Wreck of Batavia -story of Mutiny & Murder.

The story of the shipwreck of the Dutch ship Batavia off Western Australia. Batavia was the flagship of a fleet of 7 which set out from Netherlands in 1628 -destination Batavia (Jakarta) -main Dutch trading port in Dutch East Indies. Batavia never reached its destination. This story is not pleasant. Take your students via details, maps, and photographs on this journey. It is a story of altered navigation, shipwreck, a long journey in a open boat and the deliberate massacre of survivors. Find out why the notorious Inner Committee was set up, their main aims and why their actions became a blot on Dutch colonial history. Use the attachments to check student understanding.
This story has heroes, villains, victims, aspects of navigation, geography, and precolonial British history of Australia. Though the story is not pleasant, twists & turns make it interesting. Heroes triumphed and villains received justice. This unit can stand alone or link to studies of shipwrecks. It is an example of Dutch and pre-Australian colonial history before the journeys of Captain Cook and arrival of the First Fleet.