Daniel Gravius
Daniel Gravius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1616 |
| Died | 1681 (aged 64–65) Middelburg, Dutch Republic |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Other names | Daniel van de Graaff Daniel van de Graef Daniel Grauw[1] |
| Years active | 1647–1651[2] |
| Employer | The Dutch East India Company |
| Spouses |
|
Daniel Gravius (1616–1681) was a
libel and censured. Later he was completely exonerated and returned to his native Netherlands
with his reputation intact.
Mission to Formosa
Gravius is first mentioned in historical records as a preacher in
The Siraya language almost disappeared, but is reconstructed with the works of Gravius and reintroduced among the thirty thousand remaining Siraya. [6]In the village where Gravius was stationed, he was not only responsible for the religious life of the village, but he was also the senior judicial officer in residence. This dual role was a source of many complaints from the clergy, but the Council of Formosa (
Nicolas Verburg complaining about his judicial superior, super-factor Dirck Snoucq, and alleging him to be "a person of shameful and odious character."[8] Unfortunately for Gravius, Verburg took the side of Snoucq, declaring that "this cable of infamous slander had been formed of many strands of abuses and misdeeds of so scandalous and unchristian a nature that they cannot even here be mentioned in detail."[9]
Governor Verburg then circumvented the normal procedure for trying a libel case by declining to have it heard by the Council of Formosa, based on the supposition that
Council of the Indies were also dealing with Cornelis van der Lijn and François Caron
, who were sent back to Holland, being accused of unfair trade.)
Gravius remained in Batavia for three years, arguing his case, until he was found blameless and the money taken from him in fines was returned.[3] He returned to the Netherlands as a preacher, where he married again in Veere and eventually died in 1681 in Middelburg.[1]
Published works
- Het heylige Euangelium Matthei en Johannis. Ofte Hagnau ka d'llig matiktik ka na sasoulat ti Mattheus ti Johannes appa [The Gospel of St. Matthew in Formosan Sinkang Dialect and Dutch]. (in OCLC 69326189.
- OCLC 844610148.
- Patar ki tna-'msing-an ki Christang ofte. 't Formulier des Christendoms [Formulary of Christianity in the Siraya language of Formosa]. Amsterdam: Michiel Hartogh. 1661. OCLC 846467128.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d NNBW
- ^ Andrade
- ^ a b c Otness 64.
- ^ "A short time ago the Rev. D. Gravius showed us an account referring to the purchase and attendant expenses of one hundred and twenty-one head of cattle to be used for ploughing. These cattle are destined for the inhabitants of the village of Soulang, in order to accustom them [...] to cultivate their lands in this manner." From the Minute-book of Castle Zeelandia, excerpted in Campbell 248.
- ^ Crook
- ^ "De Siraya-taal is ingeslapen en wordt nu wakker gekust".
- ^ Campbell 260.
- ^ Governor Verburg paraphrasing the letter of complaint from Gravius, Campbell 265.
- ^ Campbell 265–66.
- ^ Campbell 266.
- ^ a b Campbell 268.
- ^ a b Shepherd 70
References
- Andrade, Tonio (2005). "Appendix B: Governors-General, Governors, and Missionaries". How Taiwan Became Chinese.
- ISBN 957-638-083-9.
- Crook, Steven (2008-04-12). "Breathing life into the Sirayan language". Taiwan Journal. Archived from the original on 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- "Gravius, Daniël" (in Dutch). Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek (NNBW). Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- Otness, Harold M. (1999). One Thousand Westerners in Taiwan, to 1945: A Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary. Academica Sinica. ISBN 957-671-618-7.
- Shepherd, John (1995) [1993]. Statecraft and Political Economy on the Taiwan Frontier: 1600–1800. Taipei: Southern Materials Center. ISBN 957-638-311-0.
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Christian missionaries in Taiwan | |||||
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| Background |  | ||||
| 17th century |
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| 1850–1945 |
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| Since 1945 | (* = Latter-day Saints Church) | ||||
