Four hundred years on, the horrific story of the Batavia shipwreck remains one of the bloodiest chapters in Western Australia’s history.

But now, a Dutch academic is challenging that version of events, suggesting the historical account may have been skewed and raising questions about how much we can trust Pelsaert’s account.

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Alistair Paterson, Professor of Archaeology at The University of Western Australia, explained to Perth Today host Simon Beaumont that experts believe the horrendous events that followed the shipwreck are more complex than commonly thought.

“What kind of social mechanisms were occurring for these atrocities to occur?” he said.

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Images:  WAtoday | WA Museum