Hendrik
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Hendrik (died February 1725) was a Dutch explorer working for the Dutch East India Company in the 1720s. He was a friend to navigator John Young.
History
Discovery of the lost city
Seeking to make a fortune in order to provide for his wife and children, Hendrik left them to join the Dutch East India Company as a sailor, a decision he eventually came to regret. While serving, Hendrik wrote a letter which he sought to give to his family in the event he failed to return.[1] Hendrik also came to befriend a fellow company mate and navigator John Young.[2]
At some point prior to February 1725, Hendrik was part of a company expedition to Indochina.[3] While there, he discovered the location to the ruins of the lost city of the Khmer Empire, documenting what he found and knew in his personal log. Hendrik also told his friend John Young while drunk, not knowing that Young would then steal his story.[1]
When Hendrik's group came to be based in Macau, then under the Portuguese Empire, he sought to find a way to return to Indochina and the lost city. In 1725, Hendrik came to know of a Qing woman known as Madam Lee, who owned a trading enterprise with a focus on salt and sugar. Hendrik asked her to sponsor an expedition to the lost city, which would benefit them both since Madam Lee's business were being framed a number of ship attacks in the Straits of Malacca. Madam Lee rejected the Hendrik's offer, and he was thus to forced to put a halt to his ambitious plans. In the meantime, he kept his sea log in a bank safe in the city, knowing the log's vast importance to anybody who would gain their hands on it.[3]
Death and postmortem
In February, Hendrik was attacked in his room at the company dormitories, being fatally stabbed in the abdomen by ninja from the Japanese Shimazu clan. The Assassin Edward Kenway, who was attempting to learn the location to the Khmer ruins, entered Hendrik's room moments after the attack, while Hendrik was still conscious. Hendrik told Edward a little about Angkor and asked that he deliver a letter to his family before finally passing.[1]
Hearing the commotion, Hendrik's fellow company men entered his room, finding Edward and, thinking he was Hendrik's killer, attacked the Assassin, who fled from the windows. Edward subsequently escaped the harbor with John's help,[4] but he was declared a fugitive by the authorities, who hanged wanted posters of him around the city.[5]
Meanwhile, Hendrik's sealog was recovered by Madam Lee, who was keeeping an eye for him and used her riches to acquire the book from the bank safe. This also caught the knowledge of the Templars, who sought to acquire Hendrik's book from Madam Lee, though she refused to give it to them.[3]
Appearances
References