Elisabeth van der Woude (January 11, 1657 – December 11, 1698 (buried)) was a Dutch traveller and author. She was born in

Nieuwe Niedorp Nieuwe Niedorp ( West Frisian: ''Naaie Nierup'') is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Hollands Kroon, and lies about northeast of Heerhugowaard. History The village was first mentioned in 1289 ...

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

, but left The Netherlands at age 19 with her family (her father Harman Hartman van der Woude, her brother and sister) and hundreds of others bound for

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, formerly a Dutch colony, now

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. Their aim was to start a colony on the river

Oyapock The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the French overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian state of Amapá. Course The Oyapock runs through the Guianan moist fores ...

, with her father as the appointed governor. Van der Woude's father and sister died en route. She and her brother found good land when they arrived, but soon most of the servants died of a strange illness and Elisabeth returned home. During that journey she was kidnapped by

Dunkirkers During the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish monarchy. They were also part of the ''Dunkirk fleet'', which consequently was a part of the Spanish monarchy's ''Fl ...

and kept a prisoner for some weeks. She did manage to return home with her diary, which she had regularly kept. She died in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, aged 41. The part of her diary describing her journeys and also about the

Anglo-Dutch Wars The Anglo–Dutch Wars ( nl, Engels–Nederlandse Oorlogen) were a series of conflicts mainly fought between the Dutch Republic and England (later Great Britain) from mid-17th to late 18th century. The first three wars occurred in the second ...

when her father was a colonel was published in 1928 and 2001 in The Netherlands.

References and sources

* Kim Isolde Muller (Ed.): ''Elisabeth van der Woude: Memorije van 't geen bij mijn tijt is voorgevallen : met het opzienbarende verslag van haar reis naar de Wilde Kust 1676-1677''. Terra Incognita : Amsterdam, 2001, * S.P. l’Honoré Naber (Ed.): ''Eene Hollandsche jonge dame aan de Oyapock in 1677 (Dagboek van Elisabeth van der Woude)'', BMHG 49 (1928) 214-236. * Milbry Polk, Mary Tiegreen: ''Women of Discovery - A Celebration of intrepid Women who explored the World.'' Clarkson Potter : New York, 2001.

External links

Dbnl.org: Short review of the diary

Historici.nl: article Elisabeth van der Woude

1657 births 1698 deaths People from Niedorp 17th-century Dutch writers 17th-century Dutch women writers Dutch diarists {{Netherlands-writer-stub