The hvtiten kerk WM not built for those high in 
station and office, but for the labounng cla,saes and 
the services in Dutch, or even m Malay, were the 
exception. Portuguese was the language used. When 
the Dutch conquered their mortal 
ffuese had long been settled m the Dast. -t“®y 
knew more than any other nation how to adapt them- 
selves to the conditions of Eastern hfe. ihey 
brought none of their women to the East, hpce 
thrraceof what our fathers called “ mixt.sen ” m 
the Portuguese Colonies. The teaching of the Jesuit 
fathers sw^elled the ranks of “ 
and out of the Babel of tongues heard in Batavia, 
there arose a bastard Portuguese, a hnyua 
franca. At first services took place in the 
■fort a little church was built which was 
burnt down during the siege (1623). Services were then 
held in the gemeene loandadplaatse (ordinary prome- 
nX) of the In 1634 Dr Mohnens began 
to preach in Portuguese. A class of swarte 
borgeren" or Mardy’keu also arose speaking Portu- 
gue^se, and the language had taken ^ 
hold on the people, that in the year (1611) when 
Malacca was taken, the Government expressed the 
fear “ that Portuguese would eventually sweep out 
the Dutch language” and resolved to take me^ures 
to prevent such a result. It passed a rule that officers 
nf the Mardy’ken Companies should be able to speak 
Dutch. But with little success, as in 1674 
zincker, the Governor- General, wrote that the Portu- 
guese language had the Upperhand” to his great 
regret Not only did slaves and freed people speak 
[t,®but it was the home languap of the Europeans 
The Portuguese congregation knew so little Dutch 
in 1713, that only 3 out of 100 understood iL Measures 
were then taken to spread the Reformed Religion. A 
Bandanese, Cornelia Seenen (commonly known as 
Meester Cornelia), was thirty year ‘ vooiiezer. 
He was “a local celebrity,’ still renmmbered when 
many Governors-General are forgotten. Unfortunately, 
through lack of intelligence, he could not attain the 
rank of predikant, which the Govwnment \vonld have 
gladly granted to him. Meester Cornells tugn (Mas- 
ter Cornelis' garden) still commemorates his memory. 
In 1651 the Government resolved to build a masonry 
church for the native Chinese. The place selected 
was where, in the time of Governor Coen, the English 
had their quarters. The foundation stone was not 
laid till thl 1st Jan. 1673. This church was used 
by the Malay and Portuguese congregations, but 
latterly, exclusively, by the Portuguese and was 
known as the Portuguese Binnenkerk (the church 
within the walls). This church was burnt down 
on the 14th Jan. 1808. M!any Asiatics and 
freedmen from Ceylon came to Batavia and 
increased the Portuguese congregations. These 
neople ' are described as “ conforming to the manner 
of the Nederlanders ” and it was said of them 
ri705) ‘‘that they went about "with tne ridiculous 
hauo-hty air of the Portuguese, clad like Europeans, 
but “mostly without shirt, socks or shoes, with an 
antique and tattered coat with tneir coal black laces 
and feet, looking like a mountebank s ape rigged out 
ill his finery,” The Batavian iiiardykers, who had 
served the hon. Company well in their wars, settled 
outside the city walls close to the bastion gelhna. 
There was already (1669) a cemetery lor them here, 
and there was built of bamboo a church where the 
Portimuese were catechized. In ooiisequeuoe of the 
inorea'iiiig numbers of those who came to be catechized 
Governor-General Camphmjs (1639) resolved to buy the 
“garden of Gerbrandt Nieholt,” to enlarge the cemetery 
and obtain a site for a larger chuph. On Oiel9tn October, 
1693 the stone was laid “ in the presence ot the 
Director-General Joan VanHoorn, by his nephew the 
Visitor-General Pieter VanHoorn.” It was the intention 
of the Government that the Portuguese should pro- 
vide the funds for the building, but this was found 
impracticable. The church funds of Formosa were 
sent to Batavia, after Port Zelandia was taken by 
Coxinga, the native chief. Part ot this fund was used to 
provide for the French refugees to the Cape of Good 
Hope, and the balance 3.000 rix dollars were used 
for buying the building materials of the Buiten 
Kerk. On the 23rd October, 1695 the church was form- 
ally thrown open for public worship. The Rev. Theo- 
dorus Zas, an aged man with “a ferocious moustache " 
dating 30 years back to the time when he preached 
in the fieet to those who took part in the blockade of 
Goa, preached the first sermon taking as his text 
1 Kings VIII 29 and 30, in the presence of the 
Governor-General and others. In the afternoon 
Eeo Jacobus Opden Acker preached in Portuguese. This 
is the history of |the building of the Buiten Kirk, 
Here follows a deicription of the church (two views 
of the iuside being given) : — “ Of the six frames 
within each window-frame, at that time four were 
of rattan lath-work and only two of the upper ones 
had panes Tnis was found to be more airy. Here 
and there, there were coloured panes. The gallery 
was supported by three turned pillars which now 
support the sounding board (organ). Iherail of the 
gallery was in the same style. Chandeliers were 
used for lighting. The roof was supported by six 
wooden column s. The present stone pillars appear 
to date from 1725. It is a question whether the 
present quaint pulpit is the same as that supplied 
by Hendrik Bruyn for 260 rix dollars in the year 1696, 
or whether the two uewly-made heerebanken, with 
carved work, have uot been since replaced.” The 
native burgher, Sergeant Anthoni Colie, a brave 
Mardyker, presented 300 rix dollars to the church. 
A silver plate to his memory dates from 1695, 
As regards ths organ, in 1782, the daughter of the 
wealthy minister, Johan Mauritz Mohr, of the Por- 
tuguese congregation, presented to the church a new 
one, in memory of her father. The old fashioned 
chair iu the nave of the church is apparently the 
same that was presented by the Governor-General 
Vander Parra. The old Portuguese Testament and 
Malay-Psalm book with silver locks, the four salvers 
and jugs of silver presented by Camphuys are not 
to be seen now. Also the two silver fonts gifted by 
the native Captain Anthony Adriaansz, or the two 
cups of Sinjeur Joan Rodrigo (perhaps some of this 
is in the Willems Kerk). 
On the walls are various hatchments with Coats of 
Arms of long-forgotten ladies and gentlemen, herces of 
the age of periwigs, of no interest to the present gene- 
ration save that of Hendrik Swaardekioou (at one time 
Commander of Jafina); many hatchments of Governor- 
General remo ved to the Binner Kerk were destroyed 
by a fire in 1808. 
In getting out of the church, to the left of the 
entrance there is the tomb of Zwaardekroon and 
those of other ‘‘notabilities.” He wished to be buried 
with the “ commonalty,” among whom we find the 
tombs of Fredeiik Riebalt (Mardyker)* Titus Antho- 
nyssen and his “good” wife Ragel Titise. 
Since then those buried here were Company’s 
servants who died in the hospital : — 
“ Perhaps iu this neglected spot is laid 
Some heart, once pregnant with celestial fire — 
Hands that the rod of empire might have sy/ayed.” 
Here follows a description from Reydt (Schouwplaats). 
About the year 1800 burials ceased here, “ and now a 
quiet kitchen garden has been started witiiin the walls 
in this wretched quarter.” The Portuguese services 
were afterwards less and less attended, collections fell 
off “ and tire time cams when one was glad to find a 
clergyman who could speak Portuguese, although it 
was ‘high’ Portuguese, not understood by the con- 
gregation.” Abraham Antony Eugeibrecht baptized 
in Galle on the 6th May, 1759, and who died in 
Batavia 23rd September, 1808 was the last Predikant 
to the Portuguese. Sic transit. 
Some historical notes are appended and an extract 
from the Dagregister of the Fort of Batavia 16th 
August, 1728, describing the funeral of Zwaardekroon- 
whose coat of arms is described as : — 
“ Azur a sword points upwards hilted gold, the end 
broken. Issuing from the-helmet a raised hand hold- 
ing a green wreath.” 
The above is a summary of the contents of this 
very interesting little book. — F. H. de V. 
