Isaq Schrijver

Who is Isaq Schrijver?

Isaq Schrijver was a Dutch ensign and South African explorer. Although born and raised in Leiden, both his parents were born near Aachen, Germany. Little else is known of his origins, but by 1667 he was a marine.

In February 1684, Schrijver, then a sergeant in the Dutch East India Company and stationed at the Cape, headed a reconnaissance expedition into Namaqualand. They went as far north as Garies and brought back samples of copper ore to Cape Town.

Schrijver was involved in salvage operations of the Nossa Senhora dos Milagros which had run aground on the night of 16 April 1686 at Struisbaai near Cape Agulhas. This was a Portuguese vessel with 150 crew, commanded by Don Emmanual Da Silva, en route from Goa to Portugal and bearing diplomatic gifts from Narai, King of Siam to Pedro, King of Portugal, Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England. Also aboard were three Siamese ambassadors who were left to fend for themselves by the crew. Two were found in a desperate state a month after the wreck, the third having succumbed. Simon van der Stel sent a party consisting of lieutenant Olof Bergh, Isaq Schrijver and others to salvage what they could. Very little of any value was returned to the governor, but rumours of theft of the treasure soon started circulating, substantiated by the attempted sale of items to Cape Town residents and the unearthing in Olof Bergh's garden of a box holding objects from the wreck. Bergh later confessed to the theft and alleged that van der Stel himself was involved. Bergh was sentenced to three and a half years on Robben Island while Schrijver was cleared of any wrongdoing.