Category: History - Other

Willem Adriaan Van Der Stel, and Other Historical Sketches

The discovery of an ocean route from Europe to India, followed by the establishment of the Portuguese as the preponderating power in the East, is one of the greatest events in the history of the world. It is not too much to say that every state of Central and Western Europe wa...

Chapters

2. Part 2

The discoveries of the Portuguese were largely the result of the genius and ability of a prince of their royal house, Henrique by name, known in European history as Henry the Na...

17. Part 17

The perpetrators of these scandalous acts were not brought to justice. In after years when the governor and the colonists were at variance, and each party was endeavouring to bl...

19. Part 19

Within a week or two further arrests were made, when Jacob de Savoye, Pierre Meyer, Jacob Cloete, Jacob Louw, and one or two others were placed in detention. The health of some...

10. Part 10

On the 31st of October of this year 1596 a treaty of alliance between Henry IV of France, Elizabeth of England, and the States-General of the seven United Provinces--Holland, Ze...

22. Part 22

At the Zoutpansberg they halted while the young men explored the country around, which they considered admirably adapted for stock-breeding and agriculture. They were in ignoran...

9. Part 9

It was fortunate for the northern provinces that Parma was not receiving reinforcements, or the whole country would soon have been overrun. Philippe was closely engaged in fomen...

23. Part 23

“I have stated but a few of the points upon which the greatest stress is laid by the colonists who have emigrated. To state every point would go too much into detail; but these...

13. Part 13

On the 21st a great galleon approached the island so close that the ships in the harbour could be counted from her deck, but put about the moment the Dutch flag was distinguishe...

18. Part 18

If there were no other charges against him than this one alone, an honest historian, whose duty it is to expose to scorn the evil deeds of ignoble men as well as to hold up to a...

14. Part 14

On the 1st of July the principal English officers, twenty-one in number,--among them the Arctic navigator William Baffin,--met in council, and resolved to proclaim the sovereign...

21. Part 21

There was a marked difference in disposition between the Dutch-speaking and the English-speaking colonists. The former, being cattle-breeders by descent through several generati...

6. Part 6

Other successes awaited the patriot cause. On the 24th of May 1572 Count Louis of Nassau with a small band obtained possession of the important town of Mons in Hainaut. And on t...

11. Part 11

On the 15th of March 1598 two ships, the _Leeuw_ and the _Leeuwin_, sailed from Vlissingen under command of Cornelis Houtman. In the _Leeuw_ the famous English seaman John Davis...

8. Part 8

The cord that bound the seventeen provinces together was so weak that it was liable to snap at any time, and it was therefore rather to foreign assistance than to their own unai...

24. Part 24

Dias, Bartholomeu: in August 1486 sails from the Tagus, 17; near the equator leaves his storeship behind, 19; reaches Angra dos Ilheos, now called Angra Pequena, where he sets u...

7. Part 7

Meantime the heroic defenders of Leyden were in the very last stage of distress. Everything that under ordinary circumstances would be considered eatable had been consumed, and...

15. Part 15

Like most mixed breeds he was exceedingly proud of the nationality of his father, and as he advanced in stature was inclined in everything to be more intensely Dutch than anyone...

5. Part 5

Peace having been concluded, in 1559 the king prepared to return to Spain, where his surroundings would be much more congenial. He appointed Margaret of Parma, a natural daughte...

12. Part 12

Though the Dutch were soon in almost undisputed possession of the valuable Spice islands, they were never able to eject the Portuguese from the comparatively worthless coast of...

3. Part 3

João Pires went from Ormuz by way of Aden to Abyssinia, where he was well received by the ruler of that country. Here, after all his wanderings he found a home, for as he was no...

16. Part 16

Though not greatly elevated, this basin is in the second of the steps by which the mainland of South Africa rises from the ocean to the central plain. If a cane with a large rou...

20. Part 20

The council resolved that the administration should be transferred to the fiscal and others on the 15th of May, if the newly-appointed secunde, who was on his way out, should no...

4. Part 4

In 1583 four English traders in precious stones, acting partly on their own account and partly as agents for merchants in London, made their way by the Tigris and the Persian gu...

27. Part 27

[9] The probabilities are that they did not, otherwise the information they carried back would have been regarded as much more important than it was considered to be by the king...

28. Part 28

[59] “Alle de Coloniers (goet vlees leverende) sonder dese of geene begunstighde daerinne boven anderen te prefereren, en sulex sonder onderscheijt tot voors: leverantie sal heb...

25. Part 25

Hermanszoon, Wolfert: in 1601 commands a fleet sent to India, 128; attacks a large Portuguese fleet under André Furtado de Mendoça besieging Bantam, ib.; and compels Mendoça to...

26. Part 26

van der Stel, Simon: on the 14th of November 1639 is born at Mauritius, 172; at a very early age is sent to Amsterdam to be educated, 175; is regarded as their protégé by the di...

1. Part 1

The discovery of an ocean route from Europe to India, followed by the establishment of the Portuguese as the preponderating power in the East, is one of the greatest events in t...

29. Part 29

[98] Since the publication of my _History of South Africa_, a journal kept by Mr. Erasmus Smit from the 15th of November 1836 to the 31st of January 1839 has been brought to lig...