Long before modern boardrooms, corporate scandals and workplace bullying made headlines, a ruthless company manager was already demonstrating the darker side of leadership. Nearly 400 years ago, a Dutch merchant used manipulation, intimidation and violence to seize control of shipwreck survivors. Now, researchers believe his behaviour offers one of history’s earliest documented examples of corporate psychopathy.

A study published in the Asian Journal of Business Ethics identifies Jeronimus Cornelisz, a merchant employed by the Dutch East India Company, as a possible early corporate psychopath. Dr Clive Boddy, Associate Professor of Management at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), examined historical accounts using a recognised corporate psychopathy framework. His analysis found that Cornelisz exhibited all 10 core characteristics associated with corporate psychopaths.

These traits included using charm to win trust, surrounding himself with loyal followers, eliminating rivals, creating divisions and ruling through fear. Cornelisz also appeared driven by power, wealth and personal control. His employer, the Dutch East India Company, was among the earliest multinational shareholder-owned businesses and helped establish Amsterdam as a major centre of global commerce in the early 1600s.

The research focuses on the wreck of the Dutch trading ship Batavia in 1629, off the coast of Western Australia. Around 200 survivors were stranded on remote islands while senior officers sailed to present-day Jakarta for help. Cornelisz, the highest-ranking company representative remaining, quickly seized authority. He replaced council members with supporters, demanded personal loyalty and isolated potential opponents. Under his leadership, approximately 100 survivors, including women and children, were murdered, while some women suffered sexual violence.

Yet another group of survivors experienced a dramatically different fate. Led by Wiebbe Hayes, they worked together to locate freshwater wells and gather food, including fish, seabird eggs, wallabies and seals. Their success challenged Cornelisz’s justification that killings were necessary to conserve scarce supplies. While one leader used fear and violence to maintain control, the other relied on cooperation and practical problem-solving to keep people alive.

For Boddy, the contrast offers a striking lesson about leadership. “The same playbook we see in toxic workplaces today appears in this case from 1629,” he said. Cornelisz removed opponents, rewarded loyalists and manipulated followers, while Hayes encouraged cooperation and resourcefulness. Boddy described the contrasting outcomes as a natural experiment in leadership, demonstrating how different approaches could produce radically different consequences under similar circumstances.

The findings also carry implications for today’s organisations. The study links psychopathic leadership to workplace bullying, harassment, declining employee wellbeing, higher staff turnover and organisational failure. Although Cornelisz lived centuries before modern corporate management, his behaviour suggests that destructive leadership traits may have accompanied commercial enterprise from its earliest days. The research highlights the importance of looking beyond qualifications and performance when choosing leaders, placing greater emphasis on integrity, ethical judgement and character.

More information: Clive Roland Boddy, Asia bound: shareholder capitalism, corporate psychopathy and psychopathic leadership, Asian Journal of Business Ethics. DOI: 10.1007/s13520-026-00274-y

Journal information: Asian Journal of Business Ethics Provided by Anglia Ruskin University