''Amboyna, or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants'' is a tragedy by

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...

written in 1673. Its subject is the Amboyna massacre and the death of

Gabriel Towerson Gabriel Towerson (1635?–1697) was an English clergyman and theological writer. Life He was the son of William Towerson, and probably was born in London about 1635. He was educated first at St Paul's School. He then went to The Queen's College, ...

that took place 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 to the south and various districts (''kecamatan'') o ...

in 1623. Dryden reportedly wrote the play in the short space of a month; he wanted to produce a topical piece, since England was at that time at war with the Dutch Republic. It was dedicated to Lord Clifford, a member of the

Cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. T ...

. The original production was acted by the

King's Company The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged wit ...

at the theatre at

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entreprene ...

. The original cast included Charles Hart as Captain Gabriel Towerson, Michael Mohun as Beaumont, Edward Lydall as Collins, Marmaduke Watson as Captain Middleton, Nicholas Burt as Perez, William Cartwright as Harman, William Wintershall as The Fiscal,

William Beeston William Beeston (1606? – 1682) was an English actor and theatre manager, the son and successor to the more famous Christopher Beeston. Early phase William was brought up in the theatrical world of his father; he became an actor, and also his ...

as Van Herring, Elizabeth James as Julia, Rebecca Marshall as Ysabinda and Katherine Corey as English Woman. Towerson's wife in the play, Ysabinda, is based on his real life wife, Mariam Khan (dates unknown), daughter of an influential merchant at the courts of the Mughul Emperors

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...

and

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ea ...

References

Bibliography

* Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960.

External links

Online text
Original text
from page 358 to 430 at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

text
1673 plays Plays by John Dryden West End plays Plays set in Indonesia Plays based on actual events Tragedy plays Plays set in the 17th century {{17thC-play-stub