| In 1623 at Amboyna (Ambon Islands) the Dutch government, in conflict with the English, committed a massacre upon the English traders on the island. England was naturally outraged by the incident and further insulted and injured by the publication written by the Dutch to "justify" the torture and executions. That publication came to be known as the "Dutch Placard." Amboyna Massacre, Wikipedia At some point Rev. John Wing, with the help of a Dutch minister, translated the Dutch Placard and included it in the book; "A true relation of the vniust, cruell, and barbarous proceedings against the English at Amboyna in the East-Indies, by the Netherlandish gouernour and councell there. Also the copy of a pamphlet, set forth in dutch and then in English, by some Netherlander; falsly intituled. A true declaration of the newes that came out of the East-Indies with the pinace called the Hare, which arrived at Texel in June, 1624. together with an answer to the same pamphlet. by the English East-Inda Company. Published by authority." "by John Skinner; Sir Dudley Diggs and John Wing, of Flushing Zealand." This book was published in 1624 which is what must have compelled the English Ambassador to the Hague, Sir Dudley Carleton to write a letter to Rev. John Wing that he needed his help to get to the bottom of just exactly who not only perpetuated the massacre but who wrote the Dutch Placard that justified the massacre upon the English traders. It was also an upbraid because the book had by now had circulated quite quickly among the English and the Dutch. It is evident that our ancestor, Rev. John Wing was in some great trouble. Rev. Wing responded to Sir Carleton's letter on September 28, 1624 from Flushing. Among other things, he tells the Sir Carleton of his illness; "Right Honorable, your lordship, letter of the 17 Sept: I received the 22 of the same from a dutiful & ----------- answer (?) whereunto, no hand but Gods, should have withholden mine (myne); but such was the infirmity of myne own body, that for diverse days I could not write at all, and such is the sorrowful dissatisfaction of a sick family, that as yet I am neither able to write so advisedly of myself as I should, nor goe abroad (word marked out) to sift out, what might be said of others so thoroughly as I would." He also apologizes for any misunderstanding and that he does not know the author of the Dutch Placard. Rev. Wing implores Sir Dudley Carleton; "I most humbly beseech your Lord to take that my unwise carriage in the past confrontation if can believe according to the good I intended, not the evil that hath issued, beyond my utmost jealousy and suspicion" Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, by Great Britan Public Record Office, John William Fortescue Evidently Rev. Wing was found innocent of any wrong doing because by 1627 he was appointed the Pastor to the English Church at the Hague,the Sacrament Gasthuis in Noordeinde |
| All of the correspondence and copies thereof were obtained by Michael Wing, the 14th District Representative for the Wing Family of America, Inc. Sometime about December of 2006, Michael wrote that he had found some documents at the U.K. National Archives concerning Rev. John Wing. It was a tremendous find and to my knowledge...a new discovery concerning our ancestor that was very enlightening indeed. Mike asked if I could translate the documents. I tried and didn't do too badly although I am sure my eyesight suffered in the long run. However, about 6 months later Mike and I were to receive an email from Bob Kerncamp who had more than a passing interest in the Amboyna Incident. Browsing the internet one day, Bob found the Wing Family Website and wrote: "Browsing the internet for information on the so-called "Amboyna Massacre" of 1623, I surfed in on your Wing family website. You seem to have some interesting information on the occurence! I recently discovered that one of my ancestors, Laurens de Maerschalck, was one of the judges who sentenced the English, Japanese and Portuguese on Ambon in 1623. Naturally, I am most interested in what exactly happened. The accounts on the internet vary widely, and being an archivist by profession, I would love to see contemporary documents on the event. If I can be of any assistance in transcribing your documents, I will be more than happy to do so. Provided I can read the English handwriting of course - I have only experience in reading Dutch and German texts from the 17th century." Michael gladly sent the documents to Bob who did a much better translation of the letters than I did. Those are the translations that you will find here. After Bob sent his tranlations he wrote further about his discoveries: "From what I have read, this is what happened in 1623: On Feb. 23, 1623 a rumour reaches the Dutch on Amboyna that the English on the island be planning to take over the fort (“castle”) Victoria. To find the truth about these allegations, the Dutch arrest some Japanese who work for the Dutch East India Company inside the fort, and several Englishmen. He who does not confess of his own free will, is tortured by having water poured over his head, round which a cloth is draped. If the suspect does not confess after that, burning candles are held under his arm pits. All suspects confirm that they are implicated, with or without being tortured. Since the crime is treason, all the accused, ten Englishmen, nine japanese and one Portuguese, are sentenced to death. On March 9, 1623 they are beheaded. The head of the English captain Gabriel Towerson is stuck on a pole for all to see. In the summer of 1623 some Englishmen complain in Batavia to the Dutch governor- general about the Amboyna affair, which they say is a false accusation based upon a fantasy, to which the confessions were gotten by atrocious torture only. It looks like the whole business does not get very much attention, or at least not outside the Indonesian area, until a Dutch pamphlet is published, which gets a translation by John Winge. This makes the government of the Lower Countries, the “Staten Generaal”, rather angry, as they were trying to sort the matter out already, they say. This is what Winge refers to in his letter when he says he did not know that he was meddling in international affairs. Whether the torture of blowing off limbs with gunpowder ever took place, is doubtful. My ancestor Laurens de Maerschalck, a merchant and councillor in Amboyna at the time, and thus one of the judges in this affair, stated that all allegations of the use of gunpowder were false. I have not read the other statements, but I guess they are all to the same effect. Which is to be expected, of course. The special Dutch court that is to judge the affair, takes its time. The first proceedings take place in 1625, but the verdict is not given until 1631: the accusations are not accepted, and the Amboyna judges are free to go. Naturally, the English are not happy with this and the whole affair is one of the origins for the Dutch-English war of 1650-1654. The Treaty of Westminster of that latter year states among other things that those guilty of the Amboyna afair be punished, and a sum of 300,000 guilders be payed to the descendants of the 10 beheaded Englishmen. By the by: one of the main issues in this whole affair seems to have been the question whether the Dutch had the right to perform justice on Amboyna, leave alone trying English subjects." |
| THE AMBOYNA INCIDENT AND REV. JOHN WING'S INVOLVEMENT |
| Michael Wing, 14th District Representative for the Wing Family of America, Inc. That district is Canada and any other country outside of the United States. Mike is notorious for not wanting any credit for any of the major discoveries he has made and donated to the Wing Family of America, Inc. However, with a discovery like the Amboyna Incident...it would be a tragedy not to credit him for such an amazing find. I don't think that Mike has ever been properly thanked or credited for so many contributions to our history. He continues to diligently do as much as he can to further our knowledge of our ancestors and to bring our cousins closer together. Mike: Thank you for all that you have done and for all that you continue to do. Your dedication to our family research is beyond compare. Drop Mike a line at mwing@rogers.com |
