Jacob Roggeveen (1 February 1659 – 31 January 1729) was a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People ...
explorer who was sent to find
Terra Australis
(Latin: '"Southern Land'") was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that ...
and
Davis Land
Davis Land is the name of a phantom island that was believed to be located in the Pacific Ocean, near South America. It is named for the pirate Edward Davis (buccaneer), Edward Davis, who supposedly sighted it in 1687. Never found again, it was al ...
, but instead found
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly ...
(called so because he landed there on Easter Sunday). Jacob Roggeveen also found
Bora Bora
Bora Bora ( French: ''Bora-Bora''; Tahitian: ''Pora Pora'') is an island group in the Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, which is an overseas collectivity of the French R ...
and
Maupiti of the
Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
, as well as
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
. He planned the expedition along with his brother Jan Roggeveen, who stayed in the Netherlands.
Early career
His father, Arend Roggeveen, was a
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
O ...
with much knowledge of
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galax ...
,
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
, rhetorics, philosophy, and the theory of
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
as well. He occupied himself with study of the mythical Terra Australis, and even got a patent for an exploratory excursion,
[ but it was to be his son who, at the age of 62, eventually equipped three ships and made the expedition.
He became ]notary
A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.
A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...
of Middelburg (the capital of the province of Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
, where he was born). On 12 August 1690, he graduated as a doctor of the law at University of Harderwijk
The University of Harderwijk (1648–1811), also named the ''Guelders Academy'' ( la, Academia Gelro-Zutphanica), was located in the city Harderwijk, in the Republic of the United Provinces (now: the Netherlands). It was founded by the province ...
. He married Marija Margaerita Vincentius, but she died in October 1694. In 1706, he joined the Dutch East Indies Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock co ...
(VOC), and between 1707 and 1714 as a ''Raadsheer van Justitie'' ("Council Lord of Justice") at Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Batavia was the capital of the Dutch East Indies. The area corresponds to present-day Jakarta, Indonesia. Batavia can refer to the city proper or its suburbs and hinterland, the Ommelanden, which included the much-larger area of the Residency ...
(now Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
). He married Anna Adriana Clement there, but she died soon afterward. In 1714, he returned to Middelburg by himself.
He became involved in religious controversies, supporting the liberal preacher
A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...
Pontiaan van Hattem by publishing his leaflet ''De val van 's werelds afgod'' (The fall of the world's idol). The first part appeared in 1718 in Middelburg, and was subsequently confiscated by the city council and burned. Roggeveen fled from Middelburg to nearby Flushing. Thereafter he established himself in the small town of Arnemuiden
Arnemuiden is a city of around 5000 people in the municipality of Middelburg in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. It is located on the former island of Walcheren, about 3 km east of the city of Middelburg.
On the 23 September 1338 ...
, and published parts 2 and 3 of the series, again raising a controversy.
Explorations
On 1 August 1721 he headed an expedition sponsored by the Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ...
, the rivals of the VOC, to seek Terra Australis and to open a western trade route to the "Spice islands".[Quanchi, ''Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands'', page 217] His fleet consisted of three ships, the ''Arend'', the ''Thienhoven'', and ''Afrikaansche Galey'' and had 223 men on crew.
Roggeveen first sailed down to the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubou ...
(which he renamed "Belgia Australis"), passed through the Strait of Le Maire
The Le Maire Strait (''Estrecho de le Maire'') (also the Straits Lemaire) is a sea passage between Isla de los Estados and the eastern extremity of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego.
History
Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten discov ...
, and continued south to beyond 60 degrees south to enter the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
. He made landfall near Valdivia, Chile
Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Ca ...
. He visited the Juan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...
, where he spent 24 February to 17 March. The expedition later arrived at Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly ...
(Rapa Nui) on Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher
James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Arch ...
, 5 April 1722 (whereupon he reported seeing 2,000–3,000 inhabitants). Roggeveen charted the location of six islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago
The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: Îles Tuamotu, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extendin ...
, two islands in the Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
, and four islands in Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
, losing his flagship, ''Afrikaansche Galey'' at Takapoto
Takapoto, Tua-poto or Oura, is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It has a length of and a width of .
The nearest land is Takaroa Atoll, located to the northeast.
Takapoto's lagoon has a high salinity and a strong phytoplankto ...
atoll. At Makatea
Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus, which is a part of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. It is located southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser grou ...
, he opened fire on a crowded beach in retaliation for a violent encounter with the inhabitants, and in return the Makateans ambushed a shore party, killing ten of his crewmen.[ The remaining two vessels sailed past ]New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
to reach Batavia in 1722, where he was arrested for violating the monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
of the VOC and had his ships confiscated. After a lengthy lawsuit in the Netherlands, the VOC was later forced to compensate him for his losses and to pay his crew.[
After his return, Roggeveen published part 4 of his work, ''De val van 's werelds afgod''.
]
Notes
References
*''The Journal of Jacob Roggeveen'', edited by Andrew Sharp, Oxford University Press, 1970
*''Who's Who in Pacific Navigation'', John Dunmore Melbourne University Press 1972
*
* ''Extract from the Official log of Jacob Roggeveen'' reproduced in
External links
Libweb5.princeton.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roggeveen, Jakob
1659 births
1729 deaths
17th-century Dutch explorers
18th-century Dutch explorers
Dutch explorers of the Pacific
Explorers of Chile
Explorers of South America
Sailors on ships of the Dutch West India Company
People from Middelburg, Zeeland
University of Harderwijk alumni