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Frederik Hendrik / Frederick Henry (1584-1647) was the ruling Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Guelders, Overijssel, Utrecht and Zeeland. The youngest son of the famed William the Silent, he was the half-brother of the previous Prince of Orange and his predecessor, Maurice, who passed away in 1625. Frederik was born six months before his father's assassination in 1584, and was trained in arms and educated by Maurice.<br/><br/> Frederik proved to be almost as fine a general as his half-brother, as well as a more capable politician and statesman, ruling over the Dutch United Provinces for twenty-two years and waging a successful war against the Spanish Empire. The power of the stadtholderate reached its highest point under him, with the 'Period of Frederik Hendrik' being styled by Dutch writers as a golden age for the young republic.<br/><br/> Frederik managed to secure a concluding peace that legitimised the United Provinces before his death in 1647, finally realising what the Dutch had been seeking for eighty years with the Treaty of Munster, which was formally ratified and signed a year after his death.
Maurits / Maurice, Prince of Orange (1567-1625) was stadtholder of all provinces within the Dutch Republic except for Friesland. Commonly known as Maurits of Nassau for much of his life due to his Catholic elder half-brother Philip William holding the title of Prince of Orange until his death in 1618, he was the son of the famed William the Silent, and succeeded him as stadtholder after his death.<br/><br/> Frederik Hendrik / Frederick Henry (1584-1647) was the ruling Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Guelders, Overijssel, Utrecht and Zeeland. The youngest son of the famed William the Silent, he was the half-brother of the previous Prince of Orange and his predecessor, Maurice, who passed away in 1625. Frederik was born six months before his father's assassination in 1584, and was trained in arms and educated by Maurice.
William I, Prince of Orange (1533-1584), also known as William the Silent and William the Taciturn, was a wealthy nobleman from the Dutch provinces of the Spanish Netherlands. He originally served the Spanish Habsburgs, but increasing dissatisfaction with the centralisation of power away from the local estates and Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants led William to join the Dutch revolt and becoming its main leader.<br/><br/> As leader of the uprising, William led the Dutch to several successes against the Spanish, setting off the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). He was declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, before helping to declare the formal independence of the Dutch Republic, also known as the United Provinces, in 1581. He was eventually assassinated by Balthasar Gerard in 1584.<br/><br/> William was the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, making him the ancestor of the present Dutch monarchy. Within the Netherlands he is also fondly remembered as the 'Father of the Fatherland'.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (January 1, 1798 - April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He is associated with the Utagawa school.<br/><br/> The range of Kuniyoshi's preferred subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of samurai and legendary heroes. His artwork was affected by Western influences in landscape painting and caricature.
The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.
The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam, was a Sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long period of decline. Its capital was Kutaraja, the present-day Banda Aceh.<br/><br/> At its peak it was a formidable enemy of the Sultanate of Johor and Portuguese-controlled Malacca, both on the Malayan Peninsula, as all three attempted to control the trade through the Strait of Malacca and the regional exports of pepper and tin with fluctuating success. In addition to its considerable military strength, the court of Aceh became a noted center of Islamic scholarship and trade.<br/><br/> The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.
The Betel (Piper betle) is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and Kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties.<br/><br/> Chewing areca nut is an increasingly rare custom in the modern world. Yet once, not so long ago, areca nut – taken with the leaf of the betel tree and lime paste – was widely consumed throughout South and Southeast Asia by people of all social classes, and was considered an essential part of daily life.
Yitzhak Shamir (born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–84 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment of the State of Israel, Shamir was a leader of the Zionist terrorist group Lehi (the Stern Gang).<br/><br/> As a leader of the Stern Gang, Shamir both authorised and helped organise the assassination of the United Nations Mediator in Palestine Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte in September, 1948.<br/><br/> After the establishment of the State of Israel he served in the Mossad between 1955 and 1965, a Knesset Member, a Knesset Speaker and a Foreign Affairs Minister. Shamir was the country's third longest-serving prime minister after David Ben-Gurion and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reland's map of Japan was the first map to use Sino-Japanese characters on a European printed map and represents a radical departure from prior European maps of Japan.<br/><br/> Instead of following prior European maps and geographical sources, Reland utilized Japanese maps, most notably a map from the library of Benjamin Dutry, a former director of the Dutch VOC (East India Company). In some respects, this represented a tremendous leap forward in the geographical depiction of Japan, such as in the treatment of Kyushu and in naming the 66 provinces.<br/><br/> The map first appeared in 1715 in volume 3 of Jean Frederic Benard's 'Recuiel de voiages'. It was thereafter reissued by Reland and Wilehm Broedelet in a larger format in 1715, for inclusion in folio atlases. The plates from the enlarged edition were purchased by Joachim Ottens in about 1720 and thereafter reissued under his name and later the names of his sons, Josua and Reiner. Large inset of the area around Nagasaki and an ornate dedication cartouche, with about 20 coats of arms.
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) served as the 44th President of the United States (2009 - 2017), as well as the first African American to hold the office.<br/><br/> William Jefferson 'Bill' Clinton (born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Clinton was Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992, and Arkansas Attorney General from 1977 to 1979.
In this 1912 political sketch by Albert Hahn, a Dutch soldier surveys an Acehnese family he has just killed. The text below reads: 'Wij zijn geen wreede italianen. Wij vermoorden onzen tegenstanders niet, maar leggen ze neer. En als wij wat vrouwen en kinderen dooden, gebeurt dat slechts bij ongeluk', or 'We are not cruel Italians. We murder our enemies, but we bury them. And as for women and children, that only ever happens by accident'.<br/><br/> The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.
The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.<br/><br/> Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz (3 February 1851 – 11 July 1924) was a Dutch military officer who was appointed governor general of the Dutch East Indies in 1904. He had become famous years before by bringing to an end to the long Aceh War and was known as 'The Pacifier of Aceh'.
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition (Spanish: <i>Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisicion</i>), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition (<i>Inquisicion espanola</i>), was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.<br/><br/> The Inquisition was originally intended primarily to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism and Islam. The regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1502 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave Spain.<br/><br/> The Inquisition was not definitively abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabella II, after a period of declining influence in the preceding century.
Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850) was a 19th century Japanese artist of the <i>ukiyo-e</i> style. Born as Iwakubo Tatsuyuki in Edo, Hokkei started as a fishmonger before becoming an artist. He became Hokusai's first and eventually one of his most renowned students, developing a light and simple design influenced by his master.<br/><br/> He would experiment with various styles and genres, producing a large body of work in woodblock prints, book illustrations and paintings. He had various artist names, such as Aiogazono, Aiogaoka and Kyosai. He made at least eight hundred <i>surimono</i> prints, and over a hundred book illustrations.
In this 1903 political sketch by Albert Hahn, the Sultan of Aceh submits to a stern-looking Queen Wilhemina (? she was only 23 years old at the time) watched by a group of smiling capitalist fat cats, the ruins of Aceh in the background.<br/><br/> The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.
The First Dutch Expedition to Indonesia was an expedition that took place from 1595 to 1597. It was instrumental in the opening up of the Indonesian spice trade to the merchants that eventually formed the Dutch East India Company, and marked the end of the Portuguese Empire's dominance in the region.
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese.<br/><br/> It was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia, including establishing colonies in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and India.
William I, Prince of Orange (1533-1584), also known as William the Silent and William the Taciturn, was a wealthy nobleman from the Dutch provinces of the Spanish Netherlands. He originally served the Spanish Habsburgs, but increasing dissatisfaction with the centralisation of power away from the local estates and Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants led William to join the Dutch revolt and becoming its main leader.<br/><br/> As leader of the uprising, William led the Dutch to several successes against the Spanish, setting off the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). He was declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, before helping to declare the formal independence of the Dutch Republic, also known as the United Provinces, in 1581. He was eventually assassinated by Balthasar Gerard in 1584.<br/><br/> William was the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, making him the ancestor of the present Dutch monarchy. Within the Netherlands he is also fondly remembered as the 'Father of the Fatherland'.
Senna (from Arabic sana), the sennas, is a large genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. This diverse genus is native throughout the tropics, with a small number of species in temperate regions. The number of species is estimated to be from about 260 to 350. The type species for the genus is Senna alexandrina. About 50 species of Senna are known in cultivation.<br/><br/> Senna includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. The leaves are pinnate with opposite paired leaflets. The inflorescences are racemes at the ends of branches or emerging from the leaf axils. The flower has five sepals and five usually yellow petals. There are ten straight stamens. The stamens may be different sizes, and some are staminodes. The fruit is a legume pod containing several seeds.
In this 1896 political sketch by Marius Bauer, the Dutch comic character Mijnheer Prikkebeen is shown trying to capture a bee labelled 'Oemar' - a reference to the Aceh national resistance leader Teuku Umar (1854-1899). In fact Teuku Umar was killed three years later when Dutch troops launched a surprise attack in Meulaboh. After Teuku Umar's death, his wife Cut Nyak Dhien continued to lead the guerrillas against the Dutch.<br/><br/> The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.
Gerard Lucasz or Gerrit van Schagen or van Schaagen; Latin: Gerardus a Schagen (ca. 1642 - after 1690) was a cartographer from Amsterdam, well known for his maps.<br/><br/> He lived and worked in Amsterdam, in the Haarlemmerstraat near the New Haarlem sluice. He was last mentioned at the burial of his wife Gertruij Govers van Schendel/Schijndel in the Nieuwezijds Kapel on September 29, 1690.
A highly decorative map of the East Indies from the Mercator-Hondius Atlas.<br/><br/> It extends from the Philippines to Timor and Sumatra to New Guinea, detailing the Spice Islands, a region of great importance to seventeenth century Europe, but one about which little was known at the time. Hondius based his map on portolan charts by Portuguese cartographer Bartolomeu Lasso. Of particular note is the comment Huc Franciscus Dra. Appulit, which appears by the unknown southern coast of Java, representing Drake's landing during his circumnavigation of the globe in 1577-80.<br/><br/> Of considerable contemporary relevance, the map also shows a highly stylised diagram of the Spratly Islands and perhaps the Paracels in the South China Sea, indicating ownership lying with Vietnam and Indochina, not - as vociferously claimed by the People's Republic - with China.<br/><br/> This map follows very shortly the extension of Dutch control over the islands. In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was formed, and within a couple decades the company came to control the region. Includes three strapwork cartouches, and European ships shown in the midst of battle. Other decorative features include two compass roses, rhumb lines and sea monster.
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea or Periplus of the Red Sea (Ancient Greek: Περίπλους τá½´ς Ἐρυθράς Θαλάσσης, Latin: Periplus Maris Erythraei) is a Greco-Roman periplus, written in Greek, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and the Indian subcontinent.<br/><br/> The text has been ascribed to different dates between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, but a mid-1st century date is now the most commonly accepted. Although the author is unknown, it is clearly a firsthand description by someone familiar with the area and is nearly unique in providing accurate insights into what the ancient world knew about the lands around the Indian Ocean.<br/><br/> Although Erythraean Sea (Ancient Greek: Ἐρυθρά Θάλασσα) literally means 'Red Sea', to the Greeks it included the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.
Tulip mania or tulipomania (Dutch names include: tulpenmanie, tulpomanie, tulpenwoede, tulpengekte and bollengekte) was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed.<br/><br/> At the peak of tulip mania, in February 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman.<br/><br/> Although tulips are generally associated with the Netherlands, commercial cultivation of the flower began in the Ottoman Empire. The tulip, or lale (from Persian لاله, lâleh) as it is also called in Iran and Turkey, is a flower indigenous to a vast area encompassing arid parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The word tulip, which earlier appeared in English in forms such as tulipa or tulipant, entered the language by way of French tulipe and its obsolete form tulipan or by way of Modern Latin tulÄ«pa, from Ottoman Turkish tülbend.
Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes) is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.
Jodocus Hondius (Dutch name: Joost de Hondt) (1563 – 1612) was a Flemish engraver and cartographer. He helped establish Amsterdam as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century.
Myrrh is the aromatic oleoresin of a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora, which grow in dry, stony soil. An oleoresin is a natural blend of an essential oil and a resin. Myrrh resin is a natural gum.<br/><br/> When a tree wound penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree bleeds a resin. Myrrh gum, like frankincense, is such a resin. When people harvest myrrh, they wound the trees repeatedly to bleed them of the gum. Myrrh gum is waxy, and coagulates quickly. After the harvest, the gum becomes hard and glossy. The gum is yellowish, and may be either clear or opaque. It darkens deeply as it ages, and white streaks emerge.<br/><br/> Myrrh gum is commonly harvested from the species Commiphora myrrha, which is native to Yemen, Somalia, and eastern Ethiopia. The related Commiphora gileadensis, native to Eastern Mediterranean and particularly the Arabian Peninsula, is the biblically referenced Balm of Gilead. Several other species yield bdellium, and Indian myrrh.<br/><br/> The oleo gum resins of a number of other Commiphora and Balsamodendron species are also used as perfumes, medicines (such as aromatic wound dressings), and incense ingredients.
A celebrated and elegant map by Willem and Joan Blaeu of the Moghul Empire. The map shows the Ganges, Bengal, Delhi, Lahor, Cashmere & Kabul; decorations include an ornate cartouche, galleons, elephants and camels.<br/><br/> Of particular interest, to the east of the Moghul Empire the specious 'Chiamay Lacus' or 'Lake Chiang Mai' is particularly large and is represented as the source of five major rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea.
Ludolf Bakhuizen (or Backhuysen) (December 28, 1630 – November 17, 1708) was a German-born Dutch Golden Age painter who was the leading Dutch painter of maritime subjects after the two Willem van de Veldes (father and son) left for England in 1672.
The Atlas Maior is the final version of Joan Blaeu's atlas, published in Amsterdam between 1662 and 1672, in Latin (11 volumes), French (12 volumes), Dutch (9 volumes), German (10 volumes) and Spanish (10 volumes), containing 594 maps and around 3000 pages of text.<br/><br/> It was the largest and most expensive book published in the seventeenth century. Earlier, much smaller versions, titled Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive, Atlas Novus, were published from 1634 onwards.
Netherlands: Advertising poster for the Dutch Holland-Africa Line, The Holland-Africa line was subsumed within Nedlloyd, a Dutch shipping company, formed in 1970 as the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie (NSU) in a merger of several shipping lines.
Ludolf Bakhuizen (or Backhuysen) (December 28, 1630 – November 17, 1708) was a German-born Dutch Golden Age painter who was the leading Dutch painter of maritime subjects after the two Willem van de Veldes (father and son) left for England in 1672.
Reland's map of Japan was the first map to use Sino-Japanese characters on a European printed map and represents a radical departure from prior European maps of Japan.<br/><br/> Instead of following prior European maps and geographical sources, Reland utilized Japanese maps, most notably a map from the library of Benjamin Dutry, a former director of the Dutch VOC (East India Company). In some respects, this represented a tremendous leap forward in the geographical depiction of Japan, such as in the treatment of Kyushu and in naming the 66 provinces.<br/><br/> The map first appeared in 1715 in volume 3 of Jean Frederic Benard's 'Recuiel de voiages'. It was thereafter reissued by Reland and Wilehm Broedelet in a larger format in 1715, for inclusion in folio atlases. The plates from the enlarged edition were purchased by Joachim Ottens in about 1720 and thereafter reissued under his name and later the names of his sons, Josua and Reiner. Large inset of the area around Nagasaki and an ornate dedication cartouche, with about 20 coats of arms.
The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch, literally &quot;United East Indian Company&quot;) was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies. It ceased to function in 1798.
The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch, literally &quot;United East Indian Company&quot;) was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies. It ceased to function in 1798.
Pieter Goos (1616–1675) was a Dutch cartographer, copperplate engraver, publisher and bookseller. He was the son of Abraham Goos (1590–1643), also a cartographer and map seller. From 1666, Pieter Goos published a number of well produced atlases.
The Dutch East India Company, or VOC, was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money and establish colonies.<br/><br/> The VOC was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese.<br/><br/> Between 1602 and 1796, the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships, and netted more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods.
Map of the west coast of Africa by Pieter Goos (Amsterdam, 1666).
Map of the west coast of Africa by Pieter Goos (Amsterdam, 1666).
Map of Guinea and surrounding regions. The Benin Kingdom is indicated in the east. Amsterdam, Blaeu, J. & G. 1640-50.
The state is named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who made the first reported European sighting of the island on 24 November 1642. Tasman named the island 'Anthony van Diemen's Land' after his sponsor Anthony van Diemen, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies.<br/><br/> The name was later shortened to Van Diemen's Land by the British. It was officially renamed Tasmania in honour of its first European discoverer on 1 January 1856.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a renowned arist and ukyo-e painter of the late Edo Period. Born in Edo, Hokusai was from an artisan family and bore the childhood name of Tokitaro. As he grew and became an artist, he would use more than thirty names throughout his lifetime, exceeding that of any other major Japanese artist.<br/><br/> His best known work was the series 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji', which secured his fame not only in Japan but also overseas. Though he had a long career, his most important work was arguably produced after he turned 60, when his work transformed the artwork of ukiyo-e from not just focusing on courtesans and actors to also portraying landscapes, animals and plants.
Japan: Woodblock print of the actor Segawa Kikunojo V (1802-1832) in the role of the courtesan Oiso no Tora, by Yashima Gakutei (1786-1868), 1823, Rikjsmuseum, Amsterdam. Yashima Gakutei was a Japanese artist and poet of the 19th century. Born in Osaka, Gakutei was the illegitimate son of a samurai, and spent much of his early life working on woodblock prints in Osaka. He eventually studied under renowned woodblock printers Totoya Hokkei and Hokusai.
Japan: 'The Monkey King Blows Hair Away', woodblock print by Katsushika Taito II (active 1810-1853), 1836, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The Monkey King Sun Wukong is a mythological character in Chinese folk religion and literature. An important figure in various legends and stories, he is perhaps bestl known for his starring role in the 16th century classical novel 'Journey to the West'.
Japan: 'A Woman Standing on the Strings of a Kite', Katsushika Taito II (active 1810-1853), 1822, <i>Nishiki-e</i> woodblock print, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. <i>Nishiki-e</i> were a type of multi-coloured woodblock print from Japan. The technique was primarily used in <i>ukiyo-e</i>, and was invented in the 1760s. Before, woodblock prints were usually in black-and-white and were coloured either by hand or with the addition of one or two colour ink blocks.
René Descartes ( 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician and scientist who spent most of his life in the Dutch Republic.<br/><br/> He has been dubbed the father of modern philosophy, and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day. In particular, his <i>Meditations on First Philosophy</i> continues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments. Descartes' influence in mathematics is equally apparent; the Cartesian coordinate system — allowing reference to a point in space as a set of numbers, and allowing algebraic equations to be expressed as geometric shapes in a two-dimensional coordinate system (and conversely, shapes to be described as equations) — was named after him.<br/><br/> He is credited as the father of analytical geometry, the bridge between algebra and geometry, crucial to the discovery of infinitesimal calculus and analysis. Descartes was also one of the key figures in the scientific revolution and has been described as an example of genius.
Frederik Hendrik / Frederick Henry (1584-1647) was the ruling Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Guelders, Overijssel, Utrecht and Zeeland. The youngest son of the famed William the Silent, he was the half-brother of the previous Prince of Orange and his predecessor, Maurice, who passed away in 1625. Frederik was born six months before his father's assassination in 1584, and was trained in arms and educated by Maurice.<br/><br/> Frederik proved to be almost as fine a general as his half-brother, as well as a more capable politician and statesman, ruling over the Dutch United Provinces for twenty-two years and waging a successful war against the Spanish Empire. The power of the stadtholderate reached its highest point under him, with the 'Period of Frederik Hendrik' being styled by Dutch writers as a golden age for the young republic.<br/><br/> Frederik managed to secure a concluding peace that legitimised the United Provinces before his death in 1647, finally realising what the Dutch had been seeking for eighty years with the Treaty of Munster, which was formally ratified and signed a year after his death.
The Dutch traveler Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1562-1611) lived in Goa on the west coast of India between 1583 and 1588, where he acted as secretary to the Portuguese archbishop Dom Vicente da Fonseca.<br/><br/> After he returned to the Low Countries, in 1592 he collaborated with the Dutch scholar, Berent ten Broecke, to write a series of accounts of the Indies using his extensive first-hand experience as well as a number of Iberian maps, books, and manuscripts he had collected during his travels.<br/><br/> Linschoten’s works circulated widely and were repeatedly reissued and translated in Europe, but the most famous is the celebrated Itinerario, first published in 1596. It describes all of maritime Asia from Mozambique to Japan and is illustrated by three maps and thirty-six coloured engravings made from original drawings by Linschoten.
Waves of Chinese emigration have happened throughout history. The mass emigration known as the Chinese diaspora, which occurred from the 19th century to 1949, was mainly caused by wars and starvation in mainland China, invasion from various foreign countries, as well as the problems resulting from political corruption.<br/><br/> Most immigrants were illiterate peasants and manual labourers, called 'coolies', who emigrated to work in places such as the Americas, Australia, South Africa, and Southeast Asia.