Melchior van Santvoort

Who is Melchior van Santvoort?

Melchior van Santvoort was a Dutch seaman and surviving crew of the Liefde, the ship which transported William Adams to Japan in 1600.

He was allowed to leave Japan with the Liefde's Captain Jacob Quaeckernaeck on 1604 on a Red Seal Ship provided by the daimyo of Hirado, with the destination of Patani in the Malay Peninsula.

From Patani, Quaeckernaeck joined the fleet of Cornelis Matelief de Jonge, a compatriot, on August 19, 1606, but van Santvoort returned directly to Japan, and continued being active in trade between Japan and Southeast Asia.

Van Santvoort together with another crewmember, Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn, reportedly later made a fortune in trade between Japan and Southeast Asia. Both of them were reported by Dutch traders in Ayutthaya, onboard richly cargoed junks, in early 1613.