Watch this full episode of After Dark with Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling where they chat about the horrendous Batavia shipwreck, the violent mutiny led by Jeronimus Cornelisz, and Anthony's new favourite fact.

The Batavia shipwreck of 1629, a tale of Dutch East India Company mutiny and terror, is detailed in this harrowing episode. We set the scene of the Dutch Golden Age, explaining how the ship Batavia, on its maiden voyage to modern-day Jakarta, wrecked off the coast of Western Australia. With over 300 passengers and crew stranded on desolate islands, Commander Francisco Pelsaert takes a small boat to seek help, leaving the survivors behind. In his absence, a disgraced apothecary named Jeronimus Cornelisz begins to enact a sinister plan for a mutiny he had already been plotting.

The survivors' ordeal descends into a real-life Lord of the Flies as Cornelisz establishes a brutal reign of terror, murdering at least 110 men, women, and children, and sexually enslaving the remaining women. He maroons a group of resistant soldiers led by Wiebbe Hayes, who unexpectedly find water and fortify their island. The climax sees the dramatic return of Pelsaert, who teams up with Hayes to defeat Cornelisz’s men in an epic battle. The hosts discuss the incredible archaeological evidence recovered from the wreck and gravesites, and reveal the surprising legacy of the tragedy as the direct inspiration for the hit reality TV show, The Traitors.