Sultan II. Mehmet’in önderliğindeki Osmanlı ordusunun 1453 yılında İstanbul’u Bizanslılardan alması ile, şehir ticaretinin de sonunun geldiği sanılmıştı. Ama durum tamamen farklıydı. Cenevizli ve Venedikliler çoktan kendi ticaret odalarını, zamanın Konstantinapol şehrinde kurmuşlar ve ilginçtir ki şehrin savunmasında da önemli yardımlarda bulunmuşlardır.
History is my hobby, especially that of the interface between Japan and the outside world. That is why some years ago I started an annual commemoration of a young Dutchman who had played a part in opening Japan in the 19th century but who had since faded into obscurity. This was the start of what was to become the Dead Dutchman Society of Tokyo.
Hindia Belanda, yang pada saat ini disebut negara Indonesia, adalah salah satu negara koloni Belanda selama hampir 350 tahun. Sejak awal abad ke-17 mulai dibentuk pos perdagangan di lokasi strategis sepanjang pantai pulau-pulau Hindia-Belanda. Pembentukan pos perdagangan tersebut bukan berarti selalu tanpa perjuangan sehingga banyak orang yang mati baik dari pihak Belanda maupun orang pribumi. Selain itu, juga banyak orang Belanda yang mati karena sebab penyakit dan kesengsaraan. Pada saat pemukiman Hindia Belanda pertama didirikan, sering kali orang yang mati juga dikuburkan di tempat pemukiman tersebut. Begitu juga yang terjadi di Surabaya (juga dikenal sebagai Soerabaja), yang dikuasai oleh Perusahaan Hindia Timur Belanda, VOC, sejak 1743.
Dutch history spans the world. From Spitsbergen to Brazil, and from America to India, Dutch trade left its mark, which includes many burial grounds. One area in particular was the territory of New Netherland in the present-day US, which was established around the same time that the English settled New England. Dutch settlements were concentrated in the Hudson River Valley and scattered throughout the states of New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Connecticut. Interestingly, the oldest gravestones in the area date to the beginning of the 18th century, although the first settlements were established a century earlier. In comparison, New England’s oldest gravestones date to the mid 17th century, some 60 to 70 years earlier than than the Hudson Valley. This article will discuss what had become of the earliest Dutch gravestones, as well as provide a background on the earliest burial grounds.