during the process. He rebuilt the city and fort, thus founding the new Dutch town over the ruins of its predecessor, which he forthwith proclaimed the capital of the Dutch East Indies. In 1621, the city was renamed Batavia. Coen preferred Nieuw Hoorn, after his hometown, but did not get his way. Return to the Netherlands (1622–1627) In 1622, Coen revisited Europe. On 1 February 1623, he handed his post to Pieter de Carpentier and returned to the Netherlands, where he was given a hero's welcome off the coast of Texel. He then became head of the VOC chamber in Hoorn and worked on establishing new policies. During his absence from the East Indies, difficulties with the English were exacerbated by Dutch massacre of 21 Englishmen on Amboyna. On 3 October 1624, he was reappointed governor-general in the East Indies, but his departure was hindered by the English. In 1625, he married Eva Ment, and in 1627 departed incognito for the East Indies with his wife, their newborn child and her brother and sister, starting work on 30 September 1627. After his arrival, the English abandoned Batavia and established their headquarters in Bantam. Last years (1627–1629) Twice during Coen's term in office, Sultan Agung of Mataram besieged Batavia, in 1628 and 1629. Agung's military was poorly armed and had inadequate provisions of food, and was never able to capture the city. During Agung's second siege Coen suddenly died on 21September 1629, likely due to the cholera outbreak in Batavia during this siege. In Imogiri, there is a persistent folklore that Coen's remains were stolen from his grave in Jakarta, and placed under the steps leading up to Sultan Agung's grave. Legacy He was long considered a national hero in the Netherlands. Since the 19th century, his legacy has become controversial due to the violence he employed, especially during the last stage of the Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands, which is widely considered a genocide. Named for him are the Coentunnel and the Coenhaven in Amsterdam. Statues A statue to Coen was revealed in Batavia on 4 September 1876, in front of the Weltevreden Estate. It was destroyed by Japanese occupying forces on 7 March 1943. Of the monuments that remember Coen in the Netherlands, the best-known is the in Hoorn, with the motto "Dispereert niet" ("do not despair"). Made in 1887 by Ferdinand Leenhoff in bronze, it was placed