April 1661
Somewhere at the bottom of the Yangon River: the Koning David ship
The Koning David was a Dutch East Indiaman ship that set sail from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia and then to Pegu before sinking just off the coast of what is today Yangon in April 1661. The ship belonged to the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (the VOC, or Dutch East India Company) and its captain was Kornelis Rob of Amsterdam. The enterprising Dutch company then had a fairly substantial business operation in Burma, with offices in Ava, Pegu and Syriam as well as in the Arakan (Rakhine) kingdom, trading South Indian textiles, slaves, guns, spices, and more. Their wares were such that 17th-century Burmese were able to purchase beaver-fur hats from the Hudson valley (today's New York).
While there have been efforts underway to find the near-legendary Dhammazedi Bell at the bottom of the Yangon River, there is much more beneath the waters to explore, including this once great ship, perhaps with its treasures still intact.
The painting is a Dutch East Indiaman ship anchored at the seaport of Hoorn in northern Holland by Lorenzo a Castro.
Photo credit: Dulwich Picture Gallery
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