Wouter Loos was a soldier on board 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 ...

ship , which sank on Morning Reef in the Wallabi Group of the

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral r ...

Islands off the coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

in 1629. Loos had a critical role in the subsequent Batavia Mutiny, becoming the leader of the mutiny after the original leader,

Jeronimus Cornelisz Jeronimus Cornelisz (c. 1598 – 2 October 1629) was a Dutch apothecary and Dutch East India Company merchant who sailed aboard the merchant ship which foundered near the Australian mainland. Cornelisz then led one of the bloodiest mutinies i ...

(Corneliszoon), was captured.

Loos' role in the Batavia Mutiny

The Batavia Mutiny is well documented. The first account was published in 1647 in ''Ongeluckige Voyagie'', and a detailed and complete translation of Commandeur

Francisco Pelsaert Francisco Pelsaert ( – September 1630) was a Dutch merchant who worked for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) best known for his role as the commander of the . The ship ran aground in the Houtman Abrolhos, off the coastal regions of West ...

's journal was published by

Henrietta Drake-Brockman Henrietta Drake-Brockman (27 July 1901 – 8 March 1968) was an Australian journalist and novelist. Early life Henrietta Frances York Jull was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1901 to public service commissioner Martin Edward Jull (1862–19 ...

in ''Voyage to Disaster'' in 1963. Loos was aged 24 when the Batavia Mutiny took place. In the course of the mutiny he was accused of being involved in a particularly gruesome and notorious incident in which all the Predikant (minister) Gijsbert Bastiaenszoon's family, apart from his eldest daughter Judith, were massacred in their tent. He was also reported to have bashed in the head of Mayken Cardoes while another mutineer was trying to cut her throat. There was a dramatic change in Loos's role, however, on 2 September 1629. Corneliszoon had been inept in his tactics in the conflict that had arisen between the mutineers and another group, the defenders, who had been holding out against them. On the pretext of negotiating, Corneliszoon, accompanied by Loos and four other henchmen, had arranged to meet with the defenders. However, the defenders sprang a trap and tried to take Corneliszoon and his henchmen prisoner. Other mutineers nearby immediately prepared to attack, so the defenders killed all their prisoners on the spot, apart from Corneliszoon, and Loos, who managed to escape. As an anonymous defender described it, "by a ruse we took five of the principal murderers prisoner. Seeing this, the others resorted to their weapons. When we saw this, that our enemies wanted to come upon us, we struck four of them dead." This was done to "avoid being hampered by the prisoners". Consequently, Lance-Corporal Cornelis Pieterszoon, Cadets Conraat van Huyssens and Gysbrecht van Welderen, and Assistant Davidt Zevanck were killed on the spot. With their leader Corneliszoon captured and four of their number killed, the mutineers retired in confusion.

Loos elected leader of the mutineers

The mutineers then regrouped and elected the 24-year-old Loos as their "captain". Being a soldier, Loos was far more adept in his tactics. On the morning of 17 September the mutineers attacked again, this time using their muskets to telling effect. Four defenders were wounded, one, Gunner Jan Dircxszoon from Emden, later dying of his wounds. But as the two-hour battle reached its climax, the , commanded by

, miraculously appeared. Forewarned by

Wiebbe Hayes Wiebbe Hayes (born ) was a Dutch soldier known for his leading role in the suppression of Jeronimus Cornelisz's massacre of shipwreck survivors in 1629, after the merchant ship was wrecked in the Houtman Abrolhos, a chain of coral islands off ...

, leader of the defenders, that the mutineers intended to capture the ''Sardam'', Pelsaert acted decisively and the mutiny was ended. Pelsaert then set about investigating the mutiny, salvaging the wreck and recovering property. This took a couple of months.

Investigations of Loos' role in the mutiny

Most participants in the mutiny were subject to judicial torture as part of their examination. Loos managed to resist the torture and diminish his culpability, and so he was not among the seven ringleaders who were hanged on Long Island on 2 October 1629. However, on 27 October Pelsaert reopened Loos' investigation, the result of the Predikant's daughter Judith raising his complicity in the massacre of her family. This re-examination revealed the true extent of his involvement. Upon his guilt being determined, the ship's council then made an unusual decision: instead of hanging Loos, he would be marooned on the coast, along with Jan Pelgrom de Bye van Bemel. De Bye, an 18-year-old cabin boy, had been due to be hanged on 2 October, but had been reprieved due to his youth.

Loos and de Bye marooned on Australian mainland

Subsequently, on 16 November 1629, Loos and de Bye were abandoned on the Western Australian coast, probably at the mouth of the Hutt River, with a small boat, trade goods and 'provided with everything.' They were issued a set of instructions which urged them to 'make themselves known to the folk of this land.''Instructions for Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de By van Bemel' in Pelsaert, p. 230. Thus Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye became the first Europeans to become resident in Australia, but they were never heard of again. Fig 6 Mouth of Hutt River

References

Books

*Anonymous "Letter written at sea from Batavia, the 11th Decemb. 1629 in Leyden Ferry-Boat Gossip", in ''Westerly'' trans. Randolph Stow, pp. 8–9, April 1972. *

'Journal of Francisco Pelsaert' in

(comp.) and E. Drok (trans.) ''Voyage to Disaster'', pp. 122–254. Sydney: Angus and Roberson, 1983 *

2007 "The debate over where Australia's first European residents were marooned in 1629 – Part 1", ''Hydrographic Journal'' 126:20-25. *

2009 "The debate over where Australia's first European residents were marooned in 1629 – Part 2", ''Hydrographic Journal'' 128-129(2009):35-41. *

2011 ''Australia's First Criminal Prosecutions in 1629''. Canberra: Batavia Online Publishing.
Published Works

External links

Ongeluckige Voyagie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loos, Wouter Year of birth missing 17th-century Dutch criminals Castaways Dutch expatriates in Australia Dutch people convicted of murder Mutineers Sailors on ships of the Dutch East India Company Shipwreck survivors Year of death missing Batavia (1628 ship)