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Isaac de l'Ostal de Saint-Martin (or Lostal) (c. 1629 – 14 April 1696) was a French
chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...
, who came in an unknown year from the
Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...
to the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
.


Life

In 1657 he left for Batavia, after a training in the
Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army () was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This army was brought to such a size ...
, together with
Hendrik van Rheede Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein (13 April 1636 – 15 December 1691) was a Dutch military man and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company. Between 1669 and 1676 he served as a governor of Dutch Malabar at Kochi and em ...
and Johan Bax van Herentals, who was appointed as governor of the
Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
. Till 1672 he was stationed on
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
and the
Dutch Malabar Dutch Malabar ( Dutch: ''Nederlandse Malabar''; Malayalam: ''ഡച്ച് മലബാർ'') also known by the name of its main settlement Cochin, were a collection of settlements and trading factories of the Dutch East India Company on th ...
. He served under Admiral
Rijcklof van Goens Rijcklof Volckertsz. van Goens (24 June 1619 – 14 November 1682) was the Governor of Zeylan and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. He was the Governor of Zeylan from 12 May 1660 to 1661, then in 1663 and finally from 19 November 166 ...
in campaigns against the Portuguese on the west coast of India. He was then appointed in Batavia because of the
Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...
. Lostal fought against the sultans in Mataram (Java),
Ternate Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...
and Bantam and seems to have been a skillful soldier. His adventures were used in a playwright by Onno Zwier van Haren. Lostal lived in
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
from 1683 with his compagnon
Hendrik van Rheede Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein (13 April 1636 – 15 December 1691) was a Dutch military man and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company. Between 1669 and 1676 he served as a governor of Dutch Malabar at Kochi and em ...
, a
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
. Like Van Rheede Lostal was interested in
botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
and a friend of Joan Huydecoper, an Amsterdam
burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...
and one of the managers of the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
. In 1684 he sailed again to Batavia. During his stay at
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
he made a trip to the north. Together with
Simon van der Stel Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony (1691), the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. He was interested in botany, establishing vineyards Groot Constantia, Groot and Klein C ...
he searched for medical or economical plants (1685). A valley north of
Piketberg Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ...
is named after Lostal.The area is now known for fruits and
rooibos Rooibos ( ; , ), or , is a broom (shrub), broom-like member of the plant family Fabaceae that grows in South Africa's Fynbos biome. The leaves are used to make a caffeine-free herbal tea, herbal infusion that has been popular in Southern Afri ...
.
de Saint-Martin met the French author
François-Timoléon de Choisy François-Timoléon de Choisy (; 16 August 1644 – 2 October 1724) was a French abbé, writer, and member of the Académie Française. He is known for his memoirs, historical and religious writings, and travel accounts. His posthumously publish ...
at the
Castle of Good Hope A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This i ...
on 5 June 1685 while the latter was on his way to
Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. de Choisy noted how close the Commissioner-General of the fort and de Saint-Martin appeared to be, considering their shared past: "More than 30 years ago, young, poor, unimportant, but brave, they embarked, musket on shoulder, on a ship going to the Indies. Since that time they have risen through the ranks to the greatest positions in the state". When he arrived in the East he took seat as a member of the Council of India. Lostal owned three microscopes and was helping the blind
Rumphius Georg Eberhard Rumphius (originally: Rumpf; baptized c. 1 November 1627 – 15 June 1702) was a German-born botanist employed by the Dutch East India Company in what is now eastern Indonesia, and is best known for his work ''Herbarium Amboinense' ...
, a German botanist on
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 two territories: the city of Ambon, Maluku, Ambon to the south, and three districts (''k ...
, to get his books written and published. Lostal ordered
Engelbert Kaempfer Engelbert Kaempfer (16 September 16512 November 1716) was a German natural history, naturalist, physician, exploration, explorer, and writer known for his tour of Russia, Iran, Persia, India, Southeast Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He ...
to do research on the components of Japanese
rice paper Rice paper is a product constructed of paper-like materials made from different plants. These include: *''Thin peeled dried pith of Tetrapanax papyrifer'': A sheet-like "paper" material was used extensively in late 19th century Guangdong, China ...
. When Lostal died in 1696 the inheritance went to his brother Gratian in
Oloron Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. History The town was founded by the Romans in the 1st century, then known as ''Illoronensium''. Situated on the Roman way between the ...
, who was probably a lawyer in the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...
. He received 1200 books in many languages, like Hebrew, Arab, Persian and Portuguese, including Malay. Lostal was one of the first who collected such books in the
Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...
. His mansion and garden in
Kemayoran Kemayoran is a district (''kecamatan'') of Central Jakarta, Jakarta in Indonesia. It was best known for the former Kemayoran Airport and it has been transforming as a new central business district. As of 2023, it consists of numerous four and fiv ...
with a Japanese pavillon was sold to Joan van Hoorn, as foreigners (c.q. his brother) were not allowed to own property on
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
.


Sources

* Cribb, Robert B. / Kahin, Audrey (2004): Historical dictionary of Indonesia. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press. * Jones, Russell (1986): The Origins of the Malay Manuscript Tradition. In: Cultural contact and textual interpretation: papers from the Fourth European Colloquium on Malay and Indonesian Studies, held in Leiden in 1983 / ed. by C. D. Grijns and S. O. Robson. Dordrecht .a. Foris Publications. * Ricklefs, M.C. (1994): A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1300. Stanford University Press (2. Aufl.).


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Martin, Isaac de lOstal de 1620s births 1696 deaths 17th-century French botanists Army officers of the Dutch East India Company