress
Anoniem / Anonymous / Langenes, Barent
Inhabitants of Banda in warrior dress.
Top right: No: 13.
The second Dutch expedition to the Indies, led by Jacob van Neck and Wijbrant van Warwijck, set sail from the Dutch Republic in May 1598 and arrived in Bantam, on West Java, towards the end of that same year. From Bantam, four vessels sailed on to the Moluccas, under the command of Wijbrant van Warwijck and Jacob van Heemskerck. Two of these, the Gelderland and Zeeland, subsequently visited the Banda islands from Ambon, spending several months from March to July 1599. The objective was to trade to obtain cloves and nutmeg. After a difficult start, the Dutch managed to acquire sizable stocks of the products by establishing good contacts on Banda Neira, and they left some personnel to man a lodge there. During their stay, the Dutch also had occasion to witness instances of warfare between the various communities in the islands, and several of the prints in the journal show war vessels, armaments and war ceremonies.
Cf. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, inv. nr. RP-P-OB-75-394.
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