Amboina Massacre

▪ Asian history

      execution that took place in Amboina (now Ambon, Indon.) in 1623, when 10 Englishmen, 10 Japanese, and one Portuguese were put to death by local Dutch authorities. The incident ended any hope of Anglo-Dutch cooperation in the area, a goal that both governments had been pursuing for several years, and marked the beginning of Dutch ascendancy in the Indies.

      During the first quarter of the 17th century the Dutch East India Company had already established itself in Amboina, one of the Spice Islands (Maluku, formerly Moluccas). A Dutch garrison was stationed in Fort Victoria and a local Dutch governor was appointed. The English merchants associated with the British East India Company, however, were also attracted to the island, and their interests eventually came into conflict with those of the Dutch. Early in 1623 the Dutch local governor, Herman van Speult, believed that the English merchants, helped by Japanese mercenaries, planned to kill him and overwhelm the Dutch garrison as soon as an English ship arrived to support them. He then ordered the arrest of the alleged plotters. Under torture they admitted their guilt and were found guilty by the court of Amboina and executed in February 1623. The term massacre was applied to this incident by the English.

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