This scarce volume compiled by Dr. Hendrik Muller includes a reproduction of the famous "Strange Histories in the Kingdoms of Cambodia and Laos, in the East Indies, since the year 1635 to the year 1644, as they happened there" (Haarlem, Pieter Casteleyn, 1669), about the journey Gerrit van Wuysthoff made from Cambodia to Laos, with the original engraved title page and the text of which is reproduced, including a map and two folding plates.
The "Strange Histories in the Kingdoms of Cambodia and Laos, 1635-1644" is a significant, often overlooked 17th-century historical text compiled from Dutch East India Company (VOC) records, detailing turbulent events, Dutch-Cambodian relations, European rivalries (Dutch vs. Portuguese), and the first European account of Laos via Geraerd Wusthof's journey, offering insights into court intrigue, trade, customs, and Buddhism, with modern translations available for scholars of Southeast Asian history. A high historical significance of this work provides crucial details on the Cambodian court during a dynamic period, including events surrounding King Reameathipadei I.'s conversion to Islam around 1642; highlights the complex interplay between European traders (Dutch, Portuguese) and local Southeast Asian powers; and offers early European perspectives on Lao society and culture, a previously less-documented area. In essence, these "strange histories" offer a vital window into 17th-century Southeast Asia, revealing political maneuvering, burgeoning trade, and cultural encounters from a distinct European viewpoint.
The volume includes a map and two folding plates with views:
- A large coloured folding map of Cambodia in pocket at the rear;
- Folding frontispiece bird's-eye view of Eauweck (the main city of Cambodia), also known as Lawec/Lovek/Longvek/Khum Peam Lvek (a reproduction of the view by Johannes Vingsboom from 1665);
- Tinted folding plate "Battle off Phnom Penh, Cambodia fought on Sunday 12 June from daybreak until 5 o'clock in the evening in the year 1644".
"One of the most important works was 'The East India Company in Cambodia and Laos. Collection of documents from 1636 to 1670' by Hendrik Muller. At the beginning of the last century, Muller was the director of a trading company in Mozambique and a supporter of the South African Boers. However, he fell out, and in 1907 he left for the Far East. There he wrote a book about the East India Company and Laos. He also discovered an unknown book: "Strange histories in the kingdoms of Cambodia and Laos, in the East Indies, since the year 1635 to the year 1644, as they happened there," about the journey Gerrit van Wuysthoff made from Cambodia to Laos, the text of which is reproduced. In 1641, Van Wuysthoff was the first Westerner to sail across the Mekong River, from Phnom Penh to Laos, buying deerskins...
...Between 1635 and 1643, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) attempted to extend its influence in Southeast Asia to Cambodia and Laos. Deerskins were for sale there. Deerskins for the homeland? No, to supply them to Japan. Because the Japanese held a monopoly on the deerskin trade in Laos and Cambodia until 1635, but they were no longer allowed to leave their country. The Netherlands did have access to Japan, although it was limited to the island of Dejima (or Decima). The Japanese emperor had apparently had enough of all those evangelizing Portuguese on his island and preferred the pragmatic Dutch merchants. They could trade the deerskins for copper and silver from Japan. Hard cash for the fatherland? No, they bought textiles for it in India. Clothing for the fatherland? No, the clothing served as currency in the Indies. Cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace were bought there. This time for the fatherland. The spice trade was the primary means of subsistence for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which secured a monopoly on it in its colonies. Under the inspiring leadership of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, who did not shy away from the occasional genocide.
Yet, the Dutch national quest to establish a monopoly on the deerskin trade in Cambodia and Laos in the seventeenth century is a 'forgotten history of the VOC'. The glorifying and vilifying books previously devoted to the 'VOC mentality' have remained silent on it. The Cambodian adventure ended on June 11, 1644, with 62 dead and 145 seriously wounded in an ambush by the Cambodian sultan. This was not widely discussed; the stain was erased from national history. The 'story we prefer to bury in the dark recesses of our archives' is told by cultural anthropologist John ter Horst in Muskietengat – 'A Forgotten History of the VOC in Cambodia'..."
(https://historiek.net/antropoloog-ontdekt-vergeten-nederlaag-voc-in-cambodja/44247/)
Original blue linen hardcover with gilt embossing and gilt on the edges; Text in Dutch; Collation complete - VIII, Frontispiece folding bird's eye view of Longvek (Cambodia), Title page, LXVII, 463 pages, with engraved title, tinted folding illustrated plate and large color folding map in pocket at the rear; Binding is strong, tight and firm, overall in very good condition, with usual shelf wear. Binding with minor rubbing, little bumped to the spine extremities, partly discolorated/faded. Hinges and joint are whole, strong and secure. Text block/pages clear and very bright, with some yellowing and/or slight tanning, otherwise no foxing, markings or annotations throughout. Many pages untrimmed. Map and folding plates are whole and well preserved. A sound copy of this scarce title.
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- Binding Condition: Very good
- Overall Condition: Very good
- Size: 25,5 x 17,5 cm
