Batavia

· Bolinda · Narrated by Richard Aspel
12 reviews
Audiobook
17 hr
Unabridged
Eligible
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About this audiobook

The story begins in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a mutinous plot that is just about to break into the open when, just off the coast of Western Australia, it strikes an unseen reef in the middle of the night. While Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert decides to take the long-boat across 2000 miles of open sea for help, his second-in-command Jeronimus Cornelisz takes over, quickly deciding that 250 people on a small island is unwieldy for the small number of supplies they have. Quietly, he puts forward a plan to 40 odd mutineers how they could save themselves, kill most of the rest and spare only a half-dozen or so women, including his personal fancy, Lucretia Jansz - one of the noted beauties of Holland - to service their sexual needs. A reign of terror begins, countered only by a previously anonymous soldier Wiebbe Hayes, who begins to gather to him those are prepared to do what it takes to survive...
The story begins in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a mutinous plot that is just a...

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Ratings and reviews

12 reviews
Sue McGinty
July 1, 2024
Needs a good edit - too verbose
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Brett Wilkins
August 23, 2025
A deep look into what one could be!
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Kim Flesser
September 17, 2023
fantastic!
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About the author

Peter FitzSimons is the author of more than 25 books, including Tobruk, Kokoda, Batavia, Eureka, Ned Kelly, Gallipoli,and biographies of Douglas Mawson, Nancy Wake‚ Kim Beazley‚ Nick Farr-Jones‚ Les Darcy, Steve Waugh and John Eales. He is one of Australia's biggest selling non-fiction authors of the last 15 years, as well as being a journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald. FitzSimons was named a Member of the Order of Australia in 2011 for service to literature as a biographer, sports journalist and commentator. He lives with his wife, Lisa Wilkinson, and their three children in Sydney. His latest book, The Courageous Life of Weary Dunlop, is due out in 2026.

Richard Aspel is a talented narrator of children's and adult audiobooks. He trained and worked in London, before returning to Australia where he has worked extensively in television, theatre and radio. His television credits include Neighbours and Carson's Law, and he provided various voices for The Silver Brumby animated series. Richard was nominated for the prestigious Audie Award (US) for his narration of The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston.

Peter FitzSimons is the author of more than 25 books, including Tobruk, Kokoda, Batavia, Eureka, Ned Kelly, Gallipoli,and biographies of Douglas Mawson, Nancy Wake‚ Kim Beazley‚ Nick Farr-Jones‚ Les Darcy, Steve Waugh and John Eales. He is one of Australia's biggest selling non-fiction authors of...

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