L

/span>Like any established town in the world circa 1700s, Batavia, now Jakarta, most probably has thousands of stories about how life was in the old days.

Anthropologist Frieda Amran dugs through a number of old texts and books of captain Woodes Rogers and Dr. Strehler, and found out that the two had sailed to and experienced a little bit of life in Batavia.

From there, Frieda has interpreted the gentlemen’s expedition stories into light yet informative reading based on history.

Rogers was an English sea captain who later became the first governor of the Bahamas. He kept a diary during his expedition around the world, including his stop in Batavia, which later was published as A Cruising Journey around the World in 1712.

Meanwhile, Strehler was a German doctor who worked as a medical officer on a Dutch ship and had been sailing back and forth to Dutch East Indies, which is now known as Indonesia. During his service, Strehler kept a journal of his journey and published it in 1833.

Frieda noticed that the two were not well-known for their visits to Batavia, so she wrote some articles and put them into Batavia: Kisah Kapten Woodes Rogers & Dr. Strehler (Batavia: The journeys of Captain Woodes Rogers & Dr. Strehler).

“It’s not necessarily a pure history book about Batavia as I also inserted my opinion about some random activities — which I found interesting — in Rogers’ and Strehler’s writing,” Frieda said during the book’s launch.

Batavia is a compilation of articles by Frieda about things that happened in the old town hundreds of years ago during the Dutch colonial period. The articles have also been published in the Jakarta-based Warta Kota daily newspaper.

Frieda hopes that the book will reach people and raise an awareness of history, at least about Batavia, among them.

“I wrote those stories in such a style because I myself often get bored by the dull writing of most history books,” said the columnist, who writes Palembang Tempoe Doeloe (Palembang in the Old Days) for the Palembang-based Berita Pagi daily and Wisata Koeta Toea (Tour of Old Town) for Warta Kota.

“Besides, I also tend to be ‘nosy’ about things in relation to the social-cultural life of an era, including during the time of Rogers and Strehler visited Batavia,” Frieda added.

Frieda begins the adventurous story with a map of Weltevreded, which encompasses the area around the National Museum today. The map consists of old and new landmarks and street names. She also provides a sketch of Rogers – who was born in Dorset, England in 1679 and died in the Bahamas in 1732.

Throughout the book’s 15 chapters, the 53-year-old anthropologist presents various stories that are based on Rogers’ and Strehler’s journals.

The first chapter, “Kapten Woodes Rogers dan Harta Karun Armada Spanyol” (Captain Woodes Rogers and Hidden Treasure from the Spanish Armada), is about Rogers and his hidden treasure that was taken from Spain armada. In this chapter, Frieda describes the captain and his ships before sharing how he reached Batavia.

In the second chapter, “Terang Bulan di Laut: Menuju Batavia” (Moonlight on the Sea: Heading to Batavia), Frieda reveals Strehler’s observations about life aboard a ship – from storing food to kinds of entertainment – during months-long trip to Batavia.

In the chapter “Negeri Impian” (Dream Land), Frieda follows Strehler as he shares his life in Batavia, where he stayed at his colleague’s house. His colleague had a beautiful wife of mixed Dutch and Indonesia descent.

Strehler wrote that one morning he was woken by singing birds at 5 a.m. Not long after that, his hosts and various guests came out of their bedrooms to take in the fresh morning air and a simple morning coffee, before having a bath and a feast of steamed rice, fried fish and ham. To clear up, hosts provided the guests with tea, coffee, red wine, beer and a bit of water.

In “Di Kampoeng Tjina” (At a Chinese Village), Strehler describes the daily routines of Chinese people in Batavia, like what they wore while working, how they spent free time and how Chinese men dressed up.

Frieda also includes stories about what kinds of worldly delights people in Batavia at the time.

In “Kenikmatan Duniawi: Pijat dan Musik” (Heaven on Earth: Massage and Music), Frieda explains that most people would take a nap between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. If a master could not sleep, he would ask one or two of his maids to give him a good massage to help him relax.

On Thursday and Saturday evenings in 1828, the Military Music Corp. had regular rehearsal in front of Weltevreden Palace (now the Finance Ministry building). People would come in their horse-driven carts, sporting in their best outfits, to enjoy the music and the night.

Without having to leave their carriages, the wealthy had the luxury of munch on some snacks with a glass of red wine or beer while chatting with good music in the background.

Although it is fun and entertaining writing, Frieda omits the translations of some book titles and remarks in Dutch, which creates a bit of confusion in understanding the story comprehensively.

Batavia: Kisah Kapten Woodes Rogers & Dr. Strehler
Frieda Amran
114 pages
Penerbit Buku Kompas, 2012