Cornelis Chastelein, also written Chasteleijn or Chastelijn (Amsterdam, August 10, 1657 – Batavia, June 28, 1714) was born of a notable merchant family.
His father, Anthony Chastelein, arrived to the Netherlands from France as a huguenot, and a member of the Dutch East India Company.
On January 24, 1675, 17-years-old Cornelis Chastelein boarded the Ship's ’t Huis te Cleeff and arrived at Batavia on August 16, 1675.
On May 18, 1696, he bought a plot of land with an area of 12.44 square kilometers, at pole 21 (about 32 kilometres (20 miles) from Batavia), between Ciliwung and Pesanggrahan river.
There he established the first of its kind in Java, a Protestant congregation consisting of native Indonesians which was named De Eerste Protestante Organisatie van Christenen (DEPOC).
During the period he wrote a dissertation in which he established an ethical manifestation against the Dutch East India Company's merchant politics, especially toward Governor General Willem van Outhoorn, who was in favor of aggressive trade policy.
[3] For his estate Depok, Chastelein bought twelve slave families from various parts of the archipelago: Balinese, Ambonese, Buginese and Sundanese.
Isakh, Jacob, Jonathan, Joseph and Samuel are the Biblical names given to Chastelein to the converted slave families.
The remaining seven families retained their original names: Bacas, Laurens, Leander, Loen, Sadokh, Soedira and Tholense.