The Sellers book is an account of the Dutch branch of our family. I have an
old copy and treasure it. What is important about the Dutch Carpenters is
that the family ran the Dutch East India Company in the 1600s. Peter
Carpenter in addition to running the VOC, as it was called, was an explorer
and discovered the great bay on the New Guinea side of Australia. Happy for
us is the name it was given i.e. the Bay of Carpenter. It is one of the most
prominent natural features of the planet along with Hudson Bay, named after
another explorer. Peter Carpenter also received the official embassy from
China at the VOC headquarters in Indonesia. This I think was the first time
that China dispatched an actual official embassy to any foreign power. This
may have been the first East Asian nation to send an official embassy to a
European nation. All of the above, as well as a fine portrait of Peter, is
found in this Carpenter classic. Recommended to all.
Bruce Carpenter