Jan Pietersz Coen
| Jan Pieterszoon Coen | |
|---|---|
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
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| 4th Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies | |
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In office 30 April 1618 – 1 February 1623 |
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| Preceded by | Laurens Reael |
| Succeeded by | Pieter de Carpentier |
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In office 30 September 1627 – 21 September 1629 |
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| Preceded by | Pieter de Carpentier |
| Succeeded by | Jacques Specx |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 January 1587 Hoorn, Dutch Republic |
| Died | 21 September 1629 (aged 42) Batavia,, Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupation | Colonial administrator |
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of the Dutch East India Company in Indonesia (VOC) in the early seventeenth century, holding two terms as its Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, the capital city of the Dutch East Indies.
Renowned for providing the impulse that set the VOC on the path to dominance in the Dutch East Indies, he was long considered a national hero in the Netherlands. A famed quote of his from 1618, "Despair not, spare your enemies not, for God is with us", illustrates his single-minded ruthlessness, as well as his unstinting belief in the divinely-sanctioned nature of his project. The utilization of such self-professed divine sanction in the use of violence pursuant to his ultimate goals of Monopoly Trade was deemed by many to be excessive, even for such a relatively violent age. Consequently, since the independence of Indonesia he has been looked at in a more critical light, and historians view his often violent means to have been excessive.
Coen was known in his time on account of strict governance and harsh criticism of people who did not share his views, at times directed even at the 17 Lords of the VOC (for which he was reprimanded). Coen was known to be strict towards subordinates and merciless to his opponents. His willingness to use violence to obtain his ends was too much for many, even for such a relatively violent period of history. When Saartje Specx, a girl whom he had been entrusted to care for, was found in Coen's private quarters in the arms of a soldier, Pieter Cortenhoeff, Coen showed no mercy in having Cortenhoeff beheaded. Specx only escaped the death penalty by drowning because she was still underage.
Further but more extensive actions perpetrated by order of Coen, are recounted in a BBC Television documentary series "The Spice Trail" (episode 2: "Nutmeg and Cloves"). The program also contains details of wanton acts of destruction committed by the Dutch in the spice islands of (now) eastern Indonesia, the purpose of which was to create scarcity of natural produce in order to maintain price levels.
Coen was born at Hoorn on 8 January 1587 and raised by his family in accordance with strict Calvinist principles. In 1601 he travelled to Rome to study trade in the offices of the Fleming Joost de Visscher (known in Italy as Justus Pescatore), where he learned the art of bookkeeping. Joining the Dutch United East India Company (VOC), he made trading voyages to East Indies in 1607 with the fleet of Pieter Verhoeff. During the journey, Verhoeff and 50 of his men were killed during negotiations with the chiefs of the Banda Islands. Upon his return to Holland in 1610, Coen submitted an important report on trade possibilities in Southeast Asia to the company’s directors. As a result of this report, he was again sent overseas, in 1612, with the rank of chief merchant. On the second trip he acquitted himself so well of his commission, and made himself so remarkable by the success of his practice of commerce, that in October 1613 was appointed accountant-general of all VOC offices in East Indies and president of the head office in Bantam and of Jacatra (Jayakarta). In 1614, he was made director-general, second in command. On 25 October 1617 the XVII Lords of the VOC appointed him their fourth governor-general in the East Indies (of which he was informed on 30 April 1618).
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Wikipedia