VALENTIJN, Francois

(1666–1727)

   Theologian and historian. Having studied theology, Valentijn went to Batavia(Jakarta, Indone sia) as a minister in the service of the Dutch East India Companyin 1685. He lived in the East Indies until 1714, with an interruption be tween 1695 and 1705. Valentijn studied the languages and civiliza tion of the native peoples on Java, Amboina, and the other Moluccan Islands, and other areas. In 1724–1726, he published his description of the Indonesian Archipelago in five volumes under the title Oud en Nieuw Oost Indien [Old and New East Indies], in which he also un folded a new vision of the future of the Dutch presence there. VAN. For surnames beginning with the particle “van,” “van den,” or “van der,” see the root name (e.g., for VAN GOGH, see GOGH).