John Meilink

John Meilink (1961) is a Dutch author of historically grounded novels set in the seventeenth century. Raised near the ports of Amsterdam and Zaandam — the cradle of Dutch seafaring — he grew up immersed in maritime history and the landscapes of North Holland.

He is the author of the historical series Sons of Japheth, a cycle of novels examining the Dutch Republic’s involvement in the global slave trade and the interconnected power structures of the early modern world — from West Africa and the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. The series was originally published in the Netherlands and Belgium by a regular Dutch publisher and has been recognized through inclusion in the official Historical Canon of the Netherlands, the national framework guiding the teaching of Dutch history.

Alongside his literary work, Meilink has built an international career as a software engineer, working across the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands.