Possibly the most popular tourist attraction in Malacca is the ruins of the oldest European building east of India, Our Lady of the Annunciation, built by the Portuguese in 1566. Annunciation was a rebrand that didn’t stick. St. Paul’s, as it is now called, was the name of the 1521 chapel demolished to build the current ruined church; the name of the church school founded there in 1548; and the name the Dutch kept when consecrating the building as a Dutch Reform church in 1641. The Bovenkerk (church at the top of the hill, ie. St. Paul’s) was deconsecrated when the Benedenkerk (church at the bottom of the hill, ie. Christ Church) was completed in 1753.

Needless to say, Malaysians don’t visit for religious or cultural reasons. They’re there to take pictures of and against panoramic views of the city and straits beyond, always posing at the top of the stairs and in the windowless brick arches.

The more ridiculous among them pose among the propped up gravestones as well; there’s absolutely no sensitivity that this is a religious place of rest. They’d never permit behavior like this in a mosque or any type of Chinese or Indian temple, but persist in it here.

St. Francis Xavier, a founder of the Jesuits and the greatest Catholic missionary in the East since St. Thomas, took his vows at Montmarte in 1534, and received the title deeds for St. Paul’s chapel in 1548. Having spent a decade establishing Christianity in Portuguese India, he used this church as his home base between missionary trips to Japan, the Maluku islands, and Borneo; he was the very first Christian missionary in each of these places.

He died on Shangchuan island in 1552, on a mission to Ming China. His body did not decompose much in its temporary grave there, and that was taken as a sign he was a saint. He was temporarily reburied for the second time at St. Paul’s, before being sent to Goa for permanent burial.

The open, caged-over burial vault is considered the one used for Francis Xavier, though there’s no archaeological or historical evidence to support the claim. People throw coins, flowers and money down through the grate, a rather Buddhist/Hindu way of honoring a Catholic saint; one is reminded that almost all converts of later Christian missions were Chinese and Indian, not Malay.

The apocryphal burial vault of St. Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier actually never received permanent burial; most of his body still rests in a crystal urn at the basilica at Old Goa; the rest was broken up into relics and sent to the churches he founded.

In 1614 (five years before he was beatified and eight before he was canonized), his entire right arm was detached. The upper arm was divided into two pieces, each sent to a Jesuit college; the hand and forearm were sent to the Church of the Gesù in Rome, where they remain (though they do go on tour)!

According to the Kristang (a local creole people also known as the Malaccan Portuguese), the right forearm of the Francis Xavier statue (installed in 1952 to honor the 400th anniversary of his final trip to Malacca) was immediately severed by a bolt of lightning, paralleling the removal of his real arm, surely an act of divine intervention . . .

Directly in front of the church is an 1814 lighthouse built by the British. It’s siting, though logical, must have seemed almost disrespectfully incongruous, even at the time.

The church as we now see it is in worse shape than if it had been left untouched. In 1930, Major CE Bone, the first president of the Malacca Historical Society, doubtless overwhelmed by boredom and curiosity, made several amateur, idiotic changes, including deleteriously repairing and rebuilding the old laterite brick structure with concrete, removing the dais and altar, unnecessarily excavating clearly marked tombs, removing all the tombstones and propping the prettiest against the walls, and repaving the floor. Looking at photos of the church from the 1920s and earlier, one wonders how he imagined his work was an improvement. Where is the large tomb to the right of the arch today, for example?

Most of the tombstones are of Dutch East India company employees and their relatives. Life feels so short now, and whenever I read these I’m reminded of how much shorter it was then, particularly for women and children. I found it interesting that many of the names weren’t quite Dutch, French rather: Huguenots or their descendants who had fled to the Netherlands as anti-Protestant hysteria swept France in the 17th century.

Hereunder lies buried Reynier d'Dieu, in his life Chief Merchant in the service of the Honourable Company. Buried on the 17th July, 1655.

Here lies buried Theodorus Herbers. Died in the 9th year of his age, 18th April, 1659.

Hereunder lies buried Maria Noelmans, wife of Theodorius Zas, Minister at Malacca, who piously fell asleep in the Lord on the 14th March, 1660.

Three to whom Nature gave one house and joint dwelling now lie here together enclosed in this tomb. Died the 29th December 1647, and the 25th February and19th March, 1660. The " Gaffel-boyer " is our grandfather's first discovery. Our father's first house now closes our mouths. (" Gaffel-boyer "—an old-fashioned Dutch vessel.)

Here lies Emanuel du Moulin, in his life Head Merchant and Harbour Master in the State of Malacca, born in the year 1620 on December 5th, blessed by God and called closer to the lord on July 25th of this year 1660. (He was Harbour Master 1656-1660)

Hereunder lies buried Juffrou Maria Bort, who was the wife of Nicolaes Müller, Under-Merchant and Warehouse-Keeper here. Born at Amsterdam the 5th August, 1639, and piously fell asleep in the Lord the 25th August, 1661 aged 22 years and 20 days. (probably a daughter of Balthasar Bort, Secretary in Malacca 1646; Governor 1668-1679.)

The souls of our first son and daughter God took to Heaven's throne and left their bodies here below. Hereunder lies buried Daniel Massis the younger, born on the 21st June 1658, died the 19th February 1660, and Sophia Massis, born the 21st June 1664 and died the 11th November 1665. (probably the children of Johan Massis, Winkelier at Malacca in 1659 and afterwards Commandant at Perak and Ligor.)

Here lies buried Hendrik Schenkenbergh, in his life Chief Merchant and Second Personage of the Town and Fortress of Malacca. Died the 29th June, 1671. (He was Chief Merchant or Supercargo in Malacca 1668-1670.)

Here lies buried Balthasar Sonmans, only son of Mathaeus Sonmans and Johanna Rijcke. Born the 30th July, 1671 and died the 3rd of August of the same year. Here lies buried Johanna Rijcke, Wife of Mathaeus Sonmans, only daughter of Isaack Rijcke and Maria Bort. Born the 2nd February, 1655, and died the 25th January, 1673.

To the memory of Juffrou Johanna du Moulin, Wife of Heer Balthasar Bert, Councillor Extraordinary of India, Governor and Director of the Town and Fortress of Malacca. Died 17th March, 1676. Johanna du Moulin rests under this stone, whose immortal soul, when she had trodden this world's path just two months and two days less than twenty-three years, God came and bore away to its last rest. Submissive to God's will, she felt no pain in parting from the body.

Here lies beneath Joanna Six; born in Taiwan; housewife of merchant and commander of the fortress Jacobus Pedel, died January 1st 1696 at 40 years, 9 months 14 days old, likewise . . .

Here rests Constantyn Johannes Rooselaar, Son of the very honourable Heer Pieter Rooselaar, Councillor Extraordinary of India, also Governor and Director of this Town and Fortress of Malacca. Born, 13th July, 1703; died, the 18th January, 1707. As a balm for my former dear wife Sophia Huichelbosch, Heer Pieter Rooselaar erected this monument; born in Rotterdam on March 24th 1678 and died in childbed March 9th 1709. (Pieter Rooselaar was Governor of Malacca 1707-1709)

I do not speak Dutch, and most of the translations of the tombstone inscriptions in this post come from the 1905 book Historical Tombstones of Malacca, by Robert Norman Bland, available HERE FOR FREE from the Cornell University Library.

An invaluable record dating to before Major Bone ripped the place up, the book records the position of the tombstones in the church floor, provides translations (though somewhat flawed) of each and photographs of some, and a few additional photos of important nearby buildings (including À Famosa and Christ Church) as they stood at the time. I only photographed the tombstones I found the most aesthetically appealing, but there are many more.

from Robert Norman Bland's 1905 book, *Historical Tombstones of Malacca*

There is a more modern and complete guidebook reflecting the finds and changes of the last hundred years, the 2013 Historical Tombstones and Graves at St. Paul’s Hill Malacca by Dennis De Witt, a local Eurasian descended from the original Dutch and Portuguese families. It’s certainly not prohibitively expensive at rm 18, but I could not find it for sale in person at any of the hawker tables, or available from the publisher in eBook format. If I ever do come across it I’ll likely buy it, but presently cannot stay in one place long enough to arrange its delivery. I was able to read some helpful pages on google books preview.

from Dennis De Witt's 2013 book, *Historical Tombstones and Graves at St. Paul’s Hill Malacca*

Coming up against incomplete information, I found myself using google lens to translate some of the gravestones I had photographed. Interestingly, if set to ‘detect language’, they were not recognized as Dutch, but as Afrikaans. I suppose this is because Afrikaans derives from 17th c. Dutch dialects, while modern Dutch has standardized differently and evolved faster.

Maria de la Queillerie, wife of founder of the Cape Colony Jan van Riebeeck, was one of the aforementioned Huguenot descendants, the daughter of a traveling minister in fact, brought up in the Pays-Bas speaking both Dutch and French at home. Maria always sailed with Jan on his constant journeys between VOC outposts. She died of smallpox in Malacca in 1664, aged 35. Considered the ancestral mother of the Afrikaaners, a woman of inspirational piety and intelligence, her tombstone (though not her remains) was removed to Cape Town in 1915. A plaque on the floor currently marks her tomb, an odd exception to the rule at St. Paul’s.

There are also several Portuguese tombs and their stones here. Most obviously predate the Dutch graves, though there was eventually some intermarriage between the Dutch and local descendants of the Portuguese.

According to Bland, Major Bone was not the first to move tombstones away from the earthly remains they were intended to mark; he writes regarding St. Paul’s: “It is probable that this became a favourite burial place with the Dutch when they had built their own church by the river, and that some of the earlier Portuguese stones were displaced by them. In one case it is clear that a Portuguese inscription has been obliterated and a Dutch inscription placed on the same stone. At a later date some of the early Dutch tombstones were displaced to make room for the burial vaults of a later generation . . . Most of the Portuguese stones have been moved to the church built by the Dutch and now used for the services of the Church of England [Christ Church].”

Sepulchre of Dom Miguel de Castro, brother in Christ, given by the next king in honor of Dom João de Castro, the captain of this fortress having died. (João de Castro, Viceroy of Portuguese India 1546-1548, was the lifelong best friend of Infante Luís, Duke of Beja. João died in 1548 and Luís in 1555. Miguel, João's son, was Captain at Malacca in 1573 and again from 1575 to 1577, sailing from Goa to retake the town from Aceh 3 times between 1573 and 1575, eventually succeeding. His tombstone appears to have been donated by Henrique, the Cardinal-King, Luís' little brother and the top recruiter of Jesuit missionaries to colonial Portuguese posts.)

Here lies Monsignor PETRUS of the Order of Jesus, Second Bishop of Japan. Died in the Straits of Singapore in the month of February, 1598.

S. de ANT° (ANTONIO) PINTO DA FONSECA, Commendador da Ordem de Sam Tiago (Sao Thiago), Provedor Geral (General) que foi das Fortalezas da India, Capitam Geral do Mar e Terra nas paragens do Sul. Falleceo aos 27 de Dezembro de 1635- Grave of ANTONIO PINTO DE FONSECA, Commander of the Order of St. James, Provedor-General of the Fortresses of India, Captain-General of the Sea and Land in parts of the South. Died on the 27th December, 1635.

Francisca Barber, most pious wife of Captain Jacob Barber. She was already pregnant when she went from the isle of Bombay to China, accompanying her husband, and about to depart tomorrow from the banks of Malacca, where her pregnancy (to the great dismay of the hospitable Dutch people, who dedicated themselves to preserving their guest's life) became fatal; she succumbed in labor before being delivered of her fatal burden. September 10th 1695.

Around the back of the church outside, trailing down the hill, are 19th century British graves. It’s more than a bit horrifying how hawkers cling to them.

pointlessly bricked up and cemented windows

trash can etc. too close for comfort to an old British grave

There’s an outdoor stair leading down to the Dutch cemetery, past a continuous complex of abandoned British colonial buildings, including what was once the Resident’s house (and then Governor’s Museum) and its outhouses to the left, and to the right Kampung Tetek, Malay houses backing onto neglected British tombs. The Residency seems to have been a functioning museum as recently as 2 years ago, but is now closed.

another needlessly closed museum; more British graves line a closed walkway down the hill to the Dutch cemetery.

atop this old British tomb, in the corner by the local houses and closed walkway, are lots of empty plastic drink bottles etc. the disrespect . . .

The stair should open onto Jalan Mahkamah, between Dutch shopfronts to the left and the Dutch cemetery to the right. Unfortunately, it’s been closed off for no discernible reason, so you actually have to walk all the way down and around the hill in one direction or the other to visit the Dutch cemetery. A plaque on the Dutch shopfronts commemorates their gazetting as landmarks in 1988, but they seem to have been abandoned for a minimum of 15 years.

The Dutch graveyard was used for Dutch burials between 1670–1682 and British 1818–1838. There are only 5 Dutch monuments and 33 British; it is believed that the British moved Dutch tombstones up to the ruined St. Paul’s, though I’ve found no evidence or testimony of that.

This c. 1678 tombstone for a couple is written in Dutch, but the wife is named Magdalena de Costa, indicating she was at least partially Portuguese, possibly descended from Afonso Lopes da Costa, who was Captain of Malacca in 1519. The motto below the seal reads 'Christ is my hope.'

The obelisk is for White and Harding, two mid-twenties naval officers who died in the short-lived War of Naning (August 1831 - June 1832). It was less a war than an uprising led by Dol Said, the hereditary chief of Naning, who didn't want to pay the 10% flat tax on produce imposed by the British on all Malaccan vassal states. Needless to say, the British won.

This tomb sparked my curiosity about the Millers of Monk Castle. Monkcastle was first attested in 1536 as the administrative centre for the north-west portion of the extensive estates held by the monks of Kilwinning Abbey. The estates passed in the mid-1550s from Church to commendator, at that time a Hamilton. The building was recorded as a “pretty fair building, well planted” in the first years of the 17th century, but a ruin by the end.

the ruins of Monkcastle, kept in more or less their current state since 1895

The ruin first came into the Miller family in 1723, and Alexander William Miller, the father mentioned on Janette’s gravestone, built the extant and occupied Monkcastle House nearby circa 1820, so halfway through her short life. It was probably designed by the architect David Hamilton, a descendant of the original commendators now best known for Nelson’s monument and the Royal Exchange.

There was a serious fire at Monkcastle House in 2016.

Said father was not a member of the EIC, and predeceased this daughter by three years, so I find it interesting that only he is mentioned on her tombstone, not the intended husband or perhaps other relative(s) she must have travelled to Malacca for, or older brother/family scion who must have paid for it.

In Memory Of
DAVID MUDIE, Midshipman,
Third Son of JAMES & JANE MUDIE
Of Pitmuies, Scotland
Who Died On His Passage From Bengal To China
On Board The H.C.S. Vansittart,
On The 12th August 1831,
Aged 17 Years
All The Flesh Is Grass & All The Goodliness Thereof
As The Flower Of The Field The Grass Withereth, The Flower Fadeth
But Even The Word Of Our God Shall Stand Forever,
As In Adam All Die, Even So In Christ Shall All Be Made Alive.

This one just seemed so sad because he was so young. No matter what happened, passing on a wooden boat between Bengal to China is a hard way to go for a very young British person.

Walking around, I often wondered about the clusters of people who died within a month or so of each other, throughout the centuries. Were they on the same plague-ridden boat? In the same jungle battle? Victims of the same local malarial outbreak? All the flesh is grass, indeed.