''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 per ...

written in 1673. Its subject is the

Amboyna massacre The Amboyna massacre was the 1623 torture and execution on Ambon Island (present-day Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia) of twenty-one men, including ten of whom were in the service of the English East India Company, and Japanese and Portuguese traders an ...

and the death of Gabriel Towerson 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, Maluku, Ambon to the south and various districts ('' ...

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. Th ...

. 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 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 entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

. The original cast included Charles Hart as Captain Gabriel Towerson,

Michael Mohun Michael Mohun (1616? – buried 11 October 1684) was a leading English actor both before and after the 1642–60 closing of the theatres. Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's the ...

as Beaumont,

Edward Lydall Edward Lydall was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. He was a member of the King's Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.Wilson p.34 His first known performance was in 1668. He generally played supporting roles. His surname is s ...

as Collins,

Marmaduke Watson Marmaduke Watson was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. Part of the King's Company based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, he was one of the actors who sided with Charles Killigrew during a dispute in the company in 1677. In 1682 ...

as Captain Middleton,

Nicholas Burt Nicholas Burt (1621 ? — after 1689), or Birt or Burght among other variants, was a prominent English actor of the seventeenth century. In a long career, he was perhaps best known as the first actor to play the role of Othello in the Restora ...

as Perez, William Cartwright as Harman,

William Wintershall William Wintershall (died July 1679), also Wintersall or Wintersell, was a noted seventeenth-century English actor. His career spanned the difficult years of mid-century, when English theatres were closed from 1642 to 1660, during the English Civi ...

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 Elizabeth James was an English stage actress of the seventeenth century. She was a member of the King's Company, based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Several of her known performances were in the premieres of work by John Dryden. She also featu ...

as Julia,

Rebecca Marshall Rebecca Marshall ( fl. 1663 – 1677) was a noted English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers on the public stage in Britain. She was the younger sister of Anne Marshall, another prominent actress of ...

as Ysabinda and

Katherine Corey Katherine Corey (fl. 1660 – 1692) was an English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage in Britain. Corey played with the King's Company and the United Company, and had one ...

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 The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

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, Hum ...

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. Ear ...

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