Hamel in The Joseon Korea
The sudden appearance of 36 Europeans caused a major disturbance among the Koreans, even though the sailors unmistakably were victims rather than deliberate raiders. As castaways, Hamel and the others were treated well in the early months after the disaster. However, as soon as the novelty wore off, they again became the foreigners whom Korea had wanted to keep away from its shores. The speculation that they could have been spies from Japan perhaps added to the fate of the Dutchmen.
Hendrick Hamel, the most educated of the seventeen prisoners, wrote a report during their stay in Dejima about their stay and about the customs in Korea. Of his first encounter with Koreans after they had crawled ashore from the wreck of De Sperwer, Hamel wrote: "We panicked as we thought these people were ready to lynch us." He described some of the later humiliations he and the others suffered as the blatant disaster. Spurned in their quest for freedom, the men were obliged to adhere to the customs of the land and became all but imprisoned by the Koreans.
When the novelty of their capture was still fresh, the Dutchmen had been brought to the royal palace in Seoul, as a kind of novelty item for the king. Through interpreters and confidants, Hamel and the others were able to relay an urgent request to the king. They bade him to grant them their release so they could go back home and rejoin their wives and children. Hamel's entry in the journal conveyed the disappointment the men felt upon the negative decision.
It was obvious to the Dutchmen that the Koreans intended to continue to restrict their movements. Following the local customs soon they were no better than slaves.
King Hyojong ordered them to build muskets for the army, providing muskets to the Koreans for the first time after the Seven Year War (1592-1598).
In 1666, after thirteen years (during the reign of Hyeonjong of Joseon, 1659–1674) of what then had become imprisonment, eight men including Hamel were able to escape. They managed to seize a boat and soon reached Japan where they were able to travel on to the VOC trading mission at Dejima, the artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki. Although Japan also was closed to foreigners, its local rulers and people at least were not unfamiliar with Europeans, especially the Dutch traders. Hamel soon after returned to Gorinchem where he died in 1692.
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