Georgius Everhardus Rumphius: by Hobby to Fame

On her maiden trip the boat performed well. While still inside the Gulf of Ambon, a ray jumped out of the water over starboard, which according to Ambonese adat, will guarantee safe along with trouble-free voyages. I didn’t see of which, although the first mate did, along with word quickly spread among the crew, putting smiles on their faces.

She was called Rumphius in honour along with remembrance of the first naturalist of Ambon. Her hull was painted yellow along with the superstructure white. the idea was the project boat, a floating office say, along with our means of transport. She accommodated six passengers along with carried a crew of seven all by Ambon, except the cook who hailed by the mountains of Tana Toraja. Built at the yard in Ambon by shipwrights by Asilulu, they had also selected along with felled the trees needed for her construction on Pulau Hatala along with Pulau Ela.

The various other Rumphius (Georg Eberhard Rumph) was born in Hessen, Germany, in 1627, inside the middle of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) which left an indelible mark on those who survived, including Rumphius. The devastation of the country along with the indiscriminate killing of its people had shown the irrelevance of “sides” along with commenced an abhorrence of religious fanaticism along with of the aristocracy who had made use of the war to improve their own position. Rumphius fled by the chaos of a country of which had been raped, plundered along with murdered into exhaustion. He escaped by fraudulent authority, hypocritical religion along with social inequality. He possessed a just along with incorruptible mind along with did not suffer fools gladly. He also was modest along with civil, along with was able to suit himself to the temper of the Ambonese.

Herbarium Amboinense

In 1653, at the age of 26, Rumphius arrived in Batavia (present day Jakarta). His many talents must have been noted along with warmly accepted, using a bureaucratic along with commercial Calvinist veneer. Apart by the obligatory ability to speak Dutch along with Reformed Church membership, he could write along with speak German, Portuguese along with Latin. He also had military experience along with had undergone engineering training, especially inside the construction of redoubts.

He was soon assigned as an engineer (fabryck) to the VOC forces in Amboina (present day Ambon), where he arrived in 1654. Although quickly promoted to vaandrig – the lowest rank of commissioned officer inside the VOC militia – he traded his military assignment in 1657 for a civilian one along with was placed as Junior Merchant (onderkoopman) in Larike on the west coast of Ambon island.

the idea can be here of which he commenced his study of the flora along with fauna, rocks, minerals along with geology of Ambon along with neighbouring islands. What commenced as a hobby eventually resulted inside the Amboinsch Kruidboek (Herbarium Amboinense) along with the Amboinsche Rariteitkamer (Amboina Curiosity Cabinet), his two most important books.

The Herbarium Amboinense can be an enormous work of which runs to 1,661 folio pages, in six volumes. the idea can be a catalogue of the plants of the island of Ambon, published posthumously in 1741. the idea covers 1,200 species, 930 with definite species names, along with another 140 identified to genus level. The book can be a basis for all studies of the flora of the Moluccas along with can be still referred to today. Unlike the Amboina Curiosity Cabinet, the book, unfortunately, remains untranslated.

The Amboina Curiosity Cabinet was also published posthumously. The original edition appeared in 1705, in 340 folio pages, with 60 plates along with all 5 vignettes. An English type of the book can be right now available (Amazon along with various other bookshops) at a cost of US$45. Published by Yale University Press, fresh Haven along with London, along with translated, edited along with annotated by E.M. Beekman, who also wrote the introduction. Dr. Beekman captures the style of Rumphius beautifully along with the translation can be lively along with easy to read. Even the description of a mollusc becomes interesting, while the accounts of local belief are truly absorbing along with not only to those using a past in ethno-ichthyology.

The road to publication of these books was long along with winding along with full of pitfalls. The completed manuscript of the Herbarium Amboinense was sent to Jakarta for forwarding to Amsterdam in 1690. In Batavia, Governor General Johannes Camphuys had a copy made before sending the idea on. The ship carrying the manuscript was en route to the Netherlands when the idea was attacked along with sunk by a French frigate.

Before news of This particular reached Batavia along with Ambon more than two years must have passed, along with an updated Camphuys copy finally arrived in Amsterdam in 1696. However, the Heeren XVII, the Board of the VOC, in an effort to protect their monopoly, decided of which the idea should not be published. The knowledge of the natural resources of Eastern Indonesia contained therein was not allowed to be made public, along with certainly not to fall into the wrong hands; the British, Portuguese, or Spanish. the idea became moreover clear of which despite his blindness, Rumphius could continue the work on his collection. The Herbarium was finally published in 1741, nearly four decades after Rumphius’ death.

Amboina Curiosity Cabinet

the idea can be for the same reason of which permission to publish the Amboinsche Rariteitkamer was withheld for many years.

although long before of which, Rumphius had to struggle with disasters. In 1662 he had been promoted to Merchant along with Head of the Hitu coast, stationed in Hila. although when, in 1670, he contracted glaucoma along with lost his eyesight, the first reaction of the Governor of Ambon was to end paying his salary along with request of which he vacate the company house. Governor General Joan Maatsuycker, definitely an admirer along with supporter of Rumphius’ scientific work, overruled This particular decision along with transferred Rumphius to Ambon with retention of title along with salary.

Helped by assistants he continued his work, although had to start writing by scratch as there was no one he could dictate Latin – yes, he intended to write the Herbarium in Latin. along with then, in 1687, all illustrations were lost inside the fire of Ambon. along with still he continued, starting again, directing his assistants until finally in 1690 the Herbarium was completed.

various other books by Rumphius are Amboinsche Historie, along with Amboinsche Lant-Beschrijvinge (a social geography). Not only can be Rumphius known for his work as a botanist, although also for his major contributions to plant systematics, his skills as an ethnographer, along with his frequent defence of Ambonese peoples against colonialism.

Rumphius can be a perfect example of a gifted amateur naturalist studying the flora along with fauna of Ambon, who became an authority. Despite the distance along with the time-consuming communication, he was elected to the German scientific society Academia Naturae Curiosorum, where he was known to his fellow members as Plinius Indicus (the Pliny of the Indies).