The Rare Dutch Travelers to Medieval India

Naomi Dewicka

The Rare Dutch Travelers to Medieval India

Every voyage is inspired by a natural human desire of people to see and explore a new world. India has consistently been a destination for foreign travelers or envoys to visit and fetch knowledge or economic resources. In this story, we will talk about the Dutch travelers who were mesmerized to see the cultures and civilizations of India.

A replica of the Batavia commanded by Franciso Palsaert under sail; Source: donsmaps.com

Franciso Palsaert was a merchant in the Dutch East India Company. He is mainly known for his role as the commander of the famous ship Batavia. To solve your curiosity about Batavia, it's a 388-year-old cold case mystery that dates back to 1629 when the Dutch sailing ship, Batavia, struck a tiny atoll off the West Australian coast near Geraldton. Almost three hundred passengers and crew survived the shipwreck but over the next few months, as they waited to be rescued, more than a hundred were slaughtered.

But keeping aside this thriller case for today, we will focus on Palsaert's records that help us gain an insight into the field of trade and commerce of his time in India.

Palsaert was born in Antwerp, and joined the Dutch East India Company, arriving in India in 1618 as a junior merchant. During the next seven years that followed, he traveled from Masulipatam to Surat, working his way to becoming a senior merchant in Agra, Uttar Pradesh (which was known as the United Provinces then).

In his writings, he gave a vivid account of the flourishing trade at Surat, Ahmadabad, Broach, Cambay, Lahore, Multan, etc. His commercial document - 'Jahangir's India: The Remonstranite of Francisco Pelsaert' presents its readers with an idea of the trade in Mogul India. Pelsaert included in it a detailed account of the social and administrative environment in which commerce had to be conducted. The topics include trade in Gujarat, Agra, and North India as well as subjects of religion, superstition, and marriage in Hindus and Muslims. After 1628, he returned to Holland after which he took on the leadership of the fleet to Java, to which the ill-fated Batavia belonged.

Another Dutch traveler who gave a valuable account of the social and economic life of South India was John Hughen Von Linschotten. Also known as the Dutch Marco Polo, he started his journey from the Netherlands, reaching Goa in 1563. There he worked as a commercial clerk, observing and writing information and insights about the new place, its customs, and its people in his journal. He also wrote about a vegetable dish prepared using tea leaves with garlic and oil that was probably kada. His writings described several things about the inherent living conditions of people of different dynasties in southern India like the Vijayanagara and Bijapuri kingdoms.

An image of John Hughen Von Linschotten in one of his books; Source: lotsearch.net

These writings are very useful to understand ancient India’s history from an outsider's point of view. We can satisfy our curiosity about the trade, social and political life of Medieval India by reading their works and journals.