Maarten Gerritsz Vries
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Maarten Gerritszoon Vries, or Fries, also referred to as de Vries, (18 February 1589, Harlingen,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
– late 1647, at sea near
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
) was a 17th-century Dutch
cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
and explorer, the first Western European to leave an account of his visit to
Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...
,
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...
,
Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
and the
Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
. Not much is known about the life of de Vries. He was probably born in
Harlingen, Netherlands Harlingen (; fy, Harns ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the northern Netherlands, in the province of Friesland on the coast of Wadden Sea. Harlingen is a town with a long history of fishing and shipping tha ...
, in 1589 and spent many years in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. He is best remembered for his 1643 expedition to the north-western
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 continen ...
to discover the coast of
Tartaria Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bound ...
, on account of
Anthony van Diemen Anthony van Diemen (also ''Antonie'', ''Antonio'', ''Anton'', ''Antonius'') (1593 – 19 April 1645) was a Dutch colonial governor. Early life He was born in Culemborg in the Netherlands, the son of Meeus Anthonisz van Diemen and Christina Hoe ...
, the governor in
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
. This was the second expedition to look for legendary gold and silver islands in the
Pacific 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 continen ...
, which nobody had discovered, after a failed expedition in 1639 under command of
Matthijs Quast Matthijs Quast (died 6 October 1641) was a Dutch explorer in the seventeenth century. He had made several voyages for the Dutch East India Company to Japan, China and Siam. Pacific Expedition Matthijs Quast has become known for an unsuccessful ex ...
.


De Vries expedition

The two ships, the '' Castricum'' under De Vries and the ''
Breskens Breskens is a harbour town on the Westerschelde in the municipality of Sluis in the province of Zeeland, in the south-western Netherlands. Its population is 4,787 (). The town is noted for the ''Visserijfeesten'' (Fishery Festival), the largest f ...
'' under Hendrick Cornelisz Schaep left
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
, the capital of Dutch
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
, in February 1643. After a stop in
Ternate Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the we ...
in the
Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...
they continued their journey on April 4. On May 20 the two ships lost touch with each other in a storm, while off Hachijo Shima, an island some 290 km south of Edo, which, due to this setback, was christened ''Ongeluckich'', or "Unlucky", Island by the Dutch.


''Breskens'' in Yamada

The ''Breskens'' arrived in a promising bay and was received friendly by the population of
Yamada Yamada (山田, ) is the 12th most common Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese model, actress and idol *, Japanese field hockey player *, Japanese illustrator and manga artist *, Japanese rugby union player *, Ja ...
on Tohoku,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Six weeks later the ''Breskens'' again sailed to Yamada, probably while they had a good time. In the evening they organized a party with a
samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
and most probably some Japanese women. (It is not known what exactly happened, because the diary got lost in 1692, after
Nicolaes Witsen Nicolaes Witsen (8 May 1641 – 10 August 1717; modern Dutch: ''Nicolaas Witsen'') was a Dutch statesman who was mayor of Amsterdam thirteen times, between 1682 and 1706. In 1693 he became administrator of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). I ...
received it.) The next day, July 29, ten members of the crew, including the captain were invited by the women to come to a farm where they would receive fresh vegetables and fish. The unarmed crew was offered
sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...
and rice, but captured, and sent to
Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...
and Edo for
interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...
. The Japanese feared Portuguese / Spanish
Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
had come to land. As a result,
bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
officials were extremely anxious about the problem of coastal defenses. However, after it was understood that the crew were Dutch
merchants A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...
and not Catholics, the problem to be solved became one of deciding by which procedure the Dutch should be released. After
Jan van Elserac Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numbe ...
had arrived the ''
shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
''
Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川 家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...
sent them in December to
Deshima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...
. The crew had to wait nine months for the next ship to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
while the ''Breskens'' had left Honshu already at the end of July (without a captain) searching for the Gold and Silver Islands.


''Castricum'' going north

In the summer of 1643, the ''Castricum'' sailed by the southern
Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
, visiting
Kunashir , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = fr ...
,
Iturup , other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 3139 , length_km = 200 , width_km = 27 , coastline = , highest_moun ...
(which they named "Staten Island", although nowadays this name is only used to refer to
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
), and
Urup Urup ( ja, 得撫島, Uruppu-to; russian: Уру́п, Urúp, ain, ウルㇷ゚, Urup) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu la ...
, where they met with the Ainu, and which they named "Company Island" and claimed for the Netherlands. The ''Castricum'' passed between the islands of Iturup and Urup, the strait between the islands being later named
Vries Strait Vries Strait or Miyabe Line is a strait between two main islands of the Kurils. It is located between the northeastern end of the island of Iturup and the southwestern headland of Urup Island, connecting the Sea of Okhotsk on the west with the Pac ...
after its discoverer, and entered the
Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
. The Dutch sailed north, without encountering any land, until being driven south-west toward the northern shores of
Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...
. Then they sailed north again, visiting Cape Aniwa (the southeastern tip of Sakhalin Island),
Gulf of Patience Gulf of Patience is a large body of water off the southeastern coast of Sakhalin, Russia. Geography The Gulf of Patience is located in the southern Sea of Okhotsk, between the main body of Sakhalin Island in the west and Cape Patience in the eas ...
(where they indeed had to be patient, waiting for the fog to clear), and
Cape Patience Cape Patience (russian: Полуостров Терпения, ''Poluostrov Terpeniya'') is a peninsula protruding km of east-central Sakhalin Island into the Sea of Okhotsk. It forms the eastern boundary of the Gulf of Patience. The width of t ...
east of it. At these places they met and communicated through sign language with the indigenous Ainu people of the island. After another excursion, now east into the Pacific, the ''Castricum'' returned to Japanese waters and managed to meet with the ''Breskens'' off
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
. The two ships sailed to
Fort Zeelandia (Taiwan) Fort Zeelandia () was a fortress built over ten years from 1624 to 1634 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), in the town of Anping (now Anping District of Tainan) on Formosa, the former name of main island of Taiwan, during their 38-year rule ...
and returned to Batavia in mid-December 1643.


Battles of La Naval de Manila

Maarten Gerritsz Vries died on board from disease after leading an unsuccessful attempt to invade the Philippines.


Sources


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vries, Maarten Gerritsz 1589 births 1646 deaths Dutch explorers of the Pacific 17th-century Dutch explorers Sakhalin Kuril Islands Sailors on ships of the Dutch East India Company People from Harlingen, Netherlands 17th-century Dutch cartographers Maritime history of the Dutch East India Company Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) Explorers from the Dutch Republic