the voyages of voyages the the voyages of Adriaan van Berkel to guiana This book is a reissue of the travelogue of Adriaan van Berkel, first published in Adriaan van Berkel to guiana to Berkel van Adriaan 1695 by Johan ten Hoorn in Amsterdam. The first part deals with Van Berkel’s adventures in the Dutch colony located on the Berbice River in the Guianas; the second part is a description of Surinam, the adjacent colony the Dutch took over from the British in 1667. This reissue, edited by Martijn van den Bel, Lodewijk Hulsman and Lodewijk Wagenaar, contains a new annotated English translation as well as an integral the voyages of rendition of the original Dutch text. In addition, an in-depth introduction contextualizing Adriaan van Berkel and his travels is included. What was the raison d’être of the Dutch presence in the Guianas? Who was this young man Adriaan van Berkel who, at age 23, left the Netherlands to serve as a colonial secretary in Berbice? His four-year stay and fascinating encounters with local Amerindians are commented to guiana on by two specialists in Amerindian history: Van den Bel and Hulsman. During the 17th century the inhabitants of Netherlands knew little about the Dutch colonies in the Guianas, the area between Brazil and Venezuela. By studying newspapers, published between 1667 and 1695, Lodewijk Wagenaar (former Senior Curator of the Amsterdam Museum) discovered surprising news items. Van Berkel’s account of the armed conflict with the Indians for example closely matched the contemporary newspaper reports. The second part of Van Berkel’s book contains a description of his travels to Surinam. It was already known from research by Walter E. Roth that this part was largely based on a literal translation of a 1667 publication entitled An Impartial Description of Surinam by George Warren. Wagenaar’s recent research, however, proves that the final chapters of this section too were copied from other sources. Van Berkel’s ‘eye-witness-reports’ of the murder of Governor Cornelis van Aerssen in 1688, and the French raid of 1689, were in fact copied from Dutch Amerindian-Dutch relationships newspapers. This second journey to Surinam was concocted by the publisher in 17th-century Guyana Johan ten Hoorn! edited by Martijn van den Bel Lodewijk Hulsman ISBN 978-90-8890-263-5 Sidestone Press Sidestone Lodewijk Wagenaar ISBN: 978-90-8890-263-5 9 789088 902635 This is an Open Access publication. Visit our website for more OA publication, to read any of our books for free online, or to buy them in print or PDF. www.sidestone.com Check out some of our latest publications: The voyages of Adriaan van Berkel to guiana Sidestone Press The voyages of Adriaan van Berkel to guiana Amerindian-Dutch relationships in 17th-century Guyana edited by Martijn van den Bel Lodewijk Hulsman Lodewijk Wagenaar © 2014 M. van den Bel, L. Hulsman & L.J. Wagenaar Published by Sidestone Press, Leiden www.sidestone.com ISBN 978-90-8890-263-5 English edition of the original Dutch text by M. van den Bel and L. Hulsman Proof reading by P. Richardus Lay-out & cover design: Sidestone Press Photograph cover: Timhesterphotography | Dreamstime.com Drawing ship cover: after replica of the Halve Maen door, by K. Wentink, Sidestone Press Contents Foreword 7 Preface 9 Part I - Introduction 13 1 Dutch newspapers reporting on the Guianas, 1650-1700 15 Printed information on the Dutch Colonies 15 News on Berbice and Surinam selected from the Oprechte Haerlemse Courant, La Gazette d’Amsterdam, and the Amsterdamsche Courant, 1665-1688 17 Early information on Surinam, 1665-1670 18 News on Berbice and Surinam compared 20 Berbice, 1665-1688 20 Surinam, 1665-1688 22 The murder of Van Sommelsdijck (19 July 1688) and the French raid (6-11 May 1689) 29 Conclusion 33 2 History and reception of American Voyages 35 Introduction 35 Walter E. Roth and the first English translation of Van Berkel’s American Voyages 36 Original text or compilation? 38 Who was Adriaan van Berkel? 45 3 Historical context of American Voyages 49 Berbice and Van Pere 49 Berbice 1627-1665 52 Berbice 1665-1670 55 Berbice 1670-1674 59 Fort Nassau and its population 59 Plantations, sugar and slavery 63 Amerindians, food and annatto 65 Surinam at the time of the fictitious voyage of Adriaan van Berkel, 1680-1689 68 4 Notes to the edition of American Voyages 69 Part II - Texts & glossary 71 Voyage to River Berbice 76 Voyage to Surinam 139 Dutch text of 1695 161 Amerikaansche Voyagien naar Rio de Berbice 166 Reis na Suriname 228 Register der hoofdstukken deses boeks 248 Dutch Glossary 251 Sources and bibliography 265 Archival Sources 265 Bibliography 266 Maps and illustrations 279 Foreword The present-day Lokono of Guyana reside between c. 60 and 90 miles inland from the Atlantic seacoast. Their villages are strategically situated on high sandy ridges, on the edge of the forest and are connected by bridges and roads that criss cross the forests and savannahs. The Lokono remain, therefore, in contact with their relatives in other villages, which in most cases are located no more than a day’s journey apart. Inspired by Adriaan van Berkel’s journey from the Demerara to the Berbice, I set off from Georgetown for the Berbice River in 1986. My goal was not only to relocate the Lokono villages Van Berkel had encountered while travelling across the savannahs but also to acquire pottery samples from the now abandoned village sites in the Abary River area. Having traversed the various land and river routes with my elders, I decided to follow a well-known trail that had served my ancestors. It connected the Lokono villages on the Demerara River to those on the Berbice River continuing from the Berbice to the Canje River and then towards the Courentyne River and into Surinam. After travelling from Georgetown to Linden by bus I got off at the junction of the Linden Highway and the road leading to St. Cuthbert’s Mission.1 From here I walked to the Mahaica River and having stayed the night at St Cuthbert’s Mission, continued on the trail to Kibilery Creek, accompanied by a resident of the village, departing before daybreak. After an almost 7-hour long hike, we paused only very briefly in order to refresh ourselves at a stream, enjoyed a snack and arrived at the abandoned village of Kibilery in mid-afternoon. From here we paddled downstream towards the Mahaicony River in a dugout and then set off up Captain Creek, a tributary of the Mahaicony River, towards Saint Francis Mission (now named Marikobai). The night was passed at Marikobai. We proceeded towards the Andabo Creek, a tributary of the Abary River, the next morning. At Marikobai, having asked the direction towards the Berbice River, we were informed the upper Abary River area had been flooded due to a dam constructed across the Abary River in 1970. The entire savannah separating the Abary and the Berbice Rivers is now inundated. Villagers fished the Andabo Creek area but did not venture far out towards the Berbice River for fear of the dangerously rough “sea”. However, determined to reach this river, we boarded a dugout, navigated the grassy sheet of water until nightfall and then took a break in order to cook a meal in our canoe and have a rest. Unable to sleep, we continued our journey, carefully finding our way, under a very clear moon, through the savannah. We stopped again at around 4 o’clock in the morning, as we were heading into a forest island. Woken up by a loud banging sound in the distance, we excitedly decided to follow the signal telling us we were not alone. Sure enough in the distance we could see a couple comfortably seated in their canoe cleaning fish. Having approached 1 Linden is located 90 km south of Georgetown. The route via the Soestdyke-Linden Highway is about 100 km. This highway follows more or less the bends of the Demerara River. The village of Hitia is c. 70 km east of Linden as the crow flies. Direct road connections do not exist. foreword 7 D E M E R A R A Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Moblissa Cr. Nabi village One House village post Andabo Cr. (Amsterdam) B E R B I C E 6° Ouden Amen village pond 2nd voyage 1st voyage 3rd voyage Abary village Plan of the land between the Den Berg Fort Berbice and Demerara Rivers Nassau Showing approximately Mierenberg courses of routes made by Adriaen van Berkel Wiruni Cr. 1670 - 1671 1 Miles 10 58° Figure 1: Map of the Guiana plateau with the voyages of Adriaan van Berkel. them and introducing ourselves, they showed us the way to Coffee Landing on the Abary River adding that the 10-mile road from this landing would take us to the Berbice River. Indeed, after a 3-hour walk through the forest, a house appeared in the distance. We had arrived at the village of Hitia, near the former Dutch plantation Den Berg, visited by Adriaan van Berkel. It turned out this village is one of the earliest Lokono villages in the Berbice!2 George Simon, Lokono Archaeologist Georgetown, 1 August 2014 2 Whitehead, N.L., M.J. Heckenberger, G. Simon, Materializing the Past among the Lokono (Arawak) of the Berbice River, Guyana, Antropológica 114, 2010. 8 the voyages of adriaan van berkel to guyana Preface The former Dutch colonies in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana are probably the least known part of the Dutch colonial heritage in the Caribbean.