List of colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast
This article lists the colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast. During the Dutch presence on the Gold Coast, which lasted from 1598 to 1872, the title of the head of the colonial government changed several times:[1]
- 1675–1798: Director-General (Dutch: directeur-generaal)
- 1798–1810: Governor-General (Dutch: gouverneur-generaal)
- 1810–1815: Commandant-General (Dutch: commandant-generaal)
- 1815–1819: Governor-General (Dutch: gouverneur-generaal)
- 1819–1838: Commander (Dutch: kommandeur)
- 1838–1872: Governor (Dutch: gouverneur)
List
Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office.
Direct Dutch rule (1612–1621)
Before the establishment of the Dutch West India Company on 3 June 1621, Dutch traders nominally were at the direct control of the Dutch government. Initially, the regulation of trade was left to the traders themselves, but after the building of Fort Nassau at Mouri in 1612, a general was installed to administrate the new colony.
Name | Title | Took Office | Left Office | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jacob Adriaensz Clantius | General of the Coast | 1612 | 1614 | |
A.J. Roest | General of the Coast | 1614 | ? | |
Arent Jacobzen van Amersfoort | General of the Coast | ? | ? |
Dutch West India Company rule (1621–1791)
There are many lists available of Director-Generals of the Gold Coast in service of the Dutch West India Company, all with slightly conflicting names and dates. The most accurate information is available for the eighteenth century, as Harvey Feinberg compiled a list of Director-Generals of that century on the basis of day registries available at the Nationaal Archief.[2]
Name | Title | Took Office | Left Office | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adriaen Jacobzoon | Director-General | 1624 | 1629 | Based at Fort Nassau, Mouri |
Nikolaas van Ypren | Director-General | 1629 | 18 July 1639 | Based at Fort George, Elmina, from 1637 |
Arend Jacobszoon Montfort | Director-General | 18 July 1639 | 6 January 1641 | |
Jacob Ruyghaver | Director-General | 6 January 1641 | 18 December 1645 | 1st term |
Jacob van der Well | Director-General | 18 December 1645 | 9 April 1650 | |
Hendrik Doedens | Director-General | 9 April 1650 | 11 June 1650 | |
Arent Cocq | Governor | 11 June 1650 | 15 March 1651 | |
Jacob Ruyghaver | Director-General | 15 March 1651 | 24 January 1656 | 2nd term |
Johannes van Valkenburgh | Director-General | 24 January 1656 | 27 April 1659 | 1st term |
Casper van Heussen | Director-General | 27 April 1659 | 7 April 1662 | |
Dirck Wilré | Director-General | 7 April 1662 | 23 December 1662 | 1st term |
Johannes van Valkenburgh | Director-General | 23 December 1662 | 2 June 1667 | 2nd term |
Huybert van Ongerdonk | Governor | 2 June 1667 | 12 December 1668 | |
Dirck Wilré | Director-General | 12 December 1668 | 12 June 1675 | 2nd term |
Johan Root | Director-General | 12 June 1675 | 13 September 1676 | |
Abraham Meermans | Director-General | 13 September 1676 | 26 March 1680 | |
Daniël Verhoutert | Director-General | 26 March 1680 | 1 August 1683 | |
Thomas Ernsthuis | Director-General | 1 August 1683 | 15 July 1685 | |
Nikolas de Sweerts | Director-General | 15 July 1685 | 29 January 1690 | |
Joël Smits | Director-General | 29 January 1690 | 25 March 1664 | |
Jan Staphorst | Director-General | 25 March 1694 | 9 June 1696 | |
Joan van Sevenhuijsen | Director-General | 9 June 1696 | 16 May 1702 | |
Willem de la Palma | Director-General | 16 May 1702 | 17 October 1705 | Died in office |
Pieter Nuyts | Director-General | 23 October 1705 | 26 September 1708 | Died in office |
Henrico van Wesel | Governor | 26 September 1708 | 13 July 1709 | |
Adriaan Schoonheijd | Director-General | 13 July 1709 | 15 March 1711 | Died in office |
Hieronimus Haring | Director-General | 16 March 1711 | 12 May 1716 | |
Abraham Engelgraaf-Robbertszoon | Director-General | 12 May 1716 | 11 March 1718 | |
Willem Butler | Director-General | 12 March 1718 | 25 September 1722 | |
Abraham Houtman | Director-General | 25 September 1722 | 17 May 1723 | Died in office |
Mattheus de Crane | Governor | 17 May 1723 | 14 December 1723 | |
Pieter Valkenier | Director-General | 14 December 1723 | 6-7 March 1727 | |
Robert Norre | Director-General | 7 March 1727 | 6 March 1730 | |
Jan Pranger | Director-General | 6 March 1730 | 13 March 1734 | |
Antonius van Overbeke | Director-General | 13 March 1734 | 2 April 1736 | Died in office |
Martinus François de Bordes | Director-General | 7 April 1736 | 16 March 1740 | Died in office |
François Barovius | Governor | 17 March 1740 | 8 March 1741 | |
Baron Jacob de Petersen | Director-General | 8 March 1741 | 10-12 April 1747 | |
Jan van Voorst | Director-General | 10-12 April 1747 | 14 July 1754 | |
Nicolas Mattheus van der Nood de Gietere | Director-General | 14 July 1754 | 24 October 1755 | Died in office |
Roelof Ulzen | Governor | 24 October 1755 | 15 January 1758 | |
Lambert Jacob van Tets | Director-General | 15 January 1758 | 12 March 1758 | Died in office |
Jan Pieter Theodoor Huydecoper | President of the Council | 22 March 1758 | 5 October 1760 | 1st Term |
David Pieter Erasmie | Director-General | 5 October 1760 | 19 July 1763 | Died in office |
Hendrick Walmbeek | Governor | 24 July 1763 | 10 September 1764 | |
Jan Pieter Theodoor Huydecoper | Director-General | 10 September 1764 | 11 July 1767 | 2nd Term; died in office |
Willem Sulyard van Leefdael and Cornelis Klok | President of the Council | 11 July 1767 | 27 August 1767 | Both acting ad interim until Woortman arrived at Elmina |
Pieter Woortman | Director-General | 27 August 1767 | 14 April 1780 | Died in office |
Jacobus van der Puije | President of the Council | 10 May 1780 | 30 December 1780 | |
Pieter Volkmar | Director-General | 30 December 1780 | 12 March 1784 | |
Gilles Servaas Galle | President of the Council | 15 March 1784 | 14 February 1785 | 1st Term |
Adolph Thierens | Director-General | 14 February 1785 | 26 May 1786 | Died in office |
Gilles Servaas Galle | President of the Council | 2 June 1786 | 24 August 1787 | 2nd Term; died in office |
Lieve van Bergen van der Grijp | President of the Council | 27 August 1787 | 11-14 March 1790 | 1st Term |
Jacobus Adriaan de Veer | Director-General | 11-14 March 1790 | 31 December 1791 | Dutch West India Company liquidated 31 December 1791 |
Direct Dutch rule (1792–1872)
The Dutch West India Company was dissolved in 1791, and its colonies reverted to the rule of the States-General of the Dutch Republic on 1 January 1792. The last Director-General installed by the Dutch West India Company, Jacobus de Veer, became the first Director-General under the direct authority of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch Republic was succeeded by the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of Holland, which all inherited the rule over the colony.
Although the Kingdom of Holland was incorporated into the First French Empire, the colony on the Gold Coast was never occupied by either France or Great-Britain.[3] Dutch rule continued under the Kingdom of the Netherlands proclaimed in 1815, until the cession of the possessions on the Gold Coast to the United Kingdom in 1872.
Name | Title | Took Office | Left Office | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jacobus Adriaan de Veer | Director-General | 1 January 1792 | 5 May 1794 | Continued as Director-General under the direct rule of the States-General |
Lieve van Bergen van der Grijp | President of the Council | 5 May 1794 | 10 January 1795 | Second term; was also President for a third term during the period between the death of next Director-General Duim and the arrival of Van Hamel, although the dates are not precisely clear. |
Otto Arnoldus Duim | Governor | 10 January 1795 | 2 June 1796 | Died in office |
Gerhardus Hubertus van Hamel | Director-General | 21 August 1796 | 1 May 1798 | Died in office |
Cornelius Ludwich Bartels | Director-General / Governor-General | 8 May 1798 | 28 April 1804 | Promoted to Governor-General on 12 August 1801; died in office |
Izaak de Roever | Acting Governor-General | 28 April 1804 | 15 June 1805 | |
Pieter Linthorst | Governor-General | 16 June 1805 | 21 July 1807 | |
Johannes Petrus Hoogenboom | Acting Governor-General | 21 July 1807 | 11 August 1808 | |
Jan Frederik Koning | Acting Governor-General | 12 August 1808 | 23 February 1810 | |
Abraham de Veer | Commandant-General | 23 February 1810 | 1 March 1816 | |
Herman Willem Daendels | Governor-General | 1 March 1816 | 22 April 1818 | |
Frantz Christian Eberhard Oldenborg | Governor-General | 22 April 1818 | 10 January 1820 | |
Johannes Oosthout | Commander | 10 January 1820 | 27 July 1821 | |
Frederick Frans Ludewich Ulrich Last | Acting Commander | 27 July 1821 | 11 January 1823 | First term |
Librecht Jan Temminck | Acting Commander | 11 January 1823 | 6 May 1823 | |
Willem Poolman | Commander | 6 May 1823 | 14 May 1824 | |
Hendrik Adriaan Mouwe, Jr. | Acting Commander | 14 May 1824 | 25 December 1824 | |
Johan David Carel Pagenstecher | Acting Commander | 25 December 1824 | 2 January 1825 | |
Frederick Frans Ludewich Ulrich Last | Acting Commander | 2 January 1825 | 12 November 1826 | Second term |
Jacobus van der Breggen-Pauw | Acting Commander | 12 November 1826 | 4 October 1828 | |
Frederick Frans Ludewich Ulrich Last | Commander | 4 October 1828 | 17 April 1833 | Third term |
Jan Thieleman Jacobus Cremer | Acting Commander | 17 April 1833 | 17 May 1833 | |
Eduard Daniel Leopold van Ingen | Acting Commander | 17 May 1833 | 2 February 1834 | |
Martinus Swarte | Acting Commander | 2 February 1834 | 16 March 1834 | |
Christian Ernst Lans | Commander | 16 March 1834 | 2 December 1836 | |
Hendrikus Jacobus Tonneboeijer | Acting Commander | 2 December 1836 | 28 October 1837 | |
Anthony van der Eb | Acting Commander | 29 October 1837 | 5 August 1838 | |
Hendrik Bosch | Governor | 5 August 1838 | 7 March 1840 | |
Anthony van der Eb | Governor | 11 March 1840 | 9 June 1846 | First term as full Governor |
Willem George Frederik Derx | Acting Governor | 1846 | 1847 | Acting Governor during the European leave of Van der Eb |
Anthony van der Eb | Governor | 10 July 1847 | 21 September 1852 | Resumed his office upon return from Europe; died in office |
Hero Schomerus | Governor | 1852 | 25 September 1856 | Died in office |
Petrus Jacobus Runckel | Acting Governor | 1856 | 1856 | |
Willem George Frederik Derx | Acting governor | 1856 | 1857 | Second term as acting governor |
Jules Felicine Romain Stanislas van den Bossche | Governor | 1857 | 1857 | |
Cornelis Johannes Marius Nagtglas | Governor | 1857 | 7 May 1860 | Served first as acting Governor, was installed full governor in 1858 |
Cornelis Meeuwsen | Acting Governor | 7 May 1860 | 21 January 1861 | Acting Governor during the European leave of Nagtglas |
Cornelis Johannes Marius Nagtglas | Governor | 21 January 1861 | 23 June 1862 | Resumed his office upon return from Europe |
Henri Alexander Elias | Governor | 18 October 1862 | 14 March 1864 | |
Carel Hendrik David van Hien | Acting Governor | 12 March 1864 | 13 June 1864 | Acting Governor during the European leave of Elias; died aboard ship shortly after leaving office |
Hendrik Doyer | Acting Governor | 13 June 1864 | 7 December 1864 | Acting Governor during the European leave of Elias |
Henry Alexander Elias | Governor | 7 December 1864 | 4 May 1865 | Resumed his office upon return from Europe |
Arend Magnin | Acting Governor | 4 May 1865 | 19 February 1866 | |
Willem Hendrik Johan van Idzinga | Governor | 1866 | 1867 | |
Georg Pieter Willem Boers | Governor | 1867 | 1869 | |
Cornelis Johannes Marius Nagtglas | Governor | 14 May 1869 | 8 June 1871 | Second term |
Jan Albert Hendrik Hugenholz | Acting Governor | 8 June 1871 | 17 September 1871 | |
Johannes Marinus Ludovicus Adrianus Petrus Wirix | Acting Governor | 17 September 1871 | 28 October 1871 | |
Willem Pieter Antonie Le Jeune | Acting Governor | 28 October 1871 | 15 November 1871 | |
Jan Helenus Ferguson | Lieutenant-Governor | 15 November 1871 | 6 April 1872 |
See also
Notes
- ^ Michel Doortmont. "Category:Governors of the Dutch Gold Coast". GCDB-Wiki. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ Feinberg 1974.
- ^ Nagtglas 1863, p. 4
References
- Feinberg, Harvey M. (1974). "Director Generals of the Netherlands West India Company: an accurate list for the eighteenth century". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. 130 (2/3). Leiden: KITLV: 306–312. doi:10.1163/22134379-90002697. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
{{cite journal}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Nagtglas, Cornelis Johannes Marius (1863). Een woord aangaande de vraag: "Wat moet Nederland doen met zijne bezittingen ter kuste van Guinea?". The Hague: H.C. Susan, C.Hz.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "Ghana". worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 15 April 2012.