The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating review today of a new book called “The Wreck of the Batavia.” The book details the gruesome story of what happened to the passengers of the Batavia, a Dutch ship that ran aground off the western coast of Australia in 1629. The ship was carrying 300 men, women and children. Soon after the shipwreck, one of the survivors appointed himself dictator and proceeded to rape, murder and terrorize the other survivors to maintain control. This dictator may have had ties to devil worshippers in Holland.
The Wall Street Journal calls the story a “real-life ‘Lord of the Flies'” in reference to William Golding’s novel.
And of course this got me thinking about another group of people who landed in the Americas about 580 years before Christ.
The dictator of the Batavia was named Jeronimus Cornelisz. He may have been in league with Torrentius, a devil worshipper in Holland. Aboard the Batavia, he tried unsuccessfully to organize a mutiny.
One of the first things that Cornelisz did in taking control after the shipwreck was to take possession of the remaining supplies. Another group that didn’t want to follow his leadership fled to a neighboring island. Cornelisz and his followers “decked themselves out with braid, ribbons and swords; they threatened anyone who defied their authority. When he learned that some survivors were trying to sail…to join his rival on the other island, Cornelisz ordered the boat’s occupants massacred and instituted a reign of terror over those who stayed behind.”
Cornelisz used rape and classic terror tactics to keep rivals in check. The survivors said he had the following maxim: “if there is no God, then everything is permitted.” He was able to maintain his terror regime for three months, and only 70 of the 300 original survivors remained. The survivors were rescued by Dutch ships arriving from Java. The captain immediately ordered the execution of Cornelisz. The book is taken from the stories of the survivors.
In reading this story, I am reminded again and again of Moroni 9:11-14:
O my beloved son, how can a people like this, that are without civilization—
12 (And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and a delightsome people)
13 But O my son, how can a people like this, whose delight is in so much abomination—
14 How can we expect that God will stay his hand in judgment against us?
In the space of a generation, the Nephites went from being a “civil and delightsome people” to becoming complete degenerates. In the space of three months, 230 survivors of the Batavia were killed as all trappings of civilization disappeared.
What is the common feature? The light of Christ departed.
For our extremely civilized generation of the 21st century America, it seems impossible to us that people could act this way. But I think all of us have seen the human potential for evil and fear it returning and bursting forth. Imagine what it was like for Mormon and Moroni to read about the Jaredites and then see the story repeated in front of their eyes.
The other interesting point is how much the story of the Batavia survivors reminds me of Nephi and Laman. Of course there are significant differences, but the story of the Batavia sounds true and familiar to those of us who have read the Book of Mormon. Would that it were more unbelievable.