Rond de wereld, Kaap Hoorn
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Transcript of Rond de wereld, Kaap Hoorn
Around the world
in sailingsteps,
Dec 2009 – May 2010
Samengesteld door
Kees Bouten
2011
De zeilsporen van mijn voorvader kapitein Jacob Bouten
South-America
Part IIA
Zeilsporen van mijn voorvader kapitein Jacob Bouten (1815-1894)
with sailingsteps by Kees Bouten.
INHOUDSOPGAVE
0. Voorwoord / Preface 1
1. Jacob Bouten 1815-1849. 3
2. Rond de wereld.
A. Rond Kaap Hoorn naar Valparaiso (1849 en 1852). 59
o Valparaiso, Chiloé and Cape Horn
B. San Franciso (1850 en 1853). 105
o San Franciso.
C. Hong Kong (1853). 131
o Hong Kong.
Batavia (1850 en 1853). 147
o Jakarta.
D. Geschiedenis in perspectief 163
Nawoord “Jan van Hoorn” 165
3. De “Kosmopolieten”
A. “Kosmopoliet” (1854-1862). 173
o From Strait Sunda along Java northcoast.
B. “Kosmopoliet II” (1863-1868). 281
o Java backland.
4. Jacob Bouten 1869-1894. 355
o New York.
o De Veendammer binnen- en buitenvaarders Boiten.
Nawoord 387
Referenties
59
Rond de wereld; de zeilsporen van kapitein Jacob Bouten met de
“Jan van Hoorn” (1849 – 1853).
1e Wereldreis
Nadat Jacob Bouten tegen Oudejaarsavond 1848 uit Pangol (een klein plaatsje aan de zuidoost
kust van Java) vertrokken was, in een orkaan terecht kwam en in zijn levensverhaal beschrijft hoe
hij met een muiterij omging, komt hij op 21-04-1849 aan in Brouwershaven waar hij de brieven
van de Heer Blussé ontvangt waarin hij verzocht wordt met spoed naar Dordrecht te komen voor
een volgende reis met de “Jan van Hoorn”. Hij verhaalt hier over:
Bij mijn aankomst te Brouwershaven vond ik daar de brieven van de Heer Blussé,
waarin ik verzocht werd alle haast te maken naar Dordt te komen, daar een nieuwe
reis voor de Jan van Hoorn bestemd was. Ik diende echter een paar lichters te lossen,
daar het schip te diep voor de vlakte lag.
Toen ik met het schip voor de stad lag, en op het kantoor kwam, werd ik met het plan
van de rederij in kennis gesteld. Zij hadden berichten uit Valparaiso ontvangen, die
zeer gunstig waren, daar eenige goederen naar toe te zenden. Daarvoor hadden zij
bestemd de Jan van Hoorn en twijfelden niet of ik zou daar wel genoegen in vinden. Ik
antwoordde daarop: “heel veel genoegen”, doch durfde hen niet te laten blijken hoezeer
mijn hart bonsde.
Ik overzag in een oogenblik de gehele reis, rond de Zuidpunt van Amerika, die niet
gemakkelijk was, en dan met een volle lading handel drijven, waarvan ik de taal niet
verstond.
Ik moet wel erkennen dat ik mij bij die keus van de Heer Blussé niet prettig voelde. Wij
waren zo gewoon geworden van die route naar Batavia en terug, dat er aan geen
andere vaart meer gedacht werd en nu kwam er ineens een voor die door weinigen nog
gedaan was.
Kennelijk werd het inderdaad zo snel door Blussé met Jacob Bouten geregeld want in het
Algemeen Handelsblad van 24 april 1849 valt reeds in een advertentie te lezen:
Naar VALPARAISO ligt in lading te DORDRECHT, het Kopervast BARKSCHIP Jan van Hoorn, Kapt. J. Bouten, om in de maand Junij te vertrekken. Adres, voor Goederen en Passagiers, bij de Kargadoors VISSER EN VAN DER SANDE, te Dordrecht, of bij den Kapitein aan boord.
In zesentwintig volgende NRC’s van 27 april tot en met 12 juli wordt bij de schepen in lading te
Dordrecht melding gemaakt van:
VALPARAISO. Het Nederl. Gekoperd Barkschip Jan van Hoorn, kapt. J. Bouten. Adres bij de Cargadoors Visser en van der Sande, te Dordrecht.
Ik ben nooit te weten gekomen, waarom ze juist mij voor die reis gekozen hadden, daar
ik toch de jongste en de laatst aangestelde van al de kapt. van de rederij was. Niemand
heeft echter kunnen merken dat ik tegen die reis opzag. Zag mij zooveel mogelijk met
alles wat op die reis betrekking had in kennis te stellen, kocht boeken aan voor het leren
van Spaans, zeildirecties rond kaap Hoorn en de Stille Zuidzee en handelsboeken voor
den handel. Het schip werd beladen met allerlei artikelen, die zij meenden daar goeden
60
prijs te zullen maken en toen hoog stonden door de vele vraag in Californiё, waar toen
rijke goudmijnen ontdekt waren en veel volk naar toe stroomde.
Wij kregen een verzoek van Amsterdam om enige goederen naar Valparaiso mede te
nemen onder toezicht van een schipper-cargo, de Heer Koek, die dan als passagier
mede zoude gaan. In de helft van juli was ik met het innemen der lading gereed om de
reis aan te vangen
Advertentie in NRC 1 Junij 1849
Jacob Bouten was toen 33 jaar en had tot die tijd zesmaal voor rederij Blussé met de “Jan van
Hoorn” naar Batavia gevaren, waarvan de laatste vier als kapitein
De aanmonstering van slechts 20 man voor deze reis was op 15 juni 1849 te Dordrecht.
Monsterrol nr.1418 van het barkschip “Jan van Hoorn” in Dordrecht, Kapitein J.
Bouten, varende naar Valparaiso en terug op ‘onbepaald’. Dordrecht, 15 Junij 1849.
1e stuurman Arie Versteegh (31jr, Dordrecht, f 70,- )/ 2e stuurman E.Verginius (24jr, Amsterdam, f 45,
-) 3e stuurman Barend Mols (23jr, Dordrecht, f 30, - ) bootsman Willem Cornelis Maas (45jr, Dordrecht,
f 40, -), timmerman S. van Dalen (35jr, Papendrecht, f 40,-), kok H. Dubbelt (35jr, Dordrecht, f 38,-),
zeilmaker H.Garrama (26jr, Dordrecht, f 26), hofmeester P.Bliesé (34jr, Rotterdam, f 22), Matrozen
61
C.Nielsen (34jr, Wet.Löhro, f 20), L.H.Leegaart (34jr, Kopenhagen, f 20), J.A.Marfos (23jr, Herzozout,
f 20), H.B.Buisman (21jr, Pekelxxxx, f 20), Jan R.Kuiper (22jr, Pekelxxxx, f 20), (29jr,
Danzig, f 20), J.F.de Haan (18jr, Worcum, f 18) en Pieter Baart (36jr, Dussen, f 20), Ligtmatrozen
Heinrich von Beers (18jr, Orshow, f 14) en Everth Holtwerth (19jr, Dordrecht, f 14) en Jongens
J.Groeneveldt (17jr, Hagestein, f 12) en Izak Roobol (19jr, Dordrecht, f 10). [SAD-12].
Voor een gage van totaal f.519,-/mnd.
Twee man werden reeds voor vertrek afgedankt (nadat eerste twee maanden gage reeds
betaald waren). Op 5 juli werden nog een nieuwe hofmeester en matroos aangemonsterd.
Mogelijk ten gevolgen van het snelle vertrek na vorige reis zijn er vijf man van de bemanning die
ook op de vorige reis waren, voor zeilmaker Garrama en kok Dubbelt (voorheen matroos) werd
het de derde reis met de “Jan van Hoorn”. Barend Mols, die vorige reis met de “Jan van Hoorn”
ook 3e-stuurman was, zou later op de 12e-reis van de “Jan van Hoorn” gezagvoerder zijn.
Uit het NRC 11 juli 1849 "Rotterdam, 10 juli. Wij vememen, dat de volgende Nederlandse schepen naar Chili en Californie zijn vertrokken: ..... Gereed om te vertrekken van Dordrecht naar Valparaiso het barkschip JAN VAN HOORN, kapt. J. Bouten. Er zijn thans dus aanzienlijke Nederlandse belangen in de Stille Zuidzee te bewaken en het is dien ten gevolge te hopen, dat, gelijk van andere landen, ook van Nederland een oorlogsschip zich derwaarts begeve, ten einde de Nederlandse vlag behoorlijk worde beschermd en, als het nodig is, verdedigd, te meer, daar sommige dier schepen aldaar gedurende enige tijd zullen verblijven."
Op 13 juli vertrok Jacob Bouten met de “Jan
van Hoorn” uit Hellevoetsluis [NRC 16-07-1849]
met lading voor Valparaiso, waarna verdere
bestemming zelf te bepalen.
Op 15 juli bevond hij zich bij Deal [NRC 19-07-
1849], waarna de “Jan van Hoorn” op 17 juli
bij Penzance (ten westen van Plymouth)
binnenliep [NRC 23-07-1849]. Twee weken later,
op 6 augustus bevonden ze zich op op
14°56’N.Br. 26°11’W.L [AH 17-09-1849] bij de
Kaap Verdische eilanden, zoals eveneens te
lezen valt in een brief van kapitein Bouten die
op 14 september in Dordrecht ontvangen werd.
[NRC17-09-1849].
Jacob Bouten verhaalt over deze reis:
Ik had aan de Heer Koek een zeer gezellige passagier, die veel van het eentonige van
een zeereis wegnam.
Bij het rondzeilen van Kaap Hoorn troffen wij veel stormweer en passeerden we
verscheidenen ijsbergen waar grote scholen walvissen om heen zwommen.
Na een reis van 104 dagen kwamen wij in Valparaiso aan. Ons gesprek was tijdens de
reis nogal dikwijls over de verkoop der goederen in Valparaiso geweest; of wij daar
62
wel de hoge prijzen zouden vinden waarvan wij in Holland de berichten hadden
gekregen; dan wel of anderen ons zouden zijn voor geweest. De Heer Koek meende van
niet en beloofde zich gouden bergen van deze reis.
In de NRC van 14-01-1850 wordt er melding
gemaakt van de aankomst van de “Jan van
Hoorn” op 26 oktober 1849 in Valparaiso en
twee dagen later werd er uit een brief van
kapitein J.Bouten aangehaald: “na eene reis van
105 dagen” en “Zijne verdere destinatie was
nog onbekend.”
Valparaiso heeft een prachtige baai waar wel duizend schepen ruim zouden kunnen
liggen en waar het zeer gemakkelijk inzeilen is. Bij het inzeilen zagen wij een groot
mastbos van schepen daar liggen hetgeen onze verwachting wel enigszins deed dalen
en, toen een der bedienden van de Hollandse consul aan boord kwam, hoorden wij , dat
Valparaiso reeds zo ruimschoots voorzien was, dat vele van onze artikelen
onverkoopbaar waren. Dat was voor ons geen prettige tijding, waarna ik met onze
agent, de Heer Boonen, overlegde hoe het best te handelen. Ik vertelde hem dat mijn
instructie luidde de ingeladen goederen in Valparaiso te verkopen en dan naar China te
zeilen om daar te zien bij de nieuwe oogst een lading thee te verkrijgen, doch wanneer
op andere wijze betere verdiensten te verkrijgen waren, ik mij niet zo streng aan de
instructie te houden had.
Onderwijl kwam er bericht van San Francisco dat daar een grote brand had plaats
gevonden, waardoor een massa goederen verbrand waren. Vooral was er een groot
gebrek aan hout voor het bouwen van huizen. Dat was geen kwaad bericht voor ons
daar ik 10 ton gezaagd hout in had, dat daarvoor geschikt was.
Alhoewel Jacob Bouten zich bewust was van de risico’s om naar San Francisco te varen omdat de
manschappen van alle schepen daar wegliepen op zoek naar goud, meende hij dat het
geschreeuw daarover erger zou zijn dan de werkelijkheid en aangezien hij geen andere keus zag,
verkocht hij de helft van zijn goederen te Valparaiso en verzeilt hij naar San Carlos op het eiland
Chilive (de zuidelijkste plaats van Chili) om zijn lading aan te vullen met hout voor San Francisco.
De prijzen van vele artikelen gingen nu snel omhoog en zoo ook de vrachten op San
Francisco. Doch er waren weinig schepen die daar naar toe wilden, daar het algemeen
bekend was dat alle manschappen van de schepen wegliepen en deze dan aan averij en
stranden ten prooi waren. Ik meende echter dat het geschreeuw daarover wel erger
zou zijn dan de werkelijkheid en, daar mij ook eigenlijk geen andere keus overbleef,
verkocht ik al mijn goederen en hield daarvan in wat voor San Francisco was tegen
$ 25,- per ton te San Francisco te leveren; waardoor ik vrij goed van mijn goederen
afkwam, die voor mijn vertrek van Valparaiso betaald moesten worden, en waarvoor
ik bovendien een goede vracht maakte. Daar nagenoeg de helft van mijn lading te
Valparaiso bleef, wilde ik nog lading bijzoeken en kwam met de Heeren Sorucco, die
het hout van mij gekocht hadden, overeen, om een partij hout, die hij in S. Carlos op het
eiland Chilive, de zuidelijkste plaats van Chili had liggen, op te halen. Er zou iemand
van zijnent wege meegaan het hout af te leveren, doch bij ons vertrek werd deze ziek
en, daar zij niemand anders hadden, kreeg ik volmacht voor hun te handelen.
63
In Valparaiso vond ik (zie Sailingsteps) dat de
lading die ze uit Amsterdam hadden
meegenomen voor het handelshuis Serruys
&Co was en later in het grootboek van de “Jan
van Hoorn” [12] dat er voor de in Valparaiso
afgeleverde vracht f. 16.000,35 betaald werd
plus f. 1.280,67 voor 187 balen Rijst (afkomstig
van nog de vijfde reis van de “Jan van Hoorn”).
Bovendien werd er voor f> 2.288,- verkocht aan
‘negotie goederen’ die als lading waren
meegenomen voor enige deelhebbenden in de
“Jan van Hoorn” en kreeg hij 6 kisten wijn als
vracht mee vanuit Valparaiso naar San
Francisco.
De uitgaven door de kapitein te Valparaiso bedroegen f. 4.302,28 (zie hiernaast).
Op 5-02-1850 werd in de NRC het vertrek van de “Jan van Hoorn” uit Valparaiso naar Chiloé
vermeld, volgens bericht van Rotterdam van 7 februari was het op 21 november 1849 [NRC 8-02-
1850]. Opmerkelijk aan deze laatste
‘Scheepstijdingen’ is dat de vervolgens
genoemde “Timor” eveneens een schip van
Blussé betreft en dat kapitein J. Koning in 1863
het gezag op de “Kosmopoliet” van Jacob
Bouten zou overnemen.
Het eiland ligt onder hooggebergte en is
zeer moeilijk te vinden wanneer men daarvan geen kustkaarten heeft, die ik natuurlijk
niet had en die ook te Valparaiso niet te krijgen waren. Ik trof nogal goed weer en kon
daardoor de kust dicht naderen waar ik een nauwe ingang vond. Ik zeilde die in en
vond daarachter een ruime baai, waar ik een kerktoren gewaar werd. Spoedig zag ik
een boot op mij afkomen, die mij de ankerplaats aanwees waar wij spoedig het anker
lieten vallen. De baai was voor drie vierden ingesloten en men ligt daar zeer veilig. Het
plaatsje San Carlos ligt echter nog op een afstand van twee Eng. mijlen van de
ankerplaats. De boot die ons ingeloodst had, was bemand met de havenmeester en
indianen. De havenmeester had meermalen naar onze vlag gekeken en scheen hem niet
te kennen; toen wij ten anker lagen vroeg hij van welke natie wij waren, daar onze
vlag te San Carlos nooit gezien was. Toen ik hem zeide, dat dit de Hollandse of
Nederlandse vlag was, was hij nog even wijs en zeide, dat de gouverneur het wel zoude
weten. De volgende dag kwamen er nog twee schepen bij, zoodat wij daar met vier
schepen lagen en wel een Spanjaard, een Fransman, een Amerikaan en wij,
Hollanders.
In San Carlos ligt hij voor anker met nog een Spaans, een Frans en een Amerikaans schip en omdat
hun schepen ver van het dorp verankerd lagen, huurden de kapiteins met elkaar een huisje waar
zij met meubilair van hun schepen introkken. Vanuit San Carlos gingen ze op bezoek bij de
Goeverneur e kwam de pastoor na enige tijd dagelijks bij hun een glaasje drinken.
64
San Carlos is een zeer armoedig plaatsje, dat men het best met een vissersdorp zou
kunnen vergelijken. Het scheen een betere tijd gehad te hebben, daar er nog enige
goede stenen huizen, die echter nu onbewoond, waren. De mindere huizen waren alle
van hout en zagen er alle even vervallen en haveloos uit.
De gouverneur woonde een half uur achter San Carlos op een heuvel en had een
prachtig huis met tuin. Het was een zeer hups en welopgevoed heer omstreeks zestig
jaar, die ons zeer vriendelijk en gul ontving, doch zich alleen in het Spaans kon
uitdrukken. Later hoorden wij dat hij om politieke redenen naar San Carlos verbannen
was.
Daar wij door de grote afstand van de plaats aan land moesten logeren en daar er
geen logementen waren, huurden wij één van de leegstaande huizen, namen daarvan
ieder een kamer, die wij met stoelen, tafel, bed en keukengereedschap van boord
bemeubelden. Wij hadden elk onze bediende van boord die voor ons te zorgen had.
Societeit, komedie of concerten werden er daar ook niet op na gehouden, zoodat wij 's-
avonds gewoonlijk alleen met ons viertjes bij elkander zaten en in het Engels
converseerden.
Later kregen wij zo nu en dan bezoek van de pastoor, een bejaard man, die ons kwam
opzoeken, omdat hij ons nog niet in de kerk had gezien en daar de reden van kwam
horen. De man wist niet dat er een andere religie dan de Katholieke bestond, en vond
dat die ook de mis moesten bijwonen. Toevallig waren wij twee Katholieken en twee
Gereformeerden, nl de Spanjaard en de Fransman de eerste, de Amerikaan en de
Hollander van de tweede religie, doch allen even onverschillig omtrent het ter kerk
gaan. Doch om de pastoor genoegen te doen en ook voor de bevolking, gingen wij alle
vier 's-morgens naar de mis. Dat beviel de pastoor zo, dat hij iedere avond bij ons een
glaasje wijn kwam halen.
S. Carlos werd in de laatste tijd alleen door handelsschepen bezocht die hout kwamen
halen voor de aanbouw van huizen en schepen. Vroeger kwamen hier ook walvisvissers
die zich voorzagen van water en brandhout dat hier in grote bossen voorhanden is.
Het innemen der lading ging niet vlug daar er niet genoeg vaartuigen waren om vier
schepen te helpen. Het ging dus bij beurten en zoo kwamen wij toch klaar.
Omdat de partij hout groter was dan verwacht,
of eigenlijk meer ruimte innam dan waarop
gerekend, werd een gedeelte op het dek
geladen waardoor dat tot aan de bovenkant van
de verschansing gevuld werd. Hierna verliet de
“Jan van Hoorn” omstreeks 24 december S. Carlos en zeilden ze in vijftig dagen naar San
Francisco.
Bij zijn vertrek uit San Carlos maakte kapitein
J.Bouten nevenstaande rekening [12] van zijn
verblijf in San Carlos op.
65
Naar Valparaiso en San Francisco vanuit Dordrecht, 1849 resp 1852.
De “Jan van Hoorn” rondt Kaap Hoorn, (schilder onbekend), [fam. Bouten]
66
2e Wereldreis
Over zijn terugkomst uit Batavia van zijn 5e reis als gezagvoerder van de “Jan van Hoorn” in April
1852, verhaalt Jacob Bouten in zijn levensverhaal:
In Brouwershaven vond ik brieven van de reederij dat ik alle haast moest maken naar
Dordt te komen, daar ik weeder eene bestemming kreeg naar St Francisco. Dit viel
volstrekt niet in mijn smaak, vooral niet omdat ik met mijn meisje en de familie
afgesproken had, na deze reis te trouwen en bij eene reis naar Java mijner vrouw mede
te nemen. Dit laatste kon echter niet, ten eerste de lange reis en ten tweede de
onaangenaamheden die er gewoonlijk op die reis voorvielen.
Doch daar viel niets aan te doen, dan orders te volgen.
Wij trouwden op 21 Mei 1852, hadden bruiloft en gingen acht dagen op reis naar
Gelderland.
Dit huwelijk met Marretje Pos was het tweede huwelijk van Jacob Bouten. Eerder was hij
getrouwd geweest met Adriana, een oudere zuster van Marretje, die tijdens Jacobs’ derde reis als
kapitein op de “Jan van Hoorn” in oktober 1847 overleed.
Akte van huwelijk van Jacob Bouten en Marretje Pos dd 21-05-1852 te Amsterdam
[fam.Bouten].
67
Ondertussen werd er opnieuw vanaf heel snel na terugkomst van de vorige reis, in de NRC bij de
schepen in lading te Dordrecht, melding gemaakt van:
NRC 27-04-1852, Schepen in Lading, DORDRECHT: SAN-FRANCISCO (direct). Ned. Gekop Bark Jan van Hoorn, kapt J. Bouten. Adres: Visser en van der Sande, te Dordrecht; Vlierboom en Suermondt, te Rotterdam, en J. Daniels en Zonen en Arbman, te Amsterdam.
Dit bericht werd nog tig keer herhaald (zelfs tot en met 8 juli), maar deze keer geen advertenties
(althans voor zover ik heb kunnen vinden).
Wel kwam ik een ander zeer opvallend bericht tegen, namelijk in de NRC van 29-05 (en 7-06)-
1852:
Schepen in Lading, ROTTERDAM: Batavia. Ned. Brik Karel August, kapt A.G. Bouten14. Adres: Hudig en Blokhuyzen, en Kuyper van Dam en Smeer.
Schepen in Lading, DORDRECHT: SAN-FRANCISCO (direct). Ned. Gekop Bark Jan van Hoorn, kapt J. Bouten. Adres: Visser en van der Sande, te Dordrecht; Vlierboom en Suermondt, te Rotterdam, en J. Daniels en Zonen en Arbman, te Amsterdam.
Advertentien. Getrouwd: H.J. VAN DER STEENSTRATEN, van Breda, met J. Bouten15. Rotterdam, 26 Mei 1852.
Vier weken later voer de “Karel August” uit naar Batavia en lag de “Jan van Hoorn” nog in
Dordrecht.
NRC 24-06-1852, * Zeetijdingen: Hellevoetsluis Heden zeilden in zee, - Karel August, A.G. Bouten, n Batavia – e.a. * Schepen in Lading, DORDRECHT: SAN-FRANCISCO (direct). Ned. Gekop Bark Jan van Hoorn, kapt J. Bouten. Adres: Visser en van der Sande, te Dordrecht; Vlierboom en Suermondt, te Rotterdam, en J. Daniels en Zonen en Arbman, te Amsterdam.
Getuige de NRC van 9-07-1852 kwam de “Jan van Hoorn” op 6 juli van Dordrecht in
Brouwershaven aan, van waar zij op 12 juli 1852 naar San Francisco vertrok [NRC14-07-1852]. Een
week later werd gemeld dat zij op 16 Julij bij Brixham voer [NRC 22-07-1852].
Een aardigheidje uit het kasboek van kapitein J.Bouten is dat ze in Brouwershaven nog voor
f.8,- een geit kochten voor aan boord.
Als passagaiers naar San Francisci waren mee: mej.Albers met een kind (f. 550,-), een passagier via
Visser &vd Sande (á f. 800,- á 47¼%) en een passagier 3e-klasse (f. 150,-) via kapitein Bouten. Bij
elkaar f. 1.078,- aan passagegeld.
Jacob Bouten verhaalt over de start van deze 2e reis rond de wereld en zijn zevende als
gezagvoerder op de “Jan van Hoorn”:
We waren beladen met diverse artikelen als ook met eene partij Deensche tarwe en
gerst, alles voor eigen rekening om in St Francisco te verkopen. Toen ik omstreeks
eene maand in zee was, en even de Linie gepasseerd, zagen wij in een paar dagen
kajuit en kerk bedekt met meelwormen die uit het tusschendek, waar de tarwe
gestouwd was, kwamen. Dit kwam natuurlijk voort door de sterke warmte tusschen
14
A.G. Bouten is Adolph George, de broer van Jacob Bouten en gezagvoerder op de “Karel August”. Hij lag te Rotterdam gereed voor zijn waarschijnlijk eerste reis als kapitein (zie verder Deel IV). 15 J. Bouten in de tweede melding is natuurlijk Jacob Bouten maar in de advertentie moet het een ander
zijn. Althans, Jacob Bouten trouwde op 21 mei met Marretje Pos uit Amsterdam en zij trouwden te
Amsterdam (hij woonde wel in Rotterdam). Foutje van de krant, twee berichten gemixed ?
68
de keerkringen, waardoor de tarwe aan het broeijen geraakte daar deze bij de
inlading niet droog genoeg was. Ik liet de tarwe op het dek halen, op zeilen uitstorten,
en vervolgens de zakken uitwaschen, waar wij eenige dagen achter mee bezig waren.
Bij het zeilen rond Kaap Hoorn troffen wij vele dagen zwaare stormen tegen, zoo dat
wij tot tusschen de ijs eilanden kwamen en zelfs last hadden van de menigte
walvissen om ons heen.
Wij kwamen er gelukkig zonder schade doorheen, en na 120 dagen reis te Valparaiso
aan, waar ik binnen ging om mij van drinkwater te voorzien. Daarop vervolgden wij
onze reis naar St Francisco, waar wij na 180 dagen reis van Holland aankwamen.
Op deze tweede wereldreis kwam hij op 16 november 1852 in Valparaiso aan, tegelijk met de
“Zuid-Holland” met kapitein F. De Boer, die op 3 juli uit Rotterdam vertrokken was. Beide schepen
vertrokken drie dagen later op 19 november uit Valparaiso. De “Jan van Hoorn” verder naar San
Francisco, de “Zuid-Holland” naar Iquique, waarna wederom via Valparaiso terug rond de Kaap
naar Amsterdam.
De Nederlander 24-01-1853, Scheepstijdingen, BINNENGEKOMEN: VALPARAISO, 16 Nov.; Zuid-Holland, de Boer, Rott. – Jan van Hoorn, Bouten, Dordt.
De Nederlander 25-01-1853, Scheepstijdingen: Amsterdam, 22 Januarij. Den 19. Nov. van Valparaiso uitgezeild: Jan van Hoorn, Bouten, Dordrecht naar San Francisco.
In het kasboek van kapitein J.Bouten vanwege
het verblijf in Valparaiso staat geboekt:
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Sailingsteps around the world
When my greatgreatgrandfather Jacob Bouten was 33 years old, his reder Blussé sent him with the
bark “Jan van Hoorn” to Valparaiso (Chile). He was quite astonished to be appointed for this job,
being the youngest captain of the fleet and he did not dare to refuse the challenge. Instead he
started to learn Spanish and to read books about how to sail around Cape Horn and also about the
trading business.
In July 1849 he left Holland and after 104 days, arrived in Valparaiso where the prices of
merchandises had dropped significantly since leaving Holland. His instructions were to sell the
cargo in Valparaiso and to sail to China to purchase tea from the new harvest, but if something else
would be more profitable he had to trade accordingly.
He sold half of the cargo in Valparaiso and decided to sail to San Francisco after hearing that a
huge fire had destroyed a great part of the city and they were in need of many goods, especially
wood to build new houses. Since he had 10 tons of carved wood in his cargo already, he decided to
go to San Carlos first, a small place on an island in the south of Chile in order to get more wood,
which would be in great demand in San Francisco.
He anchored in the bay of San Carlos with three other ships, one from Spain, France and America.
The four captains stayed in one of the abandoned houses. After they started visiting the church in
San Carlos, the local priest would come visit them for a daily glass of wine.
The second time he was sent to sail around the world was in April of 1852 after he came back from
Batavia of his 6th
voyage as captain of the “Jan van Hoorn”. He had to sail to San Francisco, which
he did not appreciate at all because he was due to marry Marretje Pos, a younger sister of his
former wife Adriana Pos, who had died in 1847. Like it or not, orders are given to be followed.
They married on the 21st of May 1852 and went on their honymoon for eight days in the province
of Gelderland in Holland. Half way through July of 1852 he left Rotterdam with San Francisco
being his destination.
Jacob Bouten 1861
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Sailingsteps Valparaiso
After being in Valparaiso for more than a week, I was walking from the Plaza Bolivar through the
Prat and at a certain moment I noticed a sign for the Dutch Consulate. I thought, why not ask them
if they have suggestions on how to find out more about Valparaiso of 160 years ago, but on
entering the building everybody was leaving for the day. Going there once again the next day I got
to speak someone who advised me to go to the Camara Comercio at nearby Ross 149 and to ask for
Rosita, because they had published a book about their history from 1858-2008. Rosita appeared to
not understand much English, but there happened to enter somebody from Peru who did speak
English and who has been a great help to me for translation. Someone else from the Camara
Comercio came to help both of us and during the time she was in discussion with the man from
Peru, I looked through the very interesting book. They could not provide me with any other
material, but I could buy the book (which I did) and they advised me to go to the El Mercurio, a
newspaper at the Esmeralda around the corner, since they had helped them with historic
information for the book.
On arriving at the El Mercurio, again I had to first make contact with somebody who could
understand English, and after some time somebody working for the El Mercurio advised me to ask
for the Director Juan Pablo Toro. By contacting his secretary, I made an appointment with him for
3 pm that afternoon. Upon my return at 3 p.m., I was told that the director would have only 5
minutes maximum for me. I think I spoke with him for half an hour but he could not help me with
any pictures, graphs, drawings, etc.. However he suggested “why not come back tomorrow to have
a look into our archives of newspapers from those days, because we used to publish the arrivals of
ships sailing into Valparaiso”.
And yes, on Wednesday 31st of March 2010, I found:
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in the newspaper El Mercurio [4] from 27 October 1849, that captain Jacob Bouten arrived in
Valparaiso 26 October 1849 with the barque “Jan van Hoorn”, 590 tons, from Dordrecht in the
Netherlands, with cargo for Serruys &Co.
EL MERCURIO 27 de Octubre 1849
“Entradas, - Dia 26
De DORDRET fregata holandes JAN VON HOORN, de 590 tonelades, capitan Bouten, cargamenta surido, consignada a E. y J.Serruys y Ca”.
Note: Their voyage from Holland to Valparaiso took them 104 days according to what Jacob Bouten
writes in ‘his lifestory to his children’, four days less than as can be deduced from the announcement in
the NRC from 11 July 1849 in the Netherlands and the El Mercurio from 27 October 1849 in Chile.
In the NRC is written: "Rotterdam, 10 juli. Wij vememen, dat de volgende Nederlandse schepen naar
Chili en Californie zijn vertrokken: ..... Gereed om te vertrekken van Dordrecht naar Valparaiso het
barkschip JAN VAN HOORN, kapt. J. Bouten”, what does not make sure that the “Jan van Hoorn” did
leave July 10th indeed.
Anyhow, it’s a difference of 4 days only.
The “Heren Sorucco” as Jacob bouten writes will be the company “Serruys &Co” I suppose.
< > < > < > < > < >
On Saturday 20th March 2010, around 2 pm, I arrived in Valparaiso by bus from Santiago, after
coming from the City of Sails, Auckland in New Zealand.
Auckland International Airport
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I left Auckland International Airport on Saturday 20 March 2010 at 4:40 pm on flight number
LAN800, on an Airbus340-300 from LAN Airways, to Santiago in Chile.
I was 56 years young and on my trip around the world “In the sailingsteps of my ancestor
Captain Jacob Bouten” who lived from 1815 – 1894, during a sabatical year after loosing my job
in Antwerp because my company closed down in 2009, due to the financial crisis (they said). I
have been travelling around the world by plane, nowadays a comparable transport to the ships
Jacob Bouten sailed 1½ centuries ago.
Next I will provide some details about my flight, comparable with those from his voyages around
the world.
Captain: Contreras Canales Pablo (CMD),
Cockpit crew: Silva Diaz Gerardo (CP), Cortes
Albornoz Herhan Luis (FO) en Reinbach Hoffmann
Martin Herbe (FO),
Cabin Crew: TJ: Rodriguez Martinez M. Macarena,
TCE’s: Terrazas Helmke Loreto Alejand, Jimenez
Munoz Paulina Isabel, Kohrs Carneyro Karen and
Rudloff Larenas Consuel. TC’s: Vergara Calvo
Claudio, Munoz Montero Jorge Patricio, Gallardo
Fernandez Andres, Pozo Jimenez Matias Andres,
Lerchundi Soria Ariel and Pradenas Arriagada Cesar
Danie.
At 4:50 pm we were airborn, heading east across the Pacific Ocean.
1¼ Hour after take off.
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9 Hours after take off (we went faster then planned).
After a comfortable flight of 11½ hours we touched ground at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benitez
International Airport Santiago in Chile, at 11:23 am local time on Saturday 20 March 2010, on the
same day and 5½ hours before I left Auckland!
My ‘cabin’ and my ‘ship’
Notice how the world has changed !?
The distance from Amsterdam to Valparaiso is comparable (by air) with from Auckland to
Santiago, both of us did it by fast means of transport in his own era, it took him 104 days (nearly
11.000 miles) and for me less than 12 hours!
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After settling in to my hotel Alcala, I strolled around in the area of Puerto (the area of the old
harbor) Valparaiso and after dinner in my hotel, I met Sebastien and Josué, both waiters of
café/restaurant La Poéta. They were interested in my story although the restaurant was about to
close, so after 11 pm (local time) we first went to a nextdoor pub, then to the house where
Sebastien lives and finally to some friends of Sebastien (and Charlotte) in another studenthouse. I
left them around 3:00 a.m. to go back to my hotel after a day of nearly 48 hours (I had some sleep
during the flight).
< > < > < > < > < >
Valparaiso 1837 (Charles Wood) [5]
About Valparaiso Jacob Bouten writes that it has a beautiful bay that can be found very
easily and where 1000 ships could well be anchored. When he came there October 1849
they saw a ‘forest of masts’, as he named it, in the bay.
Everything else he is writing is about their trading. Bad prices in Valparaiso due to too
many ships and thus investigating alternative destinations instead of going to China to
take the new harvest of tea to Holland. They got knowledge of that there had been a big
fire in San Francisco where they had lack of everything and especially wood to built
houses.
Some history:
The first European discoverers of the Indian village arrived in 1536 with the “Santiaguillio”
under the command of Juan de Saavedra, who named the town after his native village of Valparaíso de Arriba in Cuenca, Spain. In 1552 it became the main port for Santiago but the
village started only to grow after the colonial period. In the 19th century it became the main
harbour for the nascent Chilean navy and it achieved spectacular economic growth on from 1817 as an important South-American harbor. It became an important centre of Pacific commerce and
in 1849, a year after the Californian gold rush started, it was possible to count upto 800 ships at
anchor preparing for the final stage of their voyages to the western coast of the US. The importance of Valparaiso got less after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.
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My ancestor Jacob Bouten came to Valparaiso in 1849 when it was a town in development in a
country and on a continent which was completely new to him. By the time I visited Valparaiso it
had become a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, thanks to its historical importance, natural beauty
(large number of hills surrounding a picturesque harbor), and unique architecture (particularly, a
mix of 19th century styles of housing), in a country and on a continent where I never had been
before. I enjoyed Chile very much, and if I visit it once again I will learn Spanish before I go.
When I came to Valparaiso it was just three weeks after one of the bigger earthquakes (8.8) in
Chile and the world, in the area of Constitucion 300-400km south of Valparaiso and Santiago. I
have been lucky to continue my trip around the world to Chile (one week earlier the airport in
Santiago had yet to re-open) and the damage due to this earthquake was not as disastrous as I
feared. The worst damage I saw were fronts of buildings with plaster or glass damage or cracks in
the plaster.
However, Chile was struck by an earthquake in 1906 (9.5 Richter) including the area of Valparaiso
and at that time Valparaiso was nearly completely destroyed. This means that nowadays nothing
from the 19th
century remains, so I was not able to find any original historical sites from around
1850.
Nevertheless I ‘walked into’ some interesting information to get some idea how Valparaiso has
been in the middle of the 19th century compared to the city of Valparaiso in 2010.
When I arrived on my first day in Valparaiso at the busstation I made an appointment to have a
City tour by car with a driver for the following day. Sunday 21 March at 10 am I left my hotel to go
to the eastside of Valparaiso to start at one of the 45 hills of Valparaiso (may be Cerro Baron)
between Valparaiso and Vina del Mar to see Valparaiso from the same area as next painting
(painter unknown).
Valparaiso desde el Almendral, 1835 [5]
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This picture gives some idea of how the same area in Valparaiso looks like in 2010, looking SW
over Avenuda Argentina to the hills.
At lunchtime we were at the other side of
Valparaiso on the Cerro Artillera at the
westside of the Puerto area (the former main
area of Valparaiso west of the Almendral
area), where nowaday’s the harbor is still
situated.
After lunch we went onto the sea to have a
look at Valparaiso from the sea as a helpful
trial from my guide Mario to show me how
it looks now compared to a drawing I had
from Valparaiso from the bay in 1830. We
were not realy succesful, but it must also be
said that Valparaiso does not look at all like
it did 160 years ago!
Valparaiso from sea in 2010 resp 1830
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Postcard Valparaiso
The next day I found a tile on the Plaza Sotomayor indicating the shoreline in 1858 what gave me
directions to find out more about the situation around 1850. The Puerto area is situated around the
Plaza Aduana with the original pier (Muelle) and the customs building (Aduana), nowadays the
Plaza Sotomayor, between Cerro Concepcion at the eastside and Cerro Artillera and closer to
Cerro Cordillera at the westside.
View at Valparaiso with Aduana, 1833 [5]
The next painting shows the building of the Aduana with the pier close in front of it.
Vista de la Aduana de Valparaiso en 1837, por Theodore Fischet [5]
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At Plaza Sotomayor you can find tiles indicating the shoreline and the start of the pier in 1825,
aswell as where the Capitania del Resguardo was located in the 19th century.
Plaza Sotomayor with tiles indicating some history.
Together with a map of Valparaiso in 1852, that I saw in the Maritime Museum [MMV; Museo
Maritimo Valparaiso] first before I bought a book with historic pictures and maps [Ref 6;
Cronologica Grafica Valparaiso], I finally understood how the shoreline moved during the 19th-
century and compared to Valparaiso in 2010. Between 1692 and 1825 it moved 50m (165ft) and
when Jacob Bouten was in Valparaiso in 1849 and 1852 it was situated slightly backwards from
where it was in 1858, another 25m (80ft) into the sea upto the NE-side of nowaday’s Blanco.
Today the shoreline is ~160m (530ft) up northeast.
Map Plaza Aduana 1852 [6] resp Plaza Sotomayor 2010, and surrounding area.
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The map at the left shows the situation when Jacob Bouten visited Valparaiso in 1849 and 1852,
with just some more houses compared to the situation around 1837 which is sketched by Lukas as
shown below.
Valparaiso ~1840, Sketch by Lukas [7]
Between 1850 and 1858 the shoreline was extended and on 8 March 1858 the first building of the
Camara Comercio built at the start of the pier, was opened. Since that time the building of the
Aduana became the townhall (Intendencia) and the Plaza was renamed to Plaza Intendencia.
La Tercera Bolsa Comercial [5], picture from 1862
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Valparaiso ~1860, sketch by Lukas [7]
Above sketch by Lucas shows the city layout some years after Jacob Bouten was in Valparaiso,
with the Tercera Bolsa Comercial in the front. The townhall at the back still is the same building as
the Aduana from before. The barque ship in front of the pier shows why Valparaiso developed
during those years.
Next picture (I got it for free in a bookshop because it was their last one ??) is from around the
same year and it shows Valparaiso seen from Artilleria hill.
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Valparaiso ~1860
I finish this part about Valparaiso with a painting of Valparaiso from 1843, which is as close to
when Captain Jacob Bouten was in Valparaiso as the pictures shown before from around 1860.
Vista de Valparaiso desde el Taqueadero, hacia 1843 por Juan Rugendas [5]
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After the most destructive earthquake for Valparaiso in 1906 the bricks of the destroyed buildings
were shoveled into the sea, thus the coastline moved again and new buildings were built. The new
building Intendencia from that time now houses the Armada de Chile, Commandacia en Jeffe. The
building had some minor plaster damage (in restoration when I was there) by the earthquake of this
year. The Capitania del Resguardo has been replaced by a building that houses the Consejo
Nacional de Cultura y las Artes and where La Tercera Bolsa Comercial was built in 1858, the
monument for the heroes of the battle with Peru and Bolivia in 1879 in Iquique, is located now.
Between Prat and Cochrane you can find the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Valparaiso, at the same
place where the first building of the firebrigade in Valparaiso was built in 1852. At the entrance of
the square (facing from the sea) there are buildings from the Capitania de Puerto de Valparaiso
and the Armada de Chile.
Northwest from the square is the former seaman quarter upto the Cerro Artilleria, with nowadays’s
harborarea east of the hill. Southeast from the square you pass the Cerro Concepcion through the
Prat or the Cochrane through the Esmeralda to PlazaAnibal Pinto untill the Bellavista, where the
Alemendral area starts.
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Valparaiso is a very colorful city, built on 45 hills surrounding the Armandral and Puerto area (at
landside), and where I met a great number of very nice friends.
Josué and his family at their home Sebastien and Charlotte with their friends
Jaetan, Puri, Kata, Ruben, Patricia and Jaime, some of my Amigos in Pancho Pirata
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When I told Josué about my findings in the El Mercurio, he asked me what it had meant to me?
Amazing, that question by him. And indeed, it had given me a very intense and impressive feeling,
about which I had not been thinking yet. Realizing this, it made me emotional when Josué asked
me his question.
After I found the arrival of Jacob Bouten in the newspaper from 27 October 1849, it made me
continue and to look to see if I could find something about him leaving Valparaiso again. It took
quite some time but indeed I found that he left 21 November 1849 to Chiloé.
EL MERCURIO 22 de Noviembre 1849
“Salidas - Dia 21
Para CHILOÉ frag. holandesa JAH VAN HOORN, de 590 tons, cap. Bauter, carg. surtido, despachada por E. Y J Serruys y Ca.”
The same day I wrote in my weblog:
' Salidas para Chiloé ', tomorrow 1 April 2010 Today I found in the newspaper 'El Mercurio' from 1849 that Jacob Bouten arrived with the "Jan van Hoorn" on 26 October 1849 and that he left Valparaiso on 22 November to go to Chiloé (Chilivé-island as he called it himself in his biography). He went there to San Carlos in order to get more wood to ship to San Francisco. I arrived in Valparaiso on 20 March 2010 and the same day I had a very nice evening with Josué and Sebastien together with later on Charlotte and many more friends later that night. Tomorrow 1Apr'10 I will be leaving Valparaiso to go to Ancud as San Carlos is called nowaday's after I had a very nice party because of Kata's birthday in Pancho Pirata last night and a number of party's during the time I was in Valparaiso. Valparaiso is a city of "mucho Amigos " and I hope to be able to come back again ! Chao and muchas gracias Josué and Miriam with children, Sebastien and Charlotte with friends, Mario and from Pancho Pirata: Jaetan, Rilmo, Ruben, Kata, Puri and many friends. But also to Rosita from Camera Commercio and from Mercurio: Erika, Juan Pablo Toro and Juan Torres for their help with Valparaiso history.
Chao Valparaiso,
a city of ‘One of a kind’
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Sailingsteps Chiloé
When leaving Valparaiso captain Jacob Bouten had left half of his cargo in Valparaiso
and took the other half with him again to get a better price in San Francisco. But first he
went to S. Carlos on an island ‘Chilive’ in the south of Chile, in order to get more wood to
ship to San Francisco.
The day after they arrived in San Carlos there enterd two more ships and thus they were
anchored in the bay with four ships, one from Spain, one from France and an American
one. Because they were anchored at long distance from the village, they rented an empty
house where each of them took a room, furnitured with their own furniture from their
ships. On a hill half an hour behind the village they visited the governor of the island and
in order to please the inhabitants of the village and especially the priest, they started to
go to church every morning. The priest liked this that much that he came to have a glas
of wine with us every evening.
When I planned my trip I had not succeed in finding out about San Carlos on the island of Chilive
in the south of Chile. It was only one month before I left, when booking my ticket, that Judith Post
uncovered information. Judith is the woman from the World Ticket Center I contacted by email in
order to arrange my ticket for the trip. She is Dutch, but appeared to be living in Chile and when
she wrote to me, she said that when she read Chilive Island and pronounced it in Spanish that it
sounded like the island of Chiloé, located between Valparaiso and Cape Horn. Shortly afterwards
she found out that a settlement Villa y Fuerte Real de San Carlos was founded on the island in
1768, a place which is now called Ancud! Judith appeared to be living in Pucon in the lake district
between Valparaiso and Ancud, an area I already intended to visit.
Judith Post with my not-tulips at home in Pucon, where se lives with her husband Gonzalo, since 20 March and from 4 May with their son Pablo. Pucon is a very nice town, not only at Lago Villarica, but also at the foot of the Volcán Villarica. This volcano is still active and with the earthquake of 27 February, Judith thought that it was an eruption of the v0lcano. That thought must have been even more frightening than realizing it is an earthquake!
So when I left Valparaiso on Thursday April 1st I flew from Santiago to Temuco, where I took a
car to Pucon for some days and then to Valdivia, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt to Chiloé. On
April 5th I arrived in Ancud and a couple of minutes later I saw a tallship in the bay.
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Driving around the bay and going to a look-out to have a view of the bay, I saw there were four
tallships, exactly as there were when Jacob Bouten was here 160 years ago! What a coincidence !
Four threemast ships in the bay of Ancud
As Jacob Bouten describes it, the bay of Ancud is a huge bay, protected from the sea on three sides.
I drove around to Ahui, from where I had a better view of Ancud and one of the ships.
“Cisne Branco” Brasil
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The island of Chiloé is located at
latitude 42°, in the middle
between Valparaiso and Cape
Horn. The Dutchman Hendrik de
Brouwer was the first European
to arrive on the Mapuche island,
but soon afterwards it fell in
Spanish hands in 1643.
As Judith found out the
settlement of Villa y Fuerte Real de San Carlos de Chiloé, now known as Ancud, was founded in
1768 and from the end of the 18th-century important fortifications were built in the area.
Northside of Chiloé with the Bay of San Carlos and Chacao Canal
During the Independence War with the Spanish, Chiloé was the last area to be freed from the
Spanish. This only happened in 1826.
Chiloé used to be an island of fishermen and with much wooded land, but the first things known
about the island are because the “Beagle” visited the island in 1834.
Girl resp Woman (weaving) of Chiloé by Conrad Martens
Nowadays Ancud is a touristic place, the capital of the island still, but not the most important place
anymore; this is Castro now.
When I visited Ancud I stayed in Hotel Galeon Azul, in the center of the village above the shore on
the bay and next to Museo Regional de Ancud. During my first afternoon in Ancud, I was
introduced to the director of the museum because the Directore could speak English and she
appeared to be speaking Dutch aswell. Her name was Marijke van Meurs, born in Chile from a
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Dutch father and a Chilean mother. She had studied in Holland and worked in Santiago first, and
was now the director of the museum. The museum was being renovated when I was there and she
was very occupied by this.
Nevertheless I was invited to her home twice, where we had lunch together with her parents (90
years old) who lived with her some 20 minutes west from Ancud with a magnificant view of the
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bay. Since I had a car she has been showing me around some of the area along the Pacific Ocean
and once we took her parents with us to show them around in their area.
Behind the museum the “ancud” could be visited, a replica of the ship, build in Ancud in 1842,
which sailed to Patagonia in 1843 to claim it for Chile.
I did not meet the priest (as Jacob Bouten did), or bishop nowadays, although I tried to. I went to
the church together with an employee of the museum, but we did not succeed in getting any
information. Instead I was more succesful at the townhall, where after some time, I found someone
who spoke English and some time later a number of people found the following informatioin for
me:
Justo Donoso Vivanco had been the Obispo in 1849 (so it was a bishop at that time already). I
obtained a whole printed page, with information (in Spanish) about him:
Justo Donoso Vivanco, teacher, journalist and politician in Chile. Born in Santiago on July 10 of
1800 . He died in La Serena on February 22 of 1868 . Son of Don Juan de Dios Donoso and Mrs.
Gertrude Vivanco . In 1826 he was a novice in the Recoleta Dominica. As a journalist, he ''founded the "Revista Catholic', a Militant Liberal Party .
He was ordained a priest and a law degree. Later he was appointed rector of the Seminario
Conciliar and ecclesiastical judge of Santiago . In 1843 he was appointed secretary of the Faculty of Theology and in 1844 , Bishop of Ancud . He published the Handbook of American Pastor;
Instructions American Canon Law, Canon Theological Dictionary and Guide to the Pastor and
Priest. Elected Senator Llanquihue in 1843 , a position he held until 1852 . Deputy for Ancud and Castro
in 1852 . He went to La Serena in 1855 where he assumed the bishopric of the diocese. Between
1855 and 1864 was an alternate senator, but never took ownership. On September 18th of 1861
he was appointed Minister of Justice, Culture and Public Instruction.
At the moment Juan Maria Agurto is the bishop in Ancud.
Since Jacob Bouten also wrote about the governor in San Carlos, I thought why not ask them about
him too, so I found:
José Ramon Lira Calvo (born in Santiago 1807, † 1876) was the governor of Chiloé from 1848 to
1852. At the town hall they said he had to be an important man at that time, because he was
married to a daughter of one of the heroes of the country!
After my trip, Jeroen Bouten, a nephew of mine translated for me from Spanish:
In het tweede huwelijk van Santos Lira werd José Ramón Lira Calvo geboren, als oudste zoon, in
1807 in Santiago, Chile.
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Hij trouwde met Josefa Carrera. De familie Carrera was destijds een van de rijkste en
invloedrijkste families uit Chili. Haar vader José Miguel Carrera was een Chileense generaal die
opkwam voor de vrijheid van Chile, het laatste kwam hem duur te staan door zijn executie in
1821. Samen met Josefa Carrera kregen zij een zoon, Carlos.
José Ramón behoorde meteen na zijn studie tot de rechterlijke macht, eerst als advocaat in
Santiago en vervolgens als een aanklager van het Hof van Beroep in deze stad. Vrij snel daarna
starte zijn politieke carriere als lid van de eerste kamer gevolgd door zijn benoeming tot
commandant van de strijdkrachten van het eiland Chiloé in 1848. Gedurende zijn bestuur heeft hij onder andere de expeditie georganiseerd om de straat van Magellan eigendom van Chili te
maken. In Chiloé werd hij ook benoemd tot een ambassadeur vanuit de overheid, gevold door
dezelfde benoeming in Santiago en later in Coquimbo.
In 1865 werd hij gouverneur van de stad Valpaiso, wat later tevergeefs werd belegerd door de
Spaanse vloot. Vervolgens heeft hij meerdere functies bekleed onder andere als minister van
Oorlog en Marine en aanklager van het Hof van Beroep in Santiago. Gedurende deze periode
heeft hij mede aan de grondvesten gestaan van de constitutie van Chili. In 1876 is hij overleden te Santiago.
Nowadays governor Cesar Zambrano lives near Castro at Chiloé. Ancud has a mayor, Frederico
Krüger Finsterbush.
So this is what I have been able to find in Ancud. Again it was an earthquake that destroyed most
of the buildings from former years. In the case of Ancud it was the earthquake of 1960, with 9,5
Richter the biggest one in Chile and the world (since they started to be measured and recorded).
The next painting from San Carlos shows the church, visited by Jacob Bouten and the other three
captains every morning, as it must have looked in 1849. Before the earthquake of 1906 it was
replaced by a cathedral and nowadays it is a small church built from wood again. Next to the
entrance of the church there is a sign that states that the church of 1849 was a cathedral and built in
1840 (or something like that?).
Plaza de San Carlos – Chiloé 1834, with church on the righthand side (south)
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Ancud with Plaza de Armas and cathedral (at topside, south) ~1960
Church at Plaza de Armas in 2010
Most information out of Dutch newspapers I found when I was back in Holland again after my trip
around the world. For instance:
NRC 05-02-1850, Zeetijdingern, Vreemde Havens: Valparaiso 20 Nov. Jan van Hoorn, Bouten, n.Chiloe.
NRC 08-02-1850, Scheepstijdingen: Rotterdam 7 Febr. Volgens berigt is den 21sten November vertrokken van Valparaiso naar St San Francisco, via St Carlos op Chiloë, het barkschip Jan van Hoorn, kapt.J. Bouten, van Dordrecht.
NRC 11-03-1850, Zeetijdingen, Vreemde Havens: San Carlos 23 Dec. Zeilkl.: Jan van Hoorn, Bouten, San Francisco.
Could have been an easier way to find out about San Carlos, Chilive and when he left from
Valparaiso , but I did not. I took the more difficult but also the much nicer way to find about
these. Anyhow, here we can see that the “Jan van Hoorn” was ready to leave from Chiloé to San
Francisco on december 23rd, 1850
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Sailingsteps Cape Horn
In the Sala Cap Horniers ot the Museo Maritimo in Valparaiso, I found:
“Jacob Le Maire and Willem
Schouten (Voyage from 1615 to
1616). Isaac Le Maire, an Anvers’ businessman founded
the “Southern Company” which
organized an expedition, consisting in two vessels, the
EENDRACHT and the
HOORN, that under the
direction of Jacob, son of Isaac and under the command of JAN
and WILLEM SCHOUTEN
brothers, got underway from Holland in the middle of 1615.
After many loses, including the
lost of the HOORN, they continued South discovering the Staten Island (STAATEN EYLAND) and the gap of this and the
Tierra del Fuego which they denominated the Strait of Le Maire.
On 31st of January of 1616 they saw the great rock that marks the most Southern part of America which they named CAP HOORN (Cape Horn). Le Maire and Schouten were the first Europeans to
cross the Cape Horn, demonstrating that the Tierra del Fuego was not the mythical “Tierra
Australis Incognita”, but a great island that separated the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.”
The Strait Magellan (Estrecho Magallanes, 600km long and on which Punta Arenas is located) was
discovered 85 years before, in 1520 by the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan.
“After the discovery of Cape Horn by the Dutch, these did not use the route very much. The most
well known vessels that crossed the cape were the vessels of four masts JEANETTE FRANCOISE
(1892) and the GEETRUID GERARDA (1904) and other five vessels of three masts built outside Holland after the beginning of the 19th century called VAN GALEN, EUROPA, AMSTERDAM,
NEDERLAND and ADRIANA.”
and this was while Jacob Bouten sailed around the Cape both in 1849 as in 1852 with the “Jan van
Hoorn”.
Jacob Bouten writes when he was appointed to go on his voyage of 1849: I don’t know why they chose me for this job (to sail to Valparaiso), because I was the
youngest captain of the fleet and it is a voyage, not been sailed that many times before
yet.
About sailing around the Cape he did not write much either. About the first time in 1849 he wrote: Sailing around Cape Horn we had quite some storms and we passed several ‘ijsbergen’ (I
suppose this was drifting ice, coming from the Southpole) with flogs of wales around those.
About the second voyage in 1852 he wrote:
While sailing around Cape Horn we experienced havy storms during many days and due
to this we came between the Ice-islands, where we had lots of problems with all the wales
there.
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Coming from Ancud on Chiloé, I flew on the 10th of April 2010 from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas
where I boarded the ship “Mare Australis” from Cruceros Australis, the cruise company. The only
possibility I could find to get to Cape Horn, was with a 5-day cruise from Punta Arenas in Chile to
Ushuaia in Argentina and because I did not like the idea of a cruise, I was not very enthusiastic
about it. But now, after I have been on the cruise I can recommend it to everybody!
http://www.australis.com/site/en/Default.aspx
As soon as we were on board we were introduced to the crew, i.e.:
I am on the “Mare Australis”, built in 2002 in Valdivia and registred in Valparaiso (as all ships of more
than 500 tons). The captain is Enrique Emilio Rauch Strauch and the crew is (right to left at the picture):
1st Piloto Adolfo Javier Navarro Flores, 2nd Piloto Juan Pablo Alvarado Lecaros, 3rd Pilote Rodrigo
Almagro Silva Zamora. Next the Jefe Maquinas Bruno Eduardo Siclari Bravo and 1st, 2nd en 3rd
technicians Marcelo Arturo Morales Vera, Sergio Osvaldo Rojas Barcelo and Victor Erwin Navarro
Mansilla. In the photo next is captain Enrique. Left from the captain the Gerente Hotel Juan Patricio
Alamos Reinoso, the Jefe Expedicion Mauricio Rolando Guelno Vera and the guides Pedro Francisco
Cardenas Marusic (1), Pablo Sebastian Vega Avendano (6), Rodrigo Alberto Perez Angeli (4), Haron
Josue Ailklon Neumann (5) and Carolina Manzanares Concha(3). Paula Giraudi Muriel is Guia
Expedicion (2), she is not ont the picture because she received the Spanish speaking group.
Admirality Fjord at 7:25 am
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The first night I could not sleep and I was on the upperdeck untill 3 am, on a ship in the most
southern area of America (and the world, except for the Southpole), in a severe wind under a clear
sky of the southern atmosphere, in the Strait of Magellan. Very impressive! Next morning I was
back on deck again before 7 am to have a coffee first, before sunrise at 7:22 am.
The second day (officially, the first day we boarded at 6 pm) we were in Ainsworth Bay first,
where we went ashore to walk through an area where only 80 years before, a glacier was located
and we were told about the vegetation that could be found there nowadays. On shore at Ainsworth
Bay we saw a flog of Sea-elephants, partially in the water (fighting with each other) as well as on
shore (sleeping).
During lunch we sailed to Brookes Bay to visit one of the glaciers overthere. At this place the
glacier still come into the fjord, because it was part of a very big one and with ice (originally snow)
from the last Ice-era from 10 to 15.000 years ago. Due to this extremely old snow and the high
pressure of the enormous amounts high in the mountains, the ice reflected blue in the sun (or light,
because there was no sun).
The “Mare Australis” in Brookes Bay
From Brookes bay we sailed during late evening through the narrows of Canal Gabriel and during
the night through Ballanero and O’Brien Channels to the Pia Fjord in the NW arm of the Beagle
Channel.
There we went ashore to see the Pia Glacier, consisting of ice from 300-400 years ago, where we
heard very loud crackings in the glacier and saw some parts breaking down into the fjord.
Very nice to have seen all this, but nothing compared to what I experienced being on Cape Horn
the day after. From Pia Glacier we sailed to Cape Horn during the night of 12 April 2010, through
the Beagle Canal and Canal Murray to Islas Wolloaston, Parque National de Cabo de Hornos.
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From Punta Arenas to Cape Horn
Captain Enrique Rauch on the bridge of the “Mare Australis”
Log of the “Mare Australis”to Cape Horn (13 April 2010)
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Near Cape Horn before 7:00 am
Before sunrise which was at 7:18 am we came from between the islands of Herschel and Deceit,
heading to the island of Hornos, where we anchored on the eastside of the island at 6:42 am.
I was lucky that the weather and the sea were quite, because it was not at all certain that we could
go on land at Cape Horn during the cruise (which risk I had to accept). The weather conditions
were not that bad with a NW-wind of 15 Knots and the sea looked calm.
However, we managed to get ashore at 7:00 am on Isla de Hornos.
Scale model of Isla de Hornos [MMV]
To be on Cape Horn was a very impressive experience for me and before leaving, I stood for a
couple of minutes in silence next to the memorial
“Au nom de l’amicale internationale des capitaines au long cours “Cap Horniers” en
souvenir de tous nos passages de ce Cap. Nov 1889.”
to realize that I had been at the monument of the Albatross, to memorize the more than 10.000
seamen who lost their lives at Cape Horn, where more than 800 ships were shipwrecked. Next
poem from near the monument, remembers these seamen
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where I have been in the lighthouse and
written in their guestbook:
Kees Bouten from The Netherlands was at
Cape Horn on 13 April 2010, sailing 10-14
April 2010 from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia, in
the sailingsteps of my greatgreatgrandfather
Captain Jacob Bouten, who sailed around
Kaap Hoorn in 1849 with the “Jan van Hoorn”
and again in 1852.
“I am the albatross who awaits you at the end of the world.
I am the forgotten soul of the dead seamen who sailed across Cape Horn from all the
seas of the world.
But, they have not died in the fury of the waves, today they fly on my wings, towards eternity, in
the last crevice of the antartic winds.”
Sara Vial, 1992 (Poem in memorial of sea men who
Lost their lives crossing Cape Horn)
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Yes, this had made me emotional, and again when I stood at the memorial, looking around me over
the ocean southwards, to the monument, the lighthouse and the chapel, and the flag where
somebody took a picture of me.
Cape Horn, where I was as a descendant of captain Jacob Bouten, my anscestor who made it
around Cape Horn twice some 160 years ago. A very emotional experience for me.
About how the sailing in those times must have been I got some more idea when I found a video
later on when I was in San Francisco. This video (or DVD) is from much later (otherwise it could
never have been filmed of course) and from a much larger ship, but it is sailing around Cape Horn
through heavy weather and it gives a realistic idea about the circumstances on board of a ship like
that.
The film is from 1929, the ship is the fourmast barque “Peking”, with 3.800 tons empty weight and
5.000 tons cargo, sailing on the Nitrate trade from Hamburg in Germany to Talcahuano in the north
of Chili, under the command of capatain Jürgen Jürs in 93 days. It took them 17 days to cross the
Northsea Channel in a tremendous storm (December 1929) durin which 68 ships were wrecked. At
the Horn they had a storm with winds over 100 miles per hour and waves of 80 ft high, according
to Irving Johnson who made the pictures and narrated them in 1980.
If you've ever wondered what it was like to sail around Cape Horn in a clipper ship, this video is
probably the closest you're going to get. It was filmed in 1929 by Captain Irving Johnson, then a young man, aboard the Peking, one of the great sailing ships of the time. It is an extraordinary
record of a bygone era. Johnson's narration is informative if, at times, annoying. Around twelve
minutes from the end, the Peking is beset by storms at the Cape, as ships have been for centuries. It's a good example of how relatively recently it was still possible to get a glimpse into what
seems like the distant past.
Launched in 1911 at the shipyard of Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, the “Peking” has been docked at the
South Street Seaport in New York City since 1975, where she acts as a Marine Museum. You can
visit the ship, it was of not much interest to me and they did not even show or sell the film there.
Very strange.
The fourmast barque “Peking” in New York City
At 9:12 am we left the Horn on a course of 025° back to between island Herschel and Deceit,
where we headed with a speed of 10,5 Knots nearly right into the wind of 15 Knots. In an apparent
wind of over 25 Knots I stayed on deck for quite some time untill Cape Horn could not be seen
anymore.
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Island Horn from between Herschel and Deceit, half an hour after we left the Horn
Navigation chart to and from Cape Horn Albatross Monument
During our sail to Ushuaia I got some pictures from Mauricio, the Expedition leader, of the Regata
Bicentenario 1810-2010 that had been sailing around Cape Horn March 24th, a couple of weeks
ago. So, that’s why I had seen the ships in the bay of
Ancud! They had been waiting there before
continuing their voyage from 31 January 2010 in
Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) all around South-America
to Veracruz (Mexico, 27 June 2010).
Fourteen tallships (three twomast ships from
Argentina), mostly from South-American countries,
participated in the regatta, but also three from
Europe: Holland (I had never heard of the
“Europa” as a Dutch ship), Spain and Portugal.
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The “Cisne Branco” (Brasil) and “Cuatemoc” (Mexico) aproaching
Cape Horn
The “Esmeralda” (Chile), parades under the Horn
The “Europa” (Netherlands) south of Cape Horn
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Nice to have seen some of the ships (in Ancud) and Cape Horn, and to get these pictures of some of
the ships around Cape Horn!
The last evening of the cruise, I had a very emotional experience again. Chuck, one of my
tablemates during the cruise, bought the nautical chart used to navigate towards Cape Horn, at an
auction during this farewell evening. And he did not buy it for himself, no, he bought it for “the
only person on this cruise to whom it should belong, the greatgreatgrandson of a captain who sailed
the Horn 160 years ago ” as he told the whole audience and then he gave it to me. For the second
time that day I got emotional, due to meeting people like him as in my group as on the cruise, how
everybody applauded and the many congratulations I received.
“Cruceros Australis and all of the crew and passengers: many thanks for some wonderful
days, I had a great time that I will never forget !”
Last thing I’d like to show is the kind of nautical chart of how the “Apollo” navigated around Cape
Horn. This reproduction was made by the Library of the Maritime Museum in San Francisco [Ref
4] and although I don’t know anything about the ship nor when it sailed the Horn, I include it as an
example of how they had to navigate and how much days or weeks it could take them, dependant
on changing winds every time.
A ship with the name of “Apollo” is one of the
many ships buried in Yerba Buena Cove (see San Francisco).
So probably the “Apollo” that sailed around Cape
Horn from May 4th to May 29
th was sailing there
in 1849 or 1850 ? The “Apollo” buried
in San Francisco close
to the Niantic, was
used as a storeship,
boarding house and
later on saloon. The
hulk of the Apollo, which was originally
121 feet in length, was
discovered "again" at
the northwest corner
of Sacramento and Battery. It had previously been
found before in 1901 and 1921. According to a
newspaper article, "...Among the rotting timbers were
coins from 1840, an American penny from 1825, a
British penny from 1797, pipes, a large nugget, a
sextant, ship's fittings and pieces that are a delight to
those who love rare things." The Apollo still lies at the
site.