Hendrik Brouwer

Hendrik Brouwer (; 1581 – 7 August 1643) was a Dutch explorer and governor of the Dutch East Indies. East Indies Brouwer is thought to first have sailed to the Dutch East Indies for the Dutch East India Company in 1606. In 1610, he left again to the Indies, now as commander of three ships. On this trip he devised the Brouwer Route, a route from South Africa to Java that reduced voyage duration from a year to about six months by taking advantage of the strong westerly winds in the Roaring Forties – latitudes between 40° and 50° south. Up to that point, the Dutch had followed a route copied from the Portuguese via the coast of Africa, Mauritius and Ceylon. By 1617, the VOC required all their ships to take the Brouwer route. After his arrival in 1611 in the East Indies, he was sent to Japan to replace Jacques Specx temporarily as opperhoofd at Dejima from 28 August 1612 to 6 August 1614. During that time he made a visit to the Japanese court at Edo. In 1613, he made a trip to Siam that laid the foundation for the Dutch trade with Siam.