Hier Rust …
By: Louk Vreeswijk
Tags: History
| Aperture: | f/9 |
|---|---|
| Focal Length: | 71.5mm |
| ISO: | 200 |
| Shutter: | 1/0 sec |
| Camera: | DSC-R1 |
My own connection with Kerala fits in a long tradition. Dutch compatriots have been coming to its coasts as sailors, traders and explorers of the Dutch East India Company since the middle of the 17th century. But they also had a number of military outposts and sort of ruled over the Malabar Coast till the end of the 18th century.
It is nice, for a Dutchman, to stay as a tourist-guest on Bolgatty Island near Cochin in the historical country house of the former Dutch Governors. Similarly special is a visit to the Dutch Cemetery at Fort Cochin where one comes across gravestones with epitaphs in Old Dutch.
Dutch cemetery, Fort Kochi, Kerala, India 2014
Dutch cemetery, Fort Kochi, Kerala, India 2014
For my Dutch readers, the text on the memorial slab in the picture says:
Hier Rust Ter Zalige Opstandinge het Lijk Van Wijlen Den E:Heer Iohannes van Blankenberg in Leeven Kapitain ter zee en Equipagiemeester Geboren te Nieuwvliet in Staats Vlaanderen den 18 Mai 1749 Obit de 2 April A° 1794.
One year after his death the Dutch settlements on the Malabar Coast were surrendered to the British.
Photo of the week: Dutch cemetery, Fort Kochi, Kerala, India 2014
καιρός remembered 
great post.
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[…] They take me back to my home country of earlier times, like the names on the graves at the nearby Dutch cemetery in Kochi. Not particularly a part of the ‘glorious 17th century Dutch history’ to be proud of. […]
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