Examine the case of the prosecution and the defense. Then decide: Which side are you on?

Was The Supposed Plot Feasible?

The second great controversy centers the feasibility of the supposed plot. The Dutch East India Company was well established at Amboyna where it maintained a castle and a powerful garrison. The Defense maintains that the plot was essentially impossible and hence it would never have been contemplated in the first place. Why plan to seize a castle if you lacked the means even to carry out the attack? The Prosecution argues on the other hand that the English were conspiring to launch an attack in secret with the help of a powerful fifth column, their Japanese allies within the castle, and that they would launch their attack at a moment when the garrison was depleted. Was het mogelijke complot uitvoerbaar? Het tweede grote punt van discussie draait om de uitvoerbaarheid van het potentiële complot. De Nederlandse Verenigde Oost-Indische Company was goed vertegenwoordigd op Amboyna en onderhield er een kasteel en machtig garnizoen. De gedaagde houdt aan dat het complot in wezen onmogelijk uitvoerbaar is en het zou dan ook überhaupt nooit overwogen zijn. Waarom een plan maken om een kasteel in beslag te nemen als je de middelen niet eens hebt om de aanval uit te voeren? De eiser beweert daarentegen dat de Engelsen in het geheim samenzwoeren om een aanval te doen met hulp van een machtige vijfde colonne: hun Japanse bondgenoten in het kasteel. Zij zouden aanvallen op het moment dat het garnizoen uitgeput was.

The Prosecution

The first point to make is that we are not required to prove that the case was in fact feasible. Our concern was whether or not there had been a conspiracy and there is clear evidence of that. The foolishness of the plot excuseth no man. Second, if we look at the balance of forces it is clear that the English had the means to execute their intended treachery and to conquer the castle for they would have tried to execute their scheme when the Governor was out with his best troops on a military expedition. The Japanese who had already been won over would have attacked the Dutch from within the fort’s walls while the English attacked from outside. The English had also secured the assistance of additional plotters including the master of the slaves, who would bring over a large number of slaves into the conspiracy. But most important this attack would have been carried out in secret at the time when the Dutch were in no position to resist.

“Said the English did not lack any means or power to execute their intended treason to incorporate the castle in a way plotted by them”

The Defense

The plot was utterly impossible and could never have been conceived let alone implemented. The castle was heavily guarded and fortified with a garrison that far exceeded the potential conspirators in numbers. The pretended plot was not only impossible to be executed by such means as the English had, but as impossible also to be conceived feasible by Mr. Towerson or any other man in his wits. The English were but 12 in number, and all their pretended accomplices, just 10 Japanese armed swords. They therefore could not imagine themselves able to take a castle garrisoned by 200 Dutch soldiers. They had no ships there and no way to hold the fort even if they had succeeded in taking it in the first place. The Dutch had other strong castles adjacent and there was no guarantee that the English would have received support from their superiors who were more likely to condemn the entire action than to support it.

“In the next place, let it be considered how impossible it was for the English to achieve this pretended enterprise. The castle of Amboyna is of very great strength, as is before declared; the garrison therein 200 or 300 men, besides as many more of their free burghers in the town.”

Commentary

Which side are you on?

Prosecution

I'm not sure

Defense