The Amboina Massacre.

>The most notorious of several incidents occurred in 1623 on the spice isle of Ambon, when the VOC wrongly suspected its English competitors of plotting an attack on the Dutch factory. Fifteen East India Company merchants were arrested, along with several Japanese mercenaries. The men were tortured until they confessed – one had flames played along the soles of his feet “until the fat dropt and put out the candles” – and then were executed. When news of the “Amboina massacre” reached London, the outcry that erupted was so violent that the Gentlemen XVII [**leaders of the Dutch East India Company**] were forced to promise that [Coen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Jan_Pieterszoon_Coen.jpg) [**the Dutch official who ordered the executions**] would see no further service in the East. Privately, however, the Company knew that it could not do without him. Within there years it had sent its most notorious servant back to the Indies, sailing under an assumed name, to begin a second term as governor-general. _________________________ **Source:** Dash, Mike. “Longboat.” *Batavia's Graveyard*. Three Rivers Press, 2003. 203-4. Print. __________________________ **Further Reading:** [Jan Pieterszoon Coen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Pieterszoon_Coen) [Amboyna Massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amboyna_massacre) ___________________________ **If you enjoy this type of content, please consider donating to my [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/HistoryLockeBox)!**