South-east Asia

Notes on South-east Asia, where I live.

• Book review: A Swiss soldier on Dutch Formosa

  Elie Ripon (Lausanne,? –?) was a Swiss soldier in the service of the VOC, who took part in most of the VOC’s military exploits in those years from 1618 to 1626. After his military service, he wrote down his experiences in a manuscript that was found in Switzerland in 1865 and was first published in 1990.

  A wild itinerary, including Fort Jakarta/Batavia, Banda Island, a China Expedition, Fortress on Sibesi (between Java and Sumatra) diamond trade in Borneo, Privateering in the Gulf of Siam.