Read Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded Page 38


  And in New York I owe eternal thanks to my robustly splendid agent Peter Matson, and to his colleagues Saskia Cornes and Jim Rutman; and to Krista Stroever, a most wonderful editor.

  Finally: if there was ever to be a primus inter all these distinguished pares above – and I realize there should not be, since all who helped should be equally blessed – then my vote would have to be for that most deservedly legendary of New York publishers and a valued friend for the past six years, Larry Ashmead. Larry was the inspiration, the champion and the encourager-in-chief: I only hope he finds that this slender book is worthy of all the many hopes he once entertained for it.

  ILLUSTRATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Van Linschoten's 1595 map, published by the Hakluyt Society (by permission of David Higham Associates).

  Jan Pieterszoon Coen and Governor-general ‘s Jacob are from F. W. Stapel, De gouverneurs-generaal van Nederlandsch-Indie in beeld en woord (The Hague, Van Stockum, 1941).

  Straw-hat maker from H. J. de Graaf, Batavia in oude ansichten, Zaltbommel (Europese Bibliotheek, 1970).

  Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin (© Natural History Museum, London).

  Alfred Wegener and ‘Agamemnon Laying Cable' (by permission of Mary Evans Picture Library).

  John Webber's drawing (by permission of the British Library).

  Batavia city scene and Concordia Military Club photograph taken from Batavia in Nineteenth Century Photographs by Scott Merrillees (Curzon Press, 2000).

  Photograph of Rogier Verbeek and his great-grandson from biographical memorial of Verbeek by N. Wing Easton (Druk de Bussy, 1926).

  Captain Ferzenaar's map of Krakatoa appears as Figure 21 in Verbeek's Atlas.

  Telegraph map (© National Maritime Museum, London).

  Samuel Morse (by permission of New York Public Library/ Science Photo Library).

  Trace from Batavia Gasworks; before and after Admiralty charts of Krakatoa; Batavia tide-meter trace; and tide-gauge trace from Socoa, France (© The Royal Society).

  The tsunami appeared in Alwyn Scarth, Vulcan's Fury (Yale University Press, 1999).

  The Berouw stranded, etching by T. Weber from a field sketch by M. Korthals. From Edmond Cotteau, and W. Korthals, ‘1884 Mission Francaise au Krakatao' Comptes Rerdus des Séances de la Société de Géographie (Paris), 15.

  British Admiralty map reproduced from Admiralty chart 2056 (by permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the UK Hydrographic Office, www.ukho.gov.uk).

  Anak Krakatoa photograph by the Kraffts from SEAN Bulletin (December 1979).

  Spider: Nephila maculata (© Premaphotos/naturepl.com).

  Shell with seedling photograph by C. C. Reijnvaan (Doctors van Leeuwen, 1936).

  Modern photograph of vegetation on Krakatoa (© D. Walsh of La Trobe University).

  Photograph of Surtsey by Sturla Fridriksson.

  Chapter heading and text line drawings copyright © Soun Vannithone, 2003

  Every effort has been made to trace or contact all copyright-holders. The publishers will be pleased to make good any omissions or rectify any mistakes brought to their attention at the earliest opportunity.

  INDEX

  Figures in italics indicate captions.

  Aardenburgh (cutter) 49, 51, 135

  Aaron, Eugene Murray 262—3

  Abell (Dutch contrôleur) 253

  Aberdeen weather observatory 270

  Aceh, central Sumatra 31, 147, 213, 264, 326

  acid rain 271

  acid snows 133

  Actaea (British barque) 157, 160

  Ade, Ebiet G.: ‘Jakarta 1' 37

  Aden 191, 276, 280

  Admiralty (British) 161n, 260n

  ‘Admiralty Sailing Directions’ (Indonesia Pilot) 9

  Africa 13n, 21, 22, 67, 71, 72, 74, 280, 296, 332

  Africa Plate 112

  afterglows 288–9

  Agamemnon (converted warship) 188

  Agulhas Current 281n

  air waves 233, 248, 282

  Aix-la-Chapelle 195

  alang-alang 359

  Alaric, king of the Visigoths 10–11

  Alaska 309

  Aleutian chain 312

  Aleutian Islands 309

  Alexander VI, Pope 13n

  Alexandria 191

  Algemeen Dagblad 200–201

  Alijeh, Orang (Javan god and mountain ghost) 47–8, 164, 326

  Altheer, Mr, Resident of Lampong 156, 166–7, 254

  Amazonia 58–9, 224

  Ambon, Spice Islands, Ambonese 31, 35, 44, 61, 64

  Ambon, sultan of 32

  America see United States of America American Civil War 196

  American Geophysical Union 100

  American Philosophical Society 76

  Americas 271

  ammonites 73

  Amsterdam 15, 17–21, 29, 34, 35, 39, 202, 323

  Anak Krakatoa (Child of Krakatoa) 78, 381,385

  birth of 4, 346–50, 351, 353, 384

  growth of 3–4, 7, 349, 352–3, 374

  populating of 367–72

  routine eruptions 377–9, 395

  author's visit 383–4, 386–91

  and Surtsey 384n, 385

  Anchorage 378

  Ancient Krakatoa 118, 120

  Andaman Islands 264, 265

  Andes 308, 309

  andesite 119, 297, 308n, 314, 346

  andesitic obsidian 170–71

  andosols 297

  Angola 71

  animism 332

  Anjer, Java 3, 150, 153, 155, 158, 161, 168, 175, 181–2, 184–6, 193, 197, 204, 210–16, 221–2, 224–6, 228, 233–4, 238, 241, 246, 247, 249n, 250, 258–61, 277, 298

  Anjer Hotel, Anjer 168, 181, 213, 259

  Annerley (ship) 231, 234

  Antarctic storm systems 281n

  Antarctica 74, 133

  antimacassar 265n

  apes 64–5, 137n

  A.R.. Thomas (American brig) 157

  Arabia 14, 40, 74, 331, 333, 339

  Arabian Sea 190, 191

  Arabism 331

  Arabs 22, 40, 144, 325, 331, 332

  Archer (Australian passenger steamship) 157

  Arctic 24, 79, 80, 85

  Arctic Circle 80

  Aristotle 371

  Arles, France 40

  art 282–5

  arthropods 369

  Ascroft, William 284–5, 290, 291

  Asia 13n, 21, 42, 68, 74, 112, 116, 271

  Asia Plate 317, 320

  Asians, Portuguese-speaking (Mardijkers) 44

  asthenosphere 109

  Athens 34

  Atlantic Monthly 220n

  Atlantic Ocean 14, 19, 59, 67, 87, 97n, 105, 107, 196

  Atlantis 73

  atmospheric pressure 268

  Australia 55, 64, 65, 69, 74, 114, 115, 116, 189, 319

  Australian Oceanic Plate 316–17, 320

  Avallone, M. 394n

  Azores 306

  Backer, Cornelis Andries 364–7

  Bacon, Francis 72n

  Baird, Major A.W. 276

  Baker, Diane 394

  Bali, Balinese 17, 44, 55, 66, 69

  manuscript style 127

  bombings (2002) 343

  Balkans 112

  ballooning spiders 356–9, 357, 361–2

  balloons 72

  Baluchistan 190

  Banda, sultan of 32

  Banda Islands 23, 31, 33

  Banda Sea 29

  Bandung, Java 153, 376, 377, 379

  Bangkok 264

  Bangladesh 331

  Banjoewangie, Java 189

  Banka Island 148

  Banks, Sir Joseph 120

  Banquey Island, near Borneo 265

  Bantam, Java 25, 126, 237

  Bantam, king of 121

  Bantam, Resident of 167

  Banten, Java 201

  a pepper port 15, 29, 322

  skirmish with the fleet from Goa 18, 19

  described 20–21

>   flood destruction of 1883 127

  piety of the people 325

  Islam established 332

  the haj 333n

  signs of the Mahdi's imminent arrival 336–7

  Banten, Java, sultan of 17, 31, 34, 35, 40

  Banten Peasants' Revolt (1888) 331

  importance of 323–4

  Islamic-inspired and Islamic-led 340

  attack on Sanedja 340–41

  Dutch repeating rifles finish the rebellion 341

  the hajis' victims 341–2

  fades in popular memory 342

  and Indonesian independence 342

  a warning of future events 343

  Bantenese 321, 332, 333, 335, 338

  Barents Sea 24

  Barnum & Bailey 243n

  barographs 267–70, 274, 275

  barometers 267, 270

  barometric pressures 293

  basalt 84–8, 96, 102, 104, 112, 113, 297, 306, 308, 319

  Batavi tribe 37

  Batavia (Dutch steamship) 231

  Batavia (previously Jayakarta, then Jakarta) 6, 28, 145, 172n

  so-named by the Dutch 36, 37

  concentration of scientists in 36

  Dutch proud of 37

  Dutch compelled to leave (1949) 38

  golden era 38

  Dutch building 39–40, 41–2

  the VOC 42, 47, 135, 139

  employment in 42–3, 45

  population 44, 144

  Town Hall (Stadthuis; now Jakarta History Museum) 46–7, 142

  Dutch life in 135–6

  and war with Britain 139, 141

  becomes a capital city 141

  old Batavia closed down 141–3

  new Batavia 141, 142, 143

  communications 146–7, 196, 197, 225, 226, 237, 264n

  gasworks 147, 217–19, 218, 233, 248, 252

  iceworks 147

  's Jacob appointed governor-general 148–9

  the circus visits 199–201, 201, 321

  Plant and Animal Garden 201–2

  clubs 202–4, 203

  receives information from Anjer (August 1883) 215

  air waves arrive in 233

  four gigantic explosions 233–5

  sounds not heard by everyone 266

  tide-meter 277–8

  change in temperature after the eruption 293

  Batavia Standard Time 219, 248

  Batavia Castle 51, 135, 142

  day-register 49, 50

  Batavia Cricket Club 205

  Batavia Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory 154, 162, 216

  Batavia Port Authority 157

  Bates, Henry Walter: ‘On Coleopterous Insects Frequenting Damp Places' 58

  bathymetric survey data 105

  Batuwara, Mount 125, 126

  Bay of Bengal 18n, 191

  Bay of Biscay 192, 281

  Bay of Naples (Welsh cargo vessel) 231, 299

  Beale HMS 60

  beetles 58, 60

  Behaim, Martin 22

  Belfast 220

  Belgium, Kingdom of 29n

  Bengalen 49

  bentonite 297

  Berbice (German paraffin-carrier) 223

  Berdichew, Poland 190

  Berkowitz, Rickey 379

  Berlin 190

  Berouw (paddle-steamer) 230, 231, 251, 255–8, 256, 259

  Beyerinck, Mrs 165, 166, 226–9, 251

  Beyerinck, Willem, controller of Ketimbang 156, 165, 166–7, 176, 226–30, 245, 246, 247, 251

  Billiton Island 148

  Billiton Tin Company 148

  Bintaing (hopper) 157, 245

  biogeography 54, 73

  biology 54, 69, 369, 372

  biosphere 302

  biota 54

  birds

  geographical distribution 54–6, 64

  Wallace's collection 60

  repopulation of Krakatoa Island 360

  sent to Europe 155

  on Anak Krakatoa 370–71

  Bird's Head, New Guinea 309

  Bishop, Reverend Sereno 285n, 290

  ‘Bishop's Rings’ 285, 289

  Black Sea coast 190

  Blaeu, John 25

  Blair, Lawrence 395

  Blair, Lorne 395

  Blavatsky, Helena 53n

  Blosseville Coast 80

  Blundell D.F. 52

  Bogor, Java 142n

  Bogota, Colombia 273

  Boing (a guide) 380, 386–9

  Bombay 90, 191, 270, 276

  Bonaparte, Louis, King of Holland 141

  Bonney, Thomas 273n

  Borjild (Norwegian barque) 230–31

  Borneo 22, 23, 66, 69, 132, 137, 188, 272

  Borobudur temple, Java 123n, 142n

  Bo'sun's Rock (Bootsmans Rots) 346, 348, 383, 387

  botany 54, 187, 354n, 364, 372

  Bothwell Castle (ship) 299

  Brani (ship) 285

  Brazil 13n, 14, 71, 148, 224

  Brazzi, Rossano 394

  Brewer, W. 196, 197

  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 199

  Bristowe, William Syer 361, 368

  Britain, British and Pulau Rann

  competition with the Dutch 29

  official sanctioning of trading cooperatives 30

  colonial intentions for Java and Sumatra 34

  and the Portuguese 34

  abandons siege of Ambon fort 35

  Runcorn's rock magnetism studies 92

  at war (1780s) 139, 141

  presence on Rodriguez 261–2

  on the Andamans 265

  in India 326

  imperialism 334

  see also England

  British Army 35

  British Empire (ship) 285

  British Ornithologists' Club 53

  British-Australian Telegraph Company 189

  Brito, Don Lourenzo de 18

  Bromo, Mount, Java 48, 155, 303

  Brunhes, Jean 96

  Brussels 195

  Buddhism 123

  Buenos Aires 289

  Buffon, Comte de 72n

  Bugis 137, 138

  Buijs, Thomas 211n

  Buitenzorg, Batavia 144, 146, 147, 150, 152, 201, 266

  Botanical Gardens 148, 224, 364, 367

  Bullard, Teddy (later Sir Edward) 90

  Burma 34n, 44

  butterflies 58, 60

  Button Island 222

  Byron, George Gordon, Lord: ‘Darkness’ 295–6

  Cabele & Wireless 100

  Cabral, Pedro Alvarez 13–14

  Cailendra Dynasty 123, 134

  Cailendra Seven 123

  Cairo 116

  Calais 187

  Calapa 25

  Calcutta 276, 280

  Calicut 13

  California 13n, 290, 295

  California Institute of Technology (Caltech) 93

  Calmeyer Island 314, 347n

  Calvinism 33

  Cambodia 34n

  Cambridge University 105, 276

  Cameron, Consul Alexander Patrick 152, 235–9, 236, 259, 260n, 272

  Canada 290

  Canary Islands 289

  Cape Colony, southern Africa 34n

  Cape of Good Hope 14 19 30

  Cape Mendocino, California 93

  Cape Race 196

  Cape Town, South Africa 281

  Cape Verde Islands 13n

  caitalism 30

  carbon 302

  carbon dioxide 243, 301, 302, 317

  carbon-14 isotope 134

  Carcavelos, Portugal 191

  Cargados Carajos 280

  Caribbean Signal Service 287

  Carita Java 373, 375, 379–80

  Carita Beach Hotel 390

  casowaries 116, 137n

  Caucasus 112

  Cavendish, Sir Thomas 34

  Cayman Brac 265

  Celebes 23, 66, 69

  Central America 133

  Cerro Hudson volcano 308

  Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) 11
, 22, 264

  Ceylon Observer 279

  Chacana volcano, Ecuador 308

  Chamberlin, Thomas 76

  Champa Kingdom, Vietnam 128

  Channel Four 133n, 395

  Charles Bal (cargo-carrying barque) 220, 246, 299

  Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario 283–4

  Chefoo (later Yantai), China 287

  Chelsea, London 284, 290, 291

  chemistry 305–6

  chemolithoautotrophic hyperthermophilic archaebacteria 367n

  Cherbourg 282

  Chile 13n, 289, 308, 309

  China, Chinese 22

  and spices 10

  rule of Macau 19

  mapping 23, 24

  coolies 42, 213, 228

  merchants 42

  Coen and 42–3

  Batava population 44, 144, 215

  and tectonic plates 111

  and possible eruption of AD 535 131

  records of sea captains 131–2

  anti-Chinese riots (1998) 138

  and the 1883 eruption 215, 246–7, 250

  China Overseas Shipping Company (COSCO) 381

  Christianity, Christians

  and the 1883 eruption 163

  and Muslims 32

  Protestant 44

  Christie, Mr (in Ceylon) 264

  Christmas Island 89, 114

  Church, Frederic Edwin 283–4

  Niagara 283

  Sunset over the Ice on Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario 284

  Twilight in the Wilderness 283

  Ciliwung River 34, 38, 39

  cinnamon 18, 31, 330

  Ciparis (Sylbaris), Louis-Auguste 243n

  Claw, Iceland 82

  Cloos, Hans 75–6

  cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) 10, 11, 18, 29, 31, 65, 297n, 330

  Cochin 11

  cochineal 330

  cockatoos 55, 65, 65, 66, 68, 137n

  cock's tail' jets 352

  Cocos (Keeling) Island 114, 190n

  Coen, Jan Pieterszoon 33, 142

  appearance 32

  personality 33, 35

  founder of the Dutch East Indies 33–4, 36

  governor-general of the East Indies 33, 34

  decides to eject the British 34

  and the Chinese 42–3

  coffee 10, 141, 148, 182, 188, 238–9

  Cold War 106–7, 266, 275

  Coleoptera 58

  College of Delft 156n

  Collocalia 21

  Cologne Cathedral 297

  Colombia 308, 309

  Colombo 288

  Columbia University 107

  Compagnie van Verre 15

  Concordia Military Club, Batavia 147, 153, 172, 202, 203–4, 203

  Conrad (Dutch mailboat) 157, 167–8

  Conrad, Joseph: Lord Jim 12–13

  conservative plate boundary 113