François Valentijn (1666-1727)

François Valentijn was a minister who devoted most of his life to the employ of the V.O.C. In 1685 he was sent by the V.O.C. to Ambon as a Minister to the East Indies, where he remained for a decade. He returned and lived in Holland for about ten years before returning to the Indies in 1705. The following year Valentijn was Army Chaplain on an expedition in eastern Java but suffered health problems and requested permission to return to Holland.
Finally, back home, Valentijn composed his monumental work, Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien. This massive work of five parts in eight volumes appeared between 1724 and 1726. It was created both from the voluminous journals Valentijn had amassed during his two stays in Southeast Asia, as well as from his own research, correspondence, and previously unpublished material secured from V.O.C. officials. It contained over one thousand engraved illustrations and some of the most accurate maps of the Indies of this time.